High Time the Catholic Church dissociate itself from Kiir BY: Tongun Lo Loyoung, JUBA
DEC. 5/2011, SSN; President Kiir is rapidly losing not just his political legitimacy of a democratically elected leader of an aspiring democratic country, but also his moral and spiritual credibility. Politically, it is increasingly visible that the president has a liking for authoritarianism, and is quickly transforming himself into a brutal dictator who in his own words “will not tolerate unrest in this country.” The president even prophetically urged South Sudanese to refrain from violence even when “insulted!” As much as the president must be congratulated for speaking out against violence, his choices of words carry an aura of tyranny. Further, I don’t think the president is the right person to deliver such a moral message, and certainly not in a church or worship setting as was the case when he delivered his address in the recent religious gathering in Yei. The Church must stop allowing him to speak in the pulpit. Is it credible for the president to refute violence between South Sudanese while he allows his security police to arbitrarily arrest, detain, and torture those who speak out their minds against his policies? Did not the president order the arrest of the two journalists, who wrote an article that criticized the recent marriage of his daughter, under the pretext that what they wrote was defamation, and therefore, an insult to the president? How can then the president preach to me to resist violent retaliation when I am insulted, while he takes the law into his hands when he is “defamed?” Is this not hypocrisy? How can you preach what you yourself do not practice? Why make me carry a burden that you yourself will not lift a finger to carry? Where does this violence that we are supposed to resist, and which in any case will not be tolerated by the president come from? What are the underlying causes of this violence? Is it not mainly people expressing their grievances, because of nepotism and unqualified people functioning as public servants, and corruption which the president and his government are either oblivious to, or complicit in? What about the unfulfilled promises of service delivery in 100 days, the failure of which has often been ascribed to the government being an infant and is only three months old? How long will the government be three months old, indefinitely? Why make promises you know you are too young to fulfill? The government cannot deliver services in 100 days when it failed to do so in the past six years. Not only the president’s political legitimacy is questionable, the president’s moral and spiritual credibility is also rapidly losing ground. Going to church on regular basis must be accompanied by acts of justice and righteousness, otherwise one risks becoming a hypocrite, which according to the scripture carries heavier punishment than being an outright wicked person and unbeliever. Mr. President needs to take a retreat to conduct a sincere self-examination, and rediscover the moral and spiritual credibility that he was once known for over the years. The years when the president feared God sincerely as visibly translated in his actions, such as serving God as an altar boy, and working hard to promote the successful peace and reconciliation process between Dinka and Nuer communities that took place in the 1997. However, at the present it is high time the Catholic Church dissociates itself from Kiir in order not to risk losing its moral credibility in the eyes of South Sudanese since the president is seen not to practice what he preaches. The Church must also be careful not to allow its platform to be used for political campaigns in general, particularly when such political campaigns are seen to be lacking in integrity and are mere empty promises, otherwise the church risks tarnishing its image and be seen as a partner in political deception of the faithful. That said, I think South Sudanese also need to support the government by managing their expectations and exercising patience. Service provision will ultimately arrive. The rampant corruption will not last forever. But Kiir needs to take concrete steps toward that direction. If the president fears only God as he said in his last address, then we need to see some tangible policy changes that are concretely felt on the ground in terms of:- - the battle against corruption; - promotion of multiparty system of governance; - urgently convening a national political dialogue to address some the political differences with the opposition parties, especially as we head for the permanent constitution making process to begin in January; - release of political prisoners, including Peter Sule and others; - resolution of remaining CPA outstanding issues, such as Abyei; - consolidating South Sudan borders and security; - robust security sector reform; - establishment of strong rule of law and impartial law enforcement that complies with the universal standards of human rights, including safeguarding the freedom of speech. END Written by Tongun Lo Loyuong.; The author of this article resides in Juba, and may be contacted at [email protected] -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "South Sudan Info - The Kob" 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/SouthSudanKob?hl=en.
