South Sudanese academics call for exclusion of top rival leaders after conflict
Article
Comments (10)
email Email
print Print
pdfSave
separation
increase
decrease
separation
separation
facebook
myspace
twitter
buzzyahoo
June 21, 2015 (ADDIS ABABA) – A group of US-based South Sudanese
academics and professionals have called for exclusion of both
president Salva Kiir and armed opposition leader, Riek Machar, from a
transitional government of national unity and proposing that a
non-Nuer and non-Dinka leader should lead transitional period after a
final peace agreement is signed.
JPEG - 18.3 kb
Face to face talks between the South Sudanese government and rebels
resume in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, on 13 January 2014
(Photo: AFP/Carl De Souza)
In a public position paper entitled, “Defining a path for concerted
efforts to end the conflict in South Sudan,” the group of 11
individuals composed of South Sudanese professors and lectures in
different universities in the United States also want the interim
period to be between 3 to 5 years so that a new leader of transitional
government of national unity could have ample time to implement the
agreement.
They challenged the notion that there was need for both president Kiir
and former vice president Machar to take part in the top leadership of
transitional government of national unity in order to convince their
respective constituencies to stop the war, arguing that only without
the two leaders can formation of interim government become feasible.
“Simply put, the formation of the interim government is only feasible
by excluding Gen. Salva Kiir Mayardit and Dr. Riek Machar Teny from
being part of it,” the group declared in a jointly signed position
paper extended to Sudan Tribune on Friday.
“In fact, in the interest of enhancing the process of national
forgiveness, reconciliation, and healing, it may be prudent that the
other 62 ethnic groups that do not represent the two warring SPLM
leaders provide the leadership of the interim government,” they said.
The group is headed by Dr. Amir Idris: Professor, Fordham University
and their membership include Dr. Scopas S. Poggo: Associate Professor,
Ohio State University; Dr. Henry Lejukole: Research Scientist, NewLink
Genetics Corp; Dr. Sam Laki: Professor, Central State University,
Wilberforce OH; Dr. Jane Kani Edward: Clinical Assistant Professor and
Director of African Immigration Research, Fordham University; Dr.
Augustine Lado: Professor, Clark University; Mr. Benaiah N. Duku:
Program Officer, ECDC Inc. (National Refugee Resettlement Agency); Ms.
Sarah Cleto Rial: Program Director, My Sisters Keeper, Boston MA; Dr.
Joseph Agolory: Researcher; Dr. Utem Kamin Watba: Former Dean of
Business and Technology, Prairie State College; and Dr. Hillary
Elonai: Retired Pediatrician.
The position paper also called on the African Union’s (AU) Commission
of Inquiry to release the report on atrocities committed by the two
warring parties in the conflict so as to hold them accountable.
They said although it was necessary for the two top rival leaders to
be used “in the short run” in order to bring peace by signing a final
peace agreement before they can step down, the group however
complained that the “peace negotiation process has so far consumed too
much effort, time, and financial resources trying to cobble together
the restoration of the status quo ante in South Sudan.”
The group however said there was need to address the fundamental root
causes of the conflict which they said started within the SPLM and
developed to a national crisis and criticized the Intergovernmental
Authority on Development (IGAD) for its recent proposal which they
said only divided power between SPLM factions.
“What started as an internal SPLM conflict in South Sudan has become a
major and protracted national crisis that threatens the very existence
of the young nation…The root causes of the conflict must be addressed
to ensure that a sustainable peace and progress is attained in South
Sudan,” they also wrote.
They also called for an all-inclusive political dialogue so as to
bring about a peacefully negotiated and acceptable settlement to the
crisis in South Sudan, which they said should be “in the interest of
the entire nation rather than some narrow ethnic, regional, or
partisan interest.”
“To this end, every effort must be made to identify the diverse
interest groups or stakeholders such as organized political forces,
church leaders, community organizations or associations, women and
youth groups, etc., and engage as many of these as possible both
within and without South Sudan, to ensure that their voices are heard
in Addis Ababa,” they further proposed.
The paper also stressed the need to enforce the cessation of
hostilities agreement between the warring parties by all means
including arms embargo on the belligerent forces as well as targeted
sanctions such as freezing of personal assets, saying the sanctions
should be imposed in collaboration with neighboring countries.
The group also proposed for building of a unified national army for
South Sudan that is of equitable size, diverse, physically fit and
better trained to defend the security of the nation which process
should be done during the transitional period.
“A federal system of government should be established in the
constitution and the relationship between the federal, states and
local government should be clearly defined in the constitution. The
permanent constitution should ultimately be passed by the people in a
national referendum,” their paper further reads.
