Rebellion or no rebellion, the South is moving on!

By Isaiah Abraham

April 5, 2011 — No one had expected the likes of Gen. George Athor Deng and Major David Yauyau to hold up arms against the government of the people of Southern Sudan, the very government they have been struggling to establish- which in fact they did. But the past is the past; we have these men in arms against the state with treason charges hanging over their heads. They have made it abundantly clear that they are there to destabilize the new nation, unless they are allowed to make their way. They wanted the government to tumble or fall. Fortunately however they will have to wait and wait longer for that happen.

The government is Juba was dully an elected government, and nothing could go between it and 2015 unless through unconstitutional short cut means known in another language as coup de tat. Apologists must tell us something new, not the democracy we have been through. This is a reality we must leave it or take it, and hereby advice on the onset our brothers that claim to be fighting for quick change to think again. Southerners aren’t fool to believe losers because they think this person is a scientist or belong to our clans or tribes. You lose, you loses and you have before you another chance to do your political home work in the future so to win the confidence of your people. The Home and Away Hotel can’t either bring you back the seat you lost democratically last year.

The option to taking arms to intimidate the state is far fetch a day dream; the South will triumph over its enemies whether these enemies come in the form of brothers or political losers. To kill your own people and your own people army is unforgivable, and history will judge our brothers in Upper Nile harshly. But truly, there could be deaths and security threats in Upper Nile against the state but that is just a little storm by little personalities. The region (Upper Nile) is firmly with the government.
Our people must not overestimate the danger pose by rebellion in Upper Nile States. Its normal in the process of the larger crisis, and time will prove that nothing actually was there in the first place. What is there is skirmishes (hit and run), too much hot air, call it propaganda on the side of rebels against the Southern Government with a hope that some perennial dissident groups within the SPLM will leave the party and join them. But time has changed for one section of our society or any tribe to buy any lie anymore. People know that what is happening in Upper Nile is pure malice by some failures to make a point.

So, there is no need for the public to panic from Greater Upper Nile troubled and sick region that has ever been rebelling. Gen. George can’t win his home county let alone the entire Upper Nile Region. He has however a few from his Korfulus base, Khartoum of course as well as the white army from Lou Nuer that were left out during army integration processes. To my surprise everyone in Upper Nile wants to be general, that is why villagers left their cattle camps to join the army, what a joke! But above all these (George and the group) have no moral cause to steer up a change. They lost election squarely and this should have shame them if they really know the values of democracy.

The point we are making therefore is that the South can’t be taken for a ride and expect things to go on like that. Time to crack a whip is coming. We have just been out of the war and nothing could distract the people of Southern Sudan from noble objectives of putting pieces of their lives together. We want to rebuild this land (put up infrastructures), we want to put food into our stores, we want to let our children come back home for education, we want our health facilities establish to stop the flow of our money to India and Jordan. The list of what to do is long. Our people don’t have time to fight one another because someone wants to become a divisional commander or a governor.

But someone proposes that there could be an internal struggle for power within the SPLM party, a situation in which George and the company are mere king’s makers. He cited an argument by George himself over Miraya Fm local radio that ‘Mr. Kiir is blind’. I end up though not taking him serious because am pretty sure that the SPLM party is very much united, though no one could still rule out the fact some are still nursing the thinking that someone somewhere isn’t doing what he supposes to do but relies to others to wheel him for their personal purposes. There is no power struggle within the SPLM party, I repeat. Take it from this little author.

As security situation becoming daily talk in our bars and public places, our people should rest assure that things are in safe hands of our men in uniform in Bilfam. They know what they are doing and the cat will be let loose once we are out of the wood in July. Opposition groups and their allies in the bush know this fact, and want to destabilize the region before July. They are bound to fail. Our army knows the trees around and the terrains where spoilers could hide, and they would be found out! The South is moving ahead with its agenda despite threats, sabotage, and often empty threats by enemies of the South that are mostly Khartoum backed groups. They had wanted the South to fail, and still wish it fails; but thanks to Kiir-Machar wise leadership, they are there for a rude shock for their lives. The South will move on! Khartoum, what do you want?

Look, the SPLM party and that of the SPLA was tried before by many, and its process has never been reversed. They are called people army because of the composition and formation from day one. They are politicians in uniform and ever there to frustrate individuals who might be interested in selfish schemes against that of the people of Southern Sudan. Our army isn’t the best yes, and have public relation problems and lacks training, but they are the best fighters when it comes to defense. No group has ever come top of the SPLA even if anyone kills an SPLA company. The ultimate end of any similar scenario is the rebellious personalities coming back with heavy ranks and heart begging, and nothing more.

I believe we have a future that was written by the blood of our martyrs and nothing will change it whether someone hires a foe or hide in his tribe. Our people are tired of internal dirty games of plotting to overthrow the people government. Time for theories has long gone and its upon us to adapt to new dawn of majority rule through a ballot box. Military mean is outdated to resolve differences, if they are real issues. Gen. Athor and the likes are insulting our people conscience when they refuse to accept the fact that they are fighting a losing war from unjustifiable causes.

My piece of advice to our army spokesperson, my respected comrade, Col. Philip Aguer Panyang: please don’t go to the media about anything related to the army or security; some of these so-called reports might not actually be real security issues but sheer imaginary pictures of what the situation would look like. In our case we are firmly on the ground, and here to stay. The secret of any official press releaser is to deny, deny and deny. Long live the new land!

Isaiah Abraham lives in Juba; he can be reached at [email protected]