Southern
Sudanese Should Denounce Any South-on-South Violence
By Dau Reng, USA
MAY 24/2010, SSN;
Unequivocally and without reservation, each and every true South Sudan
nationalist should condemn any action by anyone that works to weaken our
march to the promised land in a few months. There must be no compromise
on this issue.
Like most, I am
totally disturbed by the developments that are happening following one
of South Sudan’s greatest sons latest lost of Jongolei state
gubernatorial elections. The question as to whether or not the elections
were rigged in Sudan in general or in South Sudan in particular is not
of my concern at this moment. Why? Because their fairness nor their
unfairness should not be allowed to interfere with the implementation of
the final protocol of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement, Machakos
Protocol. As far as I am concerned, we will resolve our internal
contradictions in a brotherly manner beginning next year in our new
home, independent South Sudan.
Principally, I am a
true democrat at heart. On the surface you would find the above
statement contradictory with this principle but there is a saying that
goes that spilled milk can not be recovered. This is the case with our
recent elections. The elections have been done and winners declared.
Now, what options do we have beside accommodating those who have a
reasonable case and the re-run of the elections?
There is no way we
can have the elections over again in this interim period unless one
wants to compromise our referendum for petty elections. I support the
result of the recent elections for many reasons regardless of
irregularities in their general conduct. I can not confirm nor reject
allegations of rigging. In fact, I would not even be surprised if I were
told that ten percent of the voters in the recent elections were ghost
voters (dead people).
However, our
internal elections problems must never supersede our long awaited quest
for complete liberation. This is best articulated by the caretaker
governor of Lakes State, uncle Telar Ring, that "failure by either
party to conduct on time the right of Southerners to exercise their
right to self determination as stipulated in the CPA, will without doubt
lead this country to unavoidable, unnecessary and another catastrophic
consequences which this country can not afford."
Additionally, in a
democracy a leader can not be the one to agitate a situation but rather
the one to facilitate it. So how do we explain the fact that some of our
leaders who were supposedly running as independent candidates due to
their constituency wishes turn around and violently revolt without the
approval of the very people they claimed to have given them the mandate
to run as independent candidates?
Dear Southerner
Sudanese, we can not afford to solve our internal contradictions at this
moment in time. There are many of them but we must give priority to the
up coming independence day, the referendum day. If we were able to
endure over a century of oppression, repression, exploitation and
marginalization from both the colonial administration and the
pseudo-Arab colonialist of the Sudan, then what prevents us from
enduring suffering in the hands of our own from South Sudan in such a
short time?
Common sense would
tell us that it is understandable to suffer at the hands of your enemy
than at the hands of your friend but common sense is wrong in this case
as it was wrong when it was thought that the world was flat centuries
ago.
I have witnessed
with my own eyes my heroes, ordinary people’s movement warriors, SPLA
soldiers struggling to cloth themselves and feed their families in
cities across South Sudan today and yet I can never support them if they
were to choose violent means to seek their rightful peace dividends from
our young government when it is evident that such an action will only be
in the best interest of our people’s enemy.
I am the type that
do not like to beat a dead horse (easy targets) and this is why I do not
like to focus on personalities but on general principles. But sometimes
it requires one to beat the dead horse so that the live one can listen
and do the right thing. I hope that all those who have crossed the line
will comeback soon in the name of South Sudan and in the memory of all
the heroic martyrs of our liberation struggle, their orphans and their
widows. Forceful confrontation should not be the means by which to end
any standoff among ourselves. I hope everything gets resolved very
quickly.
I am personally
appreciative of the level of wisdom that our president, and vice
president, president and vice president of the Government of South Sudan
have adopted in dealing with the unfolding evens in Jongolei state and
their well handling of the elections’ results of the Central Equatoria,
Unity and Northern Bahr el Ghazal states.
I find solace in
words of encouragement from remarks like those made in the speech by the
people’s army, SPLA Chief of General Staff, uncle Lt. Gen. James Hoth on
the 27th anniversary of the ignition of the torches of
freedom struggle that “the SPLA of today is not the SPLA of yesterday.
We are now a modern army that is capable of protecting the Constitution
of Southern Sudan, CPA and territorial integrity and sovereignty of this
great region. We are determined to do so and we will stand on guard in
the execution of this role at any cost!”
I would also urge
those of us who are in the Diaspora to be cognizant of the circumstances
surrounding events in the Sudan before we condemn or give support to
events taking place on the ground. For one, we can not compare elections
in the “developed” counties with those of underdeveloped country like
South Sudan. South Sudan is a very young nation in which many of us have
never voted in any election in our live time except in the recent
elections. In such a situation irregularities should be expected. In the
rural areas of South Sudan for example the old and illiterate were
asking and looking for any candidate with a star (SPLM) beside their
name on the ballot to cast their vote for and when it was not there they
would refuse to cast their vote. This illustrates that democracy in of
itself is not fair otherwise a vote of a knowledgeable voter would not
have the same weight as that of a person who is just voting because he
or she can vote.
I am therefore,
urging those of us who want to support by words or deeds any violent
move made by any person because of personal relationship with such a
person and or because of any personal disappointment with the conduct
of our affairs over the last five years to stop such a support. These
words will fall on deaf hears but they are better said than kept. We
must never allow history to repeat itself in this final hour. Even
though I was less than 10 years old in 1991 during the split in the
people’s movement I still remember very well being at the epicenter of
it and understood how much pain it caused us all regardless of which
side one was on.
To me the 2010
elections were just a warm up exercise but also a necessary step in
making sure that referendum is carried out on time (we will deal with
border, debt, and other unresolved issues anytime now or later).
Furthermore, we will
have many more elections after our independence in which there will be
no tolerance and or excuse for any systematic irregularities. In fact,
an election can be held any hour after our independence because the
current interim constitution shall be void until a new one is ratified
by our independent nation’s legislative assemblies (at least by both
states and Juba parliaments).
In summery, I am
glad that we have rightfully and unanimous rebuked actions of the
“renegade” general and the like. We should continue to do so to anyone
who takes away our attention from the focal point, the on time conduct
of our self-determination referendum which will rightfully lead to a
dignified solution to the North-South Sudan problem, peaceful
separation.
A lot of thanks to
the people of Unity, Central Equatoria and Northern Bahr el Ghazal
States for their commitment to our greater cause, independence. This is
not to minimize the exemplary behavior of those of other seven South
Sudan states who have conducted themselves in a very civilized way
during these elections.
God bless South
Sudan and the Marginalized people of the Sudan. Rest in peace the
victims of our recent infighting around Doleib hills.
Dau Reng is
concern Sudanese reachable at
daudereng@gmail.com
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