---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: "John Ashworth" <[email protected]>
Date: 8 Jul 2013 19:01
Subject: [sudan-john-ashworth] 'A letter of concern to President Salva Kiir
and the Government of South Sudan'
To: "Group" <[email protected]>
While I respect the 'Friends of South Sudan' who have written this
missive, I cannot help but be struck by how much criticism of South
Sudan, even by those who should know better, fails even to mention the
national reconciliation process which has been set in train by both
the President and Vice President of South Sudan. I also find it ironic
that this letter is released on 8th July 2013, the day when the
national reconciliation process begins with a nationwide day of
prayer, and yet the letter makes no mention either of the prayer or
the process. 'Friends of South Sudan' might do well to devote a little
more of their time, energy and visibility to supporting the people of
South Sudan as they attempt to deal with the very problems mentioned
in the letter.
John
BEGIN
A letter of concern to President Salva Kiir and the Government of
South Sudan, from several long-time friends of South Sudan (public
release July 8, 2013):
Mr. Roger Winter
Mr. Eric Reeves
Mr. John Prendergast
Mr. Ted Dagne
Washington, D.C. June 24, 2013
USA
His Excellency Salva Kiir Mayardit,
President of the Republic of South Sudan
Office of the President
Juba, South Sudan
Dear President Kiir:
We write to you, individually and collectively, as friends of South
Sudan—longstanding friends who have committed more than two decades of
our lives to the great cause of a just peace for the people of South
Sudan. We have lobbied government officials, student organizations,
media and nongovernmental groups to build a strong constituency for
South Sudan in the United States. We have done our best to highlight
the suffering of the people of South Sudan during the long civil war,
and to offer our perspectives on the difficult road to completing a
true peace.
Some of us have communicated our concerns with you individually and
confidentially in the past, always as friends. At this moment, our
friendship dictates that we express our concerns about the
increasingly perilous fate of South Sudan. From our various vantages,
we have all come to conclude that without significant changes and
reform, your country may slide toward instability, conflict and a
protracted governance crisis. As friends, it is our responsibility to
express our serious concerns directly and to offer constructive
suggestions for the way forward.
We must first state that over the past several years—but the last six
months in particular—South Sudan government security forces have
engaged in a campaign of violence again civilians simply because they
belonged to a different ethnic group or they are viewed as opponents
of the current government.
This violence is shocking and has included rape, murder, theft, and
destruction of property. We are particularly concerned about the
evidence emerging of abuses by government forces in Jonglei. These
terrible crimes occur because government forces believe they have the
power to act with impunity.
We joined you in your fight against these very abuses by the Khartoum
regime for many years. We cannot turn a blind eye when yesterday's
victims become today's perpetrators. We were deeply encouraged by the
statement by President Kiir on May 17, 2013:
It is a sad day for South Sudan to see and receive reports about
abuses carried out by ill-disciplined elements of our own armed
forces. Many of our comrades fought and died to achieve freedom and
justice for our people. It is important that we honor that sacrifice.
At the same time, these atrocities are not isolated incidents but
among many deliberate measures taken by soldiers on the instruction of
senior commanders and government officials. Some may argue that the
failure here lies in the chain of command, but the evidence makes
clear that these orders are indeed coming from senior commanders. We
urge you to take swift and decisive action against not only those who
carried out these heinous acts, but those who gave the orders.
And there must be justice. Crimes by government officials often go
unpunished. Many attacks against civilians, including the killing of
foreign businessmen, a teacher from Kenya, South Sudanese journalists,
and many others, have gone unpunished. We have authoritative reports
that government security forces have abused those who allow themselves
and their cars to be searched. Many people, including government
officials, have faced harassment and have been beaten up by security
forces. Again, no one has been held accountable. This inevitably
creates a climate of impunity.
There are also many South Sudanese and some foreign nationals
languishing in prison, a large number of them facing death sentences.
Many of these did not receive a fair trial because the justice system
is riddled with incompetence. We strongly urge that the government
immediately issue a moratorium on all executions until these cases are
reviewed and those convicted given a fair and transparent trial. We
further urge you to abolish the death penalty in South Sudan, as more
and more countries are doing.
