The Conspiracy behind South Sudanese Mysterious peace Talks
4 min readBy Mapuor Malual Manguen
It is just under seven months now since war broke out in South Sudan. But ever since then, everyone has been calling for peace. These calls are made in churches, public rallies, in songs, and in the press, but the opposite has continued to take its toll; the war raged on.
The retired Catholic Archbishop of Torit Diocese, Emeritus Paride Taban told the BBC’s focus on Africa at the eve of the 3rd Independence Anniversary of South Sudan, that both President Salva Kiir Mayardit and rebel leader Dr. Riek Machar have often called for “peace, peace, peace” that never been forthcoming. Yet, the two leaders are the principals of SPLM/A factions that are involved in ongoing civil conflicts. Every other South Sudanese whether neutral, government or rebel supporter is equally wondering as to why leaders declare peace in public while their field commanders continued to engage in devastating war.
And this is what begs the question of who calls the short in the hierarchy of rebels and government. Are the principals unable to control their field commanders? Is there presence of foreign underhand groups that could be pulling strings from behind so that they achieve their economic or national interest at the expense of dear lives of South Sudanese? Can our leaders be patriotic enough to say no to this conspiracy? Are protagonists of this war students of anarchy and warmongering philosophy? Now that the country has been reduced to shambles where cities and towns had been vandalized, thousands killed or maimed; where over a million are displaced and social fabrics torn apart, who is then a winner?
In my view, the winner in this South Sudan’s barbaric war is our former mother country, the republic of Sudan whose leaders have preached a stereotypical argument that “South Sudanese cannot govern themselves” to be granted an independent state. Another winner is the African Union (AU) that was reluctant to support referendum for self-determination of the people of South Sudan. Jean Ping, the former AU Commission Chairman told Radio France International in an interview in 2010 and I quote, “Will the independence of Southern Sudan not lead other players in Darfur and in other places, which are currently not asking for independence, to seek independence as Southern Sudan will have done? We have a feeling that we are sitting on a powder keg,” end quote.
It should be note that Africa is home to many secessionist groups that may seek to replicate the South Sudanese experience and work for self determination. This scenario is what worried regional powers with minorities in their own countries.
It is against this backdrop that African leaders could be part of conspiring cycle to fail South Sudan so that they justify their argument and to warn those African secessionists not to repeat what South Sudan did when they separated from Sudan only to butcher themselves two years later.
The conspiracy to fail South Sudan is being manifested in the region through IGAD member countries. The approach that IGAD countries are taking in South Sudan civil war is intended to snail-move the peace process as conflicts drag on and for warring parties to get time to mobilize their forces in terms of recruitment, training and equipment to be capable and lunch more devastating war.
As Uganda, a member IGAD country has firmly weighed its support behind South Sudan government, the other member countries such as Sudan, Kenya and Ethiopia seemed to be sympathizers of rebels. The rebels have established their offices in Nairobi and Addis Ababa. They have made these member countries including Sudan, Ethiopia and Kenya as safe haven for recruiting their forces and stage their strategies to bring down government of South Sudan. In theory, IGAD forfeits its good faith and credibility just because of their individual economic and political interests in South Sudan. And the mysterious South Sudanese peace talks sponsored and hosted by the same IGAD appears more complicated and non ending.
The author is journalist, blogger, political and social affairs commentator based in Juba. He can be reached at mapuormalual@yahoo.com
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