South Sudan Disintegration: Who is to Blame?
By Clement Maring Samuel
The current people of South Sudan are not the former chiefs of 1947 who were deceived by the Arabs only with few coins, bicycles, radio transistor, bags of sugar to denounce the truth and betray their people; they are the modern generation of the 21st century who knows what is going on in the country and they can question, analyze and offer viable solutions. This generation will never be deceived by mere deceitful games of people who ploy the country and throw into the abyss.
Responding to the article dated 14/10/2017 by the Co-chairman of the JCE with the title: South Sudan at the verge of Disintegration. It says: “Revitalization of failed August 2015 Agreement on the conflict in South Sudan (ARCSS) by self-styled international and regional bodies with their allies and institutions in UN, EU, Troika, INF, World Bank are using AU and IGAD to deal the last catastrophic stroke of disintegration of the land and people of South Sudan” The article went further that “the negative and most dangerous impact of revitalization against peace and stability in South Sudan is a recipe for those calling for breakup of the country into three(3) poor independent nations e.g. Thomas Cirilo Swaka with his fellow Equatorians”. The question is: Who is responsible for this disintegration, and why? First of all, South Sudan is already very poor under the poor pieces of advice of JCE; the meagre resources available are looted by them. The JCE benefits where there is chaos in the country, and for this reason, they are resistant to peace and stability. It is noteworthy to mention that if this senseless war is not stopped, South Sudan will disintegrate. The JCE should not blame the Equatorians nor the international community and the regional bodies; they should shoulder responsibility. The JCE should stop misplacing irrelevant accusation on Equatorians as responsible for the breakup of the country, rather, they should look deeper into issues that could lead the country to disintegrate, and these issues are created by them. Among the issues is their imposed supremacy over others.
The foreseen disintegration of South Sudan will happen if the JCE keeps imposing their selfish will to people of South Sudanese as if they are their god parents. The Equatorians and members of the international community and the regional bodies did not advise president Kiir, Riek Machar and the G10 to wrangle for power in the SPLM house in 2013, but the sinister was exacerbated by JCE who should reap what they have sown. The regional bodies offered to mediate between the warring parties who failed to address their own problem within the country to short-lived the conflict but the JCE were fuelling it. They did not realize that their own misadvises could escalate the conflict to reach up to this far. Knowing that the regional and international communities have their own interests and goals in South Sudan’s conflict, Jieng council of Elders could have thought of the repercussions and advice the president to stop the spread of this meaningless war. The JCE have misused the term “self-styled” against the regional and international bodies, but it is rightly fit to describe them for arrogating upon them an advisory role to ill-advice the president to take measures that drag the country to violence.
What transpired in the 2008 party convention and 2012-2013 leadership rearrangement was a democratization of the SPLM party because SPLM as a political party is not a chiefdom of JCE where they want to see a change of leadership through royal heredity. Democratization within the party always paves way for progress, and changes of leadership are indicators of growth of democracy and a rejuvenation of ideology within the political party. This should not be held as a grudge against those who aspire to express their feelings for the political leadership of the party.
The Jieng Council of Elders is nursing consequences of what they planted since 2013 to current. Should they prevent the causes since then, this fear of disintegration would not have come. There have been voices across the globe calling for the leaders to end this senseless war, and the easiest means to bring stability into the country is by dialoguing with political opponents, but the JCE are defiant to such calls and close their ears and encourages the continuation of the war. It’s this deafness and parochial tendencies that will lead the country to disintegration, but should not be blamed on the regional bodies and the international community; neither to the citizens who are the victims of their mess. The regional bodies and the international community have their own games, and they have not done it on their own, but in unison with JCE. To put blame on them and fellow South Sudanese who are advocating for peace in the country is an enigma. Through their ill advices, the JCE have misled Gen. Paul Malong Awan to fall into abyss and now Paul Malong is paying the brunt of their misdeeds, and they are continuing to misadvise president Kiir to fall into an everlasting furnace.
The revitalization of the ARCSS is necessary and must come into force to end the suffering of the people of South Sudan who are unjustly paying the brunt as a result of intentional mistakes committed by unconcerned leaders who are back up by greedy tribal gurus. The citizens should not be bogged down by a failing national dialogue when they did not fight among themselves; they paying the consequences caused by the leaders’ insatiable appetite for power and resources. The only account citizens are held accountable is their role for voting into power irresponsible leaders who are unconcern of their suffering. Instead of paying their hard-won independence with services, they are dragged back to abject poverty and underdevelopment.
To prevent further disintegration of South Sudan, let the JCE be advice that the entire people of South Sudan want peace now. If the JCE wants war, then let the country be divided to give them legacy of wars. From the independence of Sudan through the independence of South Sudan to current is 61 years of lack of development in South Sudan, and this is because of instability. Why the JCE is taking South Sudan back to underdevelopment?
The author is a former Deputy Governor, currently an Independent Researcher, can be reached at [email protected]