Why it's difficult to mobilize People against South Sudan Occupation BY: Laku Modi Tombe, CANADA
MAY 31/2011, SSN; Some people have started to encourage the government of South Sudan under the leadership of president Salva Kiir to declare war against occupation of Abyei which was captured by and is still under the control of Sudan armed forces since May 23, 2011, on the pretext that the action of National Congress Party (NCP) had violated Sudan’s comprehensive peace (CPA), and also fuelled internal rebellions in some parts of South Sudan, without examining all the factors that account for this political fiasco. To mobilize South Sudanese to fight another war on these mentioned above two claims, will be a difficult task for the administrators in Juba to do given the multiple problems South Sudanese are facing today. First, South Sudan independence which Southerners had overwhelmingly voted for during referendum, has been hijacked by some few tribal elites in Juba before it has been declared officially by the international community thereby producing elite government as opposed to people’s government. These elites brainwashed their tribes that they were the ones who fought and died in big numbers than the rest of other southerners and have right to dominate and monopolize government of South Sudan with impunity. During their reign of terror of the six years interim period these tribal elites thought war between South Sudan and north Sudan was over to an extent that our heroes and outstanding army general commanders such as Mobutu Murmur was jailed for nearly three years without trial. The injustice done to him and the damage caused to his reputation on false allegations imposed on him by the dictatorial regime in Juba were not accounted for. Recently, other upright army generals such as commanders Paulino Matip Nhial, Thomas Cirilo, Ismail Kony, and Augustine Jadala were revealed to be assassinated before or after South Sudan independence declaration in July 9, 2011. Majority of regular ordinary soldiers are underpaid and have not been earning their salaries on time. Second, Sudan’s People’s Liberation Movement/Party did abuse and destroy South Sudan sense of national unity. Presently, there is no sense of national unity in South Sudan. A sense of national unity can always be determined by the number of participations and recognitions of the members of states or regions that have joined the union of a given nation-states. Participation here means all regions/states that form a nation state must govern their states equally and respectfully while recognition implies all are parts of union deeds where their proposals, suggestions, or recommendations must be respected at least in their states even if it is not considered nationally. It is this kind of national unity that can oblige a person to die for his/her nation without regret as he/she knows his or her children will be taken care of by the nation-states. However, the unity we have in South Sudan is one between the oppressor and the oppressed; the rich and the poor; between those who have and those who don’t have; between land grabbers and land owners, between the rulers and the ruled, majority tribes and minority tribes. Not the unity of equals of one nation-state whether it is officially declared by the international community or not. Third, insecurity is too old in South Sudan. First started by the Lord Resistance Army Rebels of Uganda and then by the so-called militias. According to the ontology of tribalism in South, it is alright for the dominant majority tribes to own guns and rob people’s properties such as cattle and land, and it is prohibited for the other minor groups to own weapons even if they are to be murdered in big numbers by the majority ruling tribes. Some of the soldiers became robbers because of underpayment or no salary at all. They are using their weapons to earn a living. After all, it was SPLM who trained them that with their guns, they can obtain everything they need in life. Since the tycoons in Juba are using their positions to steal public monies to purchase houses abroad, the ordinary soldier uses his gun to buy bread for his children since this is how people survive where there’s no government. SPLM intentions to cheat even some of their generals like they do to civilians, have also escalated and worsen the old existing security crisis. Had SPLM not rig the last general election from its generals and commanders, security situation in the South wouldn’t have been terrible like this one. Fourth, the transitional interim constitution had exposed another ugly face of SPLM to the majority of South Sudanese. The constitution made the current president above the law. It deprived South Sudanese their dignity and honor. The constitution is not reflective and representative of South Sudan. It centered power in the hands of the few bullies to bully people. South Sudanese cannot be governed by the family constitution of President Salva Kiir and his cronies. How then can the masses be mobilized to fight and die for a country we have in South Sudan? Is it appropriate for Southerners to perish in order for Kiir to remain in power for life? Or is it good for people to face a frontline so that thieves in Juba keep stealing and sending their children abroad? There’s no justification for the war some people are advocating for. The crooks in Juba have no legitimacy to mobilize people for another war on the pretext of nationalism since their actions had greatly damaged South Sudan nationalism beyond repair. They must resign as they have lost their credibility as liberators before the public as they are seen as thieves. Let the cowards who started the war with the National Congress Party fight their war and leave the marginalized South Sudanese alone. We do not need SPLM to survive in South Sudan. In fact our real freedom will begin once SPLM collapsed completely in South Sudan. It is time for those who had been claiming over the past seven years that they were the ones who fought and died for South Sudanese revolution to fight the war they started with North Sudan. The same SPLA soldiers who forced people to vote for the current president must face the front line. General Isaac Mobutu Mamur was born and raised in a peaceful place full of friendly people. He deserved land of honey and milk to be called his territory and homeland, but not a war zone and prison which some people are trying to make his home and territory. We will get back our country which was hijacked by the tribal elites and return it to the masses. Once our country is back, all of its tenth states will join it under federal system of government to make it a federal state. The union of South Sudan will be cemented with equal distributions of schools, hospitals, roads, railway lines, and telecommunication etc. Each state will have the power to elect and remove their leaders. Each state will be part and parcel in participation and execution of laws governing their respective regions. Each state will be responsible and accountable for their economy and financial management. Each state will not wait for years to see that their hospital have medications from another man from heaven. In short each state will have matters of social, economic, and political powers in their hand. If we completed this program, then we can proudly say, we have created a nation of equals, bound by the same economic, social, political opportunities the new nation has produced. A nation where tribalism, nepotism, corruption is dead. A nation where thieves, robbers, land grabbers, natural resources looters, and other criminals have to be placed behind bars. A nation can defend its people’s dignity, honor, liberty, freedom, democracy, integrity and sovereignty, instead of selling these fundamental rights for a cheap price to others, the so-called invisible investors. In sum, I pity those who’re advocating for another war because this time defense for South Sudan independence is not a sufficient reason that can mobilize South Sudanese to fight for someone to abuse them again. We’re not worried with both National Congress Party and Sudan’s People’s Liberation Movement political failures in South Sudan. Our people are above the politics of these two parties. Lako Modi Tombe, Canada COMMENTS, PLEASE CLICK HERE Disclaimer: The views expressed above are solely those of the author(s) and do not represent those of the website. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "JFD info" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/jfdinfo?hl=en.
