President Kiir and the amnesty
By Zechariah Manyok Biar
April 27, 2013 – Many readers might have read from many media websites the news about the coming back to South Sudan of some South Sudanese rebel groups who were in the Sudan, fighting the Government of South Sudan. According to the Minister of Information Dr. Marial Benjamin, these rebel groups responded to the renewed amnesty that the President issued on Thursday, April 25, 2013.
Some people may think the continuing issuing of amnesty is the one that encourages rebellion in South Sudan. These people may want the Government to show that it does not tolerate rebellion. They are taking this position out frustration. And this kind of frustration is understandable because the rebels who are now responding to the renewed amnesty were given amnesty before and they never responded, causing further damage to the country. So, why responded now?
However, I would agree with those who believe that what the President is doing is good. As Ecclesiastes in the Bible says, there is time for everything. There was time for war in Sudan and in South Sudan, but now should be the time for peace. There was time for chaos in South Sudan, but now should be time for stability. There was time for misunderstanding of what it meant to be in power in South Sudan, but now should be time for service delivery. There was time for no forgiveness in South Sudan, but now should be time for forgiveness for the sake of moving forward and not backward.
I think it is wise for the President to always take advantage of changes in political situations for the sake of peace in our country. I was disappointed recently when the President suspended the reconciliation processes in the country. I will write separately on this topic. But I will briefly say that I was disappointed because the only areas I respect the President in include his tolerance and some kind of love for harmony. How deep these qualities are is something we will now pay close attention to.
But the reality is that the records show that the President loves harmony. That is why he often gives amnesty to rebels. It is his love for harmony that South Sudanese could not fight the Sudan in what would have been full scale war, given the terrible continuous provocations that Sudanese authorities often engage in against South Sudan. But he tolerated these provocations until we now realize some political changes that are now happening.
The current political changes are not good for rebels. The rebels are aware now that senior generals in both the army and the organized forces in South Sudan are being retired. So, gone are days when being a general would guarantee the integrated self-promoted generals well paid jobs. Now self-promoted generals like David Yau Yau will know that it would be bad for them to be generals at their young ages because being a general would now guarantee you a quick retirement not job security.
The rebels have also understood that becoming a Member of Parliament would not give somebody a high chance for quick wealth because gone are days when politicians were looting the wealth of the country. Now citizens have turned their attentions to how people get their wealth. Getting rich quickly now without clear explanation of how one gets his or her money will be something to be ashamed of not proud of like it was over the last eight years. So, people like David Yau Yau will no longer see benefit in fighting to take the seat for the Member of Parliament by force because engaging in private business will soon be better than politics.
The last change in political situation is the Addis Ababa Cooperation Agreement that was signed last year between Sudan and South Sudan. Since the starting of the implementation of the Cooperation Agreement this year, I think it is becoming difficult for the South Sudanese rebels who had been receiving help from the Sudanese Government because the Government of Sudan now sees no benefit for investing in them.
It is because of these changes that the President decided to renew the amnesty for these rebels so that they can come back home and find better ways of working for clean wealth, not the ones that are now proving to be dirtier in the eyes of the citizens. Hardliners would think the best decision would have been for the President to press these rebels against the wall of political changes and crash them to pieces. But the logic is the reverse. The President has gone for the wise one.
Even though there are many areas of competence that the President can be found wanting by most of us citizens of South Sudan, he has proven to be consistent in his two administrative strengths of tolerance and the love for harmony. I personally give him credit for being consistent in these areas.
I believe that it is a wise decision to welcome our brothers and sisters who have responded to renewed amnesty, even though we know that they did it out of necessity. Out of necessity or not, we need peace in South Sudan in order to move forward not backward.
Zechariah Manyok Biar can be reached at [email protected]