They also said peace could be attained in South Sudan “sooner than
later” when the US government chooses to play a central role in the
peace process like it pushed for the signing of the Comprehensive
Peace Agreement (CPA) in 2005 between SPLM/SPLA and Sudanese
government.
They concluded by assuring that if their proposal was put into
practice the conflict would end and peace and stability would reign in
the young nation.
(ST)
Comments on the Sudan Tribune website must abide by the following
rules. Contravention of these rules will lead to the user losing their
Sudan Tribune account with immediate effect.
- No inciting violence
- No inappropriate or offensive language
- No racism, tribalism or sectarianism
- No inappropriate or derogatory remarks
- No deviation from the topic of the article
- No advertising, spamming or links
- No incomprehensible comments
Due to the unprecedented amount of racist and offensive language on
the site, Sudan Tribune tries to vet all comments on the site.
There is now also a limit of 400 words per comment. If you want to
express yourself in more detail than this allows, please e-mail your
comment as an article to [email protected]
Kind regards,
The Sudan Tribune editorial team.
22 June 01:52, by jur_likang_a_ likan’g
I hope IGAD in particular and the world community in general
should heed this well thought peace framework in order for people of
South Sudan bring about peace, security and freedom for ever.
repondre message
22 June 05:23, by Marco A. Wek
Where will it work when that conditon was not given in a fifty
years old war between North and South Sudan? Who told Bashir and late
John Garang that they should step aside in order forpeace to come? Who
said during South-North war, Arabs and Dinka should not be leaders
during the CPA iterim period? This is not going to work belief me.
None of the two you mentioned will back down to this request .
repondre message
22 June 05:35, by Marco A. Wek
If we want peace in South Sudan, people need to come up with
ideas that has flesh in them. I wish your idea would work but knowing
what I know,nobody will even consider it topic if IGAD was to bring it
up because they will know it before they bring that up, it is a dead
idea. Excluding two people is one thing but excluding two tribes in
their entirty is for sure not going to ring well my
repondre message
22 June 05:47, by Marco A. Wek
US South Sudanes propessionals. This remind me about the
story of rats who were bothered by the attacks of their enemy, the
cats and one of them came up with briliant idea of tying a bell on
cat’s neck so as to alert them when it is coming so that they would
take cover. Very good idea, they said. Who will put the bell on cat’s
neck?
repondre message
22 June 05:59, by Marco A. Wek
All were quiet because, it was easy said but when it
came to excution, nobody wants to take the lead knowing what the cat
will do and after some random talking and silence, all walked away
murmuring and that was the end of that good idea until today. Come up
with something your hearts and your knowledge of how things work in
our continent will tell you, yes this idea might work.
repondre message
22 June 06:11, by Akol Liai Mager
Well, the distance between the current conflict in
South Sudan with that in Old Sudan is just like that from Earth to
Mars. South Sudan’s conflict is between the two rivals whom one wants
to retain the power and the other wants to snatch it by force. The one
of Old Sudan was between Marginalised people and sectarian forces,
Africans and Arabs, Muslims and non-Muslims.
repondre message
22 June 06:22, by denng
Much respect to you mr. marco, i too agree with
this idea but reality is different.Sorry but these professors are
dreamers.You have to posses leverage to get what you want.The sad part
is all the opposition parties are regional based and therefore without
the SPLM, no party unifies southerners. we split the country up 3
ways, Equatoria never liked this union anyways and Nuers are better
off alone.
repondre message
22 June 06:53, by dinkdong
I applauded the idea because Kiir and Riek are bunch of losers.
repondre message
22 June 07:53, by Panda Odhie
That idea is the death idea,from the so called Drs and Professors
repondre message
22 June 07:58, by Eastern
Dear Academics,
The problems bedeveling South Sudan is NOT ENTIRLY ACADEMIC in
nature! The military junta does not have respect for those who are
well schooled. My brothers and sisters, your quest for peace down that
avenue would come to no fruition; another futile attempt!
repondre message
--
To post to this group, send email to [email protected]
To unsubscribe from this group, send email to
[email protected]
Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/d/forum/southsudankob
View this message at
https://groups.google.com/d/msg/southsudankob/topic-id/message-id
For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout
---
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups
"South Sudan Info - The Kob" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email
to [email protected].
To post to this group, send email to [email protected].
Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/SouthSudanKob.
To view this discussion on the web visit
https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/SouthSudanKob/CAJb14ooQbDnDy6UyE-4ZuGRJn6jTOsMwjGo_WJmXxkZK6C%3DzKQ%40mail.gmail.com.
For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
