It’s Time for A Nonviolent Revolution in South Sudan to remove all
SPLM/A Leaders!
May. 03 Featured, Uncategorized 3 comments
By: Kuir ë Garang, CANADA, MAY/03/2017, SSN;
South Sudan has arrived at a point where SOMETHING HAS TO HAPPEN But
what that something shouldn’t be, is VIOLENT. Changing governments
through violence has never bred any peaceful, inclusive and democratic
governance. Violent removal of leaders leaves behind bottled-up
bitterness, which usually results in another violent removal.
But we all agree that the government in Juba is not only a failure,
but also a destructive, myopic force for any peaceful coexistence of
South Sudanese.
While I believe South Sudanese leaders have committed unspeakable and
horrendous atrocities, I don’t necessarily see them as bad people.
They are just horrible quasi-politicians, who failed to transition
from a militarized tradition to a purely, democratized political
system.
Additionally, I don’t see them necessarily, contrary to how Alex de
Waal’s perceives them, as people who maliciously went out of their way
to consciously design a destructive system. Disorganized and jittery
of Khartoum’s attitude toward the South, and lacking creative
leadership capacities, South Sudanese leaders got lost in the
complexities of state-building.
SPLM leaders had no ideological base and creative internal avenues to
solve their problems. Lack of leadership, tribalized politics and the
general desire to be powerful and wealthy, destroyed South Sudanese
leaders.
Instead of focusing on solving their internal political problems, they
resorted to building their tribo-military bases to defend themselves
against their imagined and real politico-military enemies. This helped
create a system in which what politicians and military leaders did was
to compete in a survivalist system.
It was about survival. And in a survivalist system, what you need are
people you can trust and people who support you no matter what. Sadly,
in South Sudan, these people turn out to be one’s fellow tribesmen.
Since these leaders have tribalized the military and politics in a
survivalist system, it’ll be almost impossible for them to be the ones
to make South Sudan a peaceful environment. They have to be forced out
as they’ll not leave on their own accord. Nonviolent defiance is the
only way to force these leaders to change.
In 2008, it had to take the intervention of elder statesmen like
Joseph Lagu and Abel Alier to avert the crisis. In march of 2013,
these leaders failed to compromise their differences so they postponed
the problem. In December of 2013, instead of resolving their
differences, they resorted to public ridiculing of themselves.
There was no reason why these leaders couldn’t reconcile their
differences. Problem-solving is what leadership is about. What John
Garang did in Rumbek in 2004 could have been a superb example.
Sometimes the leader has to eat a humble pie to avert a crisis.
December 15 crisis was a result of lack of internal mechanism within
SPLM to solve problems. This is the problem that continues to break
South Sudan apart, and will continue to do so.
But once given a golden opportunity through the Agreement for the
Resolution of Conflict in South Sudan (ARCISS) in 2015, they
shamefully squandered the only chance for a peaceful resolution of the
conflict in July of 2016. Greed, incompetence and lack of strategic
vision continues to plague South Sudanese leadership.
In the light of this, it’s time for South Sudanese from all walks of
life and from all tribes in all towns and villages in South Sudan to
shout ‘ENOUGH IS ENOUGH.’ The war has to end!
But the war will NEVER end as long as SPLM is in charge. The current
leaders need to be forced out. However, they can’t be forced out
violently. They need to be forced out peacefully.
Students, women, youth, wounded veterans, civil servants, shopkeepers,
religious leaders, police, prison wardens, need to occupy government
offices and Dr. John Garang’s mausoleum until Juba accept to bring
peace. Villages and towns should refuse to fight for any rebel groups.
SPLM forces should refuse to fight for leaders who don’t care about
anyone; those who have brought the country to its knees.
It’s time for the war to stop; but it’ll not stop as long as we
continue to support these leaders. We praise these leaders when they
brought the very conditions that are now killing civilians.
In 12 years, all that SPLM and SPLA have brought South Sudanese is
misery. SPLM is too deformed to be reformed, to use John Garang’s
words.
It’s time for Juba to be led by fresh and younger eyes. SPLA and SPLM
have done their jobs. It’s time for the names of the mighty two to be
archived as someone once suggested. President Kiir and senior military
leaders need to be replaced by younger, non-tribal military leaders.
You can tell me “good luck with that!” but that’s the necessary
reality: they have to go!
There’s nothing left for SPLM leaders to bring to South Sudanese
accept destruction, misery and destitution. The people of South Sudan
are more powerful than a few politicians. Take your country back! It’s
time for a South Sudanese revolution!
Kuir ë Garang is a South Sudanese author living in Canada. For
contact, visit www.kuirthiy.com
<< Older
Newer >>
3 Comments
Nikalongo
May 5, 2017 at 12:44 pm
You never disappoint your audience, do you? Until all unanimously
say no to the Kiir’s led regime in Juba and their Riek’s counterpart
in Pagak, there will be no peace. The Jieng, Naath and their
supporters in between shouldn’t allow themselves be kept hostage to
the needs and greed of thieves and murderers.
Nikalongo
Reply
Eastern
May 5, 2017 at 5:45 pm
Dr. Machar has been shipped out of South Sudan (don’t ask me
by who); he’s no longer in Pagak. Kiir is no longer in full charge of
command and control of the forces, especially after the emergence of
the Mathiang Anyoors in the politico-military cauldron.
Kuir e Garang is calling for mass action but the masses have
been weakened by hunger following a lavish party (2005-2013) making
them prone to “defections” and returning to the status quo. Mass
action, following the other week’s deployments in the streets of Juba
will remain a pipe dream.
Cry the beloved country!
Reply
Concerned
May 5, 2017 at 6:46 pm
But both of you guys, Nikanlongo and the author (Kuir), seem to
have forgotten a couple of things: that this a government that is
known to ruthlessly kill its own civilians (voters) in door to door
searches on almost daily basis, and also that this is same government
that doesn’t understand they language you are calling for…
Either you are being terribly dishonest or are out of your minds
by calling out South Sudanese to go out on streets so that they are
slaughtered in mass helplessly by a government which you know is
totally mad and out of control! I can’t be kind about this, but the
two of you are making me lose my respect for you here…
--
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 https://groups.google.com/group/SouthSudanKob.
To view this discussion on the web visit
https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/SouthSudanKob/CAJb14op2q4J_P8ti_p81EcuE3E15A1WSbXU6R%2B8-grVSw-BqsA%40mail.gmail.com.
For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
