Kidnapping of South Sudanese officials and aid worker is an act of terror
By Gordon Buay
The kidnapping of Dr. Chol Aruai, the Chairperson of National Bureau of Statistics and two workers of the international organisations by the rebels, was an act of terrorism which should be seriously condemned by the international community. The two persons who were kidnapped by the rebels are: 1. Mr. Mading Akueth (worker of Lutheran World Federation) and 2. Mr. Jacob Alier (worker of WFP).
On Tuesday, the UNWFP helicopter left Kongor to drop food in Uror and other rebel controlled areas before proceeding to Juba as per the agreement signed in Addis in 2014. According to the Agreement of Access to Humanitarian Assistance signed in Addis in 2014 by the Government of South Sudan and the rebels of Riek Machar, article two states that “no party to the conflict can commandeer, hijack and search vehicles and planes of the UN organisations in the process of the delivery of humanitarian assistance to the needy”.
On Tuesday, Riek Machar’s terrorists at Jiech Payam in Ayod County briefly detained the UNWFP helicopter and searched it in violations of the Agreement of Access to Humanitarian Assistance signed in Addis in 2014. After detaining the helicopter, they forcefully removed Dr. Chol Aruai, Mr. Mading Akueth and Mr. Jacob Alier in violation of the international norms, including the STATUS OF FORCES AGREEMENT signed by the UN and the Republic of South Sudan in August, 2011.
The SOFA is what governed the relationship between UNMISS and the Republic of South Sudan. Article 11 of SOFA does not allow any armed group in South Sudan to enter by force into UN compounds or seize UN vehicles and planes. What the rebels did by detaining the UN helicopter and forcefully removing three persons were not only the violations of humanitarian laws but also the SOFA signed in 2011.
If we consider the rebels of Riek Machar as terrorists who are not bound by SOFA signed in 2011, what about the humanitarian laws which prohibit kidnapping, hijacking and seizure of UN vehicles and planes? There is no question that the brief detention of UN helicopter was an act of terrorism. Besides, forcefully removing persons from UN helicopter is another act of terrorism that violates the international humanitarian laws.
The kidnapping of Mading Akueth and Jacob Alier who work for Lutheran World Federation and WFP respectively demonstrates that they were targeted because they are Dinka. These two men are not officials of the Government of South Sudan. They work for international organizations and there was no justifiable reason for the rebels to kidnap them, apart from the fact that they are Dinka. Since targeting UN workers based on ethnicity is a violation of international laws, the UN must condemn the rebels for targeting the two workers because they are Dinka.
The world can attest that the Government of South Sudan has been observing all humanitarian laws since July, 9, 2011. For instance, the Government of South Sudan has never entered into UN compounds in the country to arrest Riek Machar’s loyalists, who participated in the coup of December, 2013. This is because the Republic of South Sudan signed SOFA agreement with the UN in August, 2011.
What the UN should do, in order to punish the rebels for not observing humanitarian laws, is to indict the rebel commander, Gabriel Duop Lam, as a terrorist that must face international criminal law. Warlord Duop Lam is a well-known terrorist, who killed seven civil servants in cold-blood in Bor town in December, 2013. He began his rebellion by shooting two police officers because they happened to be Dinka.
The UN should not condone the kidnaping of international organizations’ workers by the rebels because of their ethnicity. The kidnapping of Mading Akueth and Jacob Alier should not go unpunished. Riek Machar’s terrorists commanded by warlord Duop Lam must be severely punished by the international community.
The author is an ambassador at the South Sudanese foreign ministry