Why President Salva Kiir Mayaardit Deserves the Nobel Peace Prize
9 min readBy Gisma Mou Mou, Sweden
January 27, 2015 (SSB) — Why President Salva Kiir Mayardit deserve the Nobel Peace Prize. President Salva Kiir has true and unique VISION for Peace and forgiveness and therefore he deserve the Nobel Peace Prize.
And here are some FACTS:
Following the tragic death of the visionary leader of SPLM/A Dr. John Garang De Mabior on July 30, 2005, Khartoum has worked very hard to refuse to respect the terms of the Protocols comprising in the CPA.
But President Salva Kiir Mayardit has smoothy, slowly but surely managed to work with the Khartoum through Peace and forgiveness, and as a result President Salva Kiir Mayardit managed to lead the people of South Sudan to their referendum and up to the their promised Land.
- Despite that Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) together with militia had attacked civilians and SPLA in Malakal (Upper Nile) in 2006 and 2008. Yet President Salva Kiir Mayardit asked the SPLA and the people of South Sudan to maintain Peace with the Sudan.
- ON May 2008 Khartoum’s Sudan Armed Forces (SAF), together with its Misseriya militia allies, had attacked and destroyed Abyei town, killing many people and driving many of thousands of Dinka Ngok. Yet President Salva Kiir Mayardit asked the SPLA and the people of South Sudan to maintain Peace with the Sudan.
- November 2010 – to 9 July, 2011: Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) had launched (40) attacks on sovereign Southern territory – during and after the self-determination referendum of January 9, 2011 plus sixty (60) more attacks on Bentiu. Yet President Salva Kiir Mayardit asked South Sudanese to maintain Peace with Sudan. And he told south Sudanese that you be patience and look after your referendum which he promised that it will take place and on time. And indeed referendum happened and on time.
- And despite that two days more attacks from 20 – 21 May, 2011 which Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) made on Abyei region militarily, forcing virtually the entire population of Dinka Ngok—some 110,000 civilians—to feel to Warrap and other Southern states. Yet President Salva Kiir Mayardit called the SPLA and the people of South Sudan to maintain Peace with the Sudan.
- All south Sudanese (before 2005 and after 2005 – 2011) who were supported Khartoum regime and worked against the comprehensive Peace agreement (CPA), were asked to come home to South Sudan and vote for their freedom and rights and that all of their mistakes were forgiven. Some citizens who were in south Sudan were not sure if forgiveness will bring independent to the extent that some went on providing many evidence to president Kiir against their own brothers in Khartoum-Sudan since everybody was care that referendum must not be prevented by anybody. And surprisingly, president Salva kiir himself showed those who have no confidence in his decision as President for Peace and forgiveness, more difficult evidence that could be used against those who were supporting Khartoum. And they were asking president and despite all you know, yet you willing to forgive them? President Salva always says, I WILL NOT LET THE PEOPLE OF SOUTH SUDAN DOWN. And here is the facts those brothers were lost and now we must go together for referendum and find them.
- After independent of South Sudan, year 2012, Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) made attack on the PANTHAU (so-called Heglig) area, in Kuek (Upper Nile), and Western Bahr el-Ghazal. And despite that UN secretary General Ban Ki- moon stood with SAF by saying “An infringement on the sovereignty of Sudan and a clearly illegal act.” that statement has made all of us unhappy and we are still unhappy with that statement of Ban Ki- moon. Yet President Salva Kiir Mayardit asked the people of South Sudan to maintain Peace with the Sudan and with UNIMSS.
Now tell us which head of state on earth except President Salva