None of this will happen unless the Government of the Republic of
South Sudan engages in profound reform. After almost nine years of
self-rule, the government is still failing to meet the basic needs of
its people. Despite claims that vast sums have been expended on
investment in infrastructure, there is very little to show in the way
of roads, medical services, and education for millions of South
Sudanese who greeted the prospect of independence with eagerness and
hope.
Those who have benefitted—who have become wealthy by misappropriating
government funds—have often sent their families outside South Sudan,
their children to private schools abroad, and have obtained the best
medical services available in the world. This occurs while ordinary
citizens who remain in South Sudan cannot afford even basic health
services or modest educations for their children.
Corruption is at the heart of the many problems facing South Sudan.
In a remarkably short period of time, the name of your country has
become synonymous with corruption. As President Kiir declared in a
letter to his ministers and senior officials:
The people of South Sudan and the international community are alarmed
at the level of corruption in South Sudan. Many people in South Sudan
are suffering, yet government officials seem to care only about
themselves.
And yet to date, not a single government official has been tried on
corruption charges. Again, the absence of justice encourages a
climate of impunity, and makes halting corruption all the more
difficult. This is the light in which we have examined the findings
of the World Bank, which after a long investigation presented to the
Ministry of Justice—almost a year ago—presents clear evidence of
massive corruption. And yet the Ministry of Justice has not yet
prosecuted a single individual.
The Office of the President in the past several months has ordered two
important investigations and has suspended senior officials, including
two Federal Ministers, from office pending the completion of the
investigation. Widespread outrage at the extraordinary levels of
corruption and at those who are benefitting from that corruption is
very high and continues to grow. This is the source of potentially
serious civil unrest, just as it was in the Middle East and North
Africa over the past few years.
OUR RECOMMENDATIONS
These problems cannot be resolved overnight, but an immediate
commitment can be made to re-shape what now seems a dangerous and
crisis-filled future for South Sudan.
• The Ministry of Justice must be revamped and key personnel who
have enabled corruption and crimes against civilians to go unpunished
must be removed.
• All senior army officials should be put on notice that attacks on
civilians are completely unacceptable and will be severely punished up
the entire chain of command.
• Existing alleged human rights abuses should be fully investigated
and prosecuted.
• Clear oil infrastructure priorities should be set, especially now
in light of a financial picture that is extremely grim. The fact that
there are no refineries in the South, no oil storage facilities, and
nothing in the way of progress towards a southern oil export route
reflects an absence of planning and has left oil revenues at the mercy
of the National Congress Party regime. As evidence from the past two
years has made clear, the regime in Khartoum is perfectly willing to
engage in duplicitous negotiations, commit to agreements in bad faith,
and simply renege on agreements whenever it wishes, even if it
punishes its own failing economy. All this could have been predicted
from past behavior, and must certainly guide thinking going forward.
• Schools, medical services, clean water, and roads must top the
list of priorities of internal spending. Until the people of South
Sudan have ready access to education and health services—services that
will need a transport infrastructure—they will be exceedingly
vulnerable to disease, and will have little chance to contribute to a
modern economy. And without a functional agricultural sector, South
Sudan will always be dependent on others.
• South Sudan confronts serious external security threats, and will
almost certainly do so as long as the current regime controls Sudan.
Nevertheless, the army must begin to make plans to be trimmed
substantially, made more efficient, and receive training in
international human rights law. Security is paramount, but that
security will be squandered if the army does not become more
responsive to the needs of its people and to its broader obligations
to protect the rights of civilian.
The demands here are great, we well understand. But unless you begin
to address them now, the tasks will only grow greater. Again, as
friends of South Sudan, we urge you to confront these challenges on an
urgent basis, and with all possible resolve.
Sincerely,
Roger Winter, Eric Reeves, John Prendergast, and Ted Dagne
Friends of South Sudan
CC: The Honorable Riek Machar Teny, Vice President
The Honorable James Wani Igga, Speaker
END
______________________
John Ashworth
Sudan, South Sudan Advisor
[email protected]
+254 725 926 297 (Kenya mobile)
+211 919 695 362 (South Sudan mobile)
+27 79 832 8834 (South Africa mobile)
+44 750 304 1790 (UK/international)
+88 216 4334 0735 (Thuraya satphone)
PO Box 52002 - 00200, Nairobi, Kenya
This is a personal e-mail address and the contents do not necessarily
reflect the views of any organisation
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