Rebels Political Violence versus the State legitimate use of force in South Sudan.
4 min readRebels Political Violence versus the State legitimate use of force in South Sudan
By David Aoloch Bion
South Sudan became an independent state on July 9, 2011. The state is a human community that successfully claims monopoly of legitimate use of physical force in a given territory. The state is the public power machinery whose ultimate mandate is to protect people and their properties. The state has second mandate of giving citizens within its borders the right of political participation in the governance of the state. . The citizens are allowed to participate in the political process of governing of the state, be election, formulating of public policies, constitution writing. The citizens have the right of contesting for the highest political position in the state. , every citizen has the right to be the President of the Republic.
On the other hand, if the state denies the citizens the right of political participation, the citizens have the right to overthrow the state either in a military coup or revolution. This is justified under the law .
On December 15, 2013, the fighting broke out within the South Sudan army. The army halved itself, the one half claimed loyalties to the President of the Republic Salva Kiir , and one half claimed loyalties to the former vice President Riek Machar .
President Salva Kiir said Riek attempted the coup against him . Riek said it was a mutiny because his tribesmen in the army were tried to be disarmed but they refused to hand in the guns. So the fight ensued.
That fighting or coup or mutiny (whatever name you call it) has continued for 8 months now. Thousands of people have been massacred, millions have been displaced, and properties have been destroyed.
Those soldiers who mutinied on December 15 declared the rebellion against the government. Their political leaders called themselves the SPLM/ SPLA in Opposition. These rebels wage war against the state . The state fights back.
Therefore, the state is on defensive position and the Rebels are on offensive position
In such a situation what does the state like South Sudan do in this unconstitutionalism like coup or mutiny or whatever name you call it ? What are actions of the state and the rebel’s .under the law .
The state has legitimate use of force against the rebels . The rebels are using political violence against the state
The state of the Republic of South Sudan has ‘’ the legitimate use of force ‘’’ under law, This is to maintain basic security and public order. This is to stop the state from falling apart and become stateless or failed state.
The rebels use ‘’ political violence’’, these are injurious acts directed at personal or property which are intended to further or oppose the governmental decisions and policies , under the law these are crimes against the state . Therefore the rebels in South Sudan have committed crimes against the state. The rebels have no just cause against the state because the state has not denied them their right of political participation.
President Kiir once told Riek the rebel leader to form his own party. Why didn’t he form it? Why he cling onto SPLM? SPLM was formed by someone like him. It was not formed by God . It has no magic or golden touch of becoming the president either . What is big, UNIQUE about the SPLM?
It is said the war is the result of disagreement in the party . . How can a disagreement in party bring war? .
Riek would have formed his political party and he contests in 2015 , if he wins the election and Mr. Kiir refused to hand over power to him ,then he has the right to go to war ., and all of us will go to war against Mr. Kiir because he will have denied the citizen their right of political participation .
Unfortunately , Riek did not follow the rule of the game and he is using political violence therefore the state of South Sudan has the right of legitimate use of force to enforce its will on him. Riek must accept the state of South Sudan authority as long as he lives within its borders .
Those who say it is Salva Kiir who kill people , they are wrong , it is not him ,it is the state who kill them .
Even Riek will use the same state apparatus like police, army to deal with any unconstutitional move ,if he becomes president . No doubt about that
State is unique institution, it stand above all other institution in the society
. Mark Weber says ‘’the state benefits and threatens. Now, it is ‘’ us’’ and often it is ‘’ them’’ . It is an abstraction but in its name men are jailed or made rich on defense contract or killed in wars ‘’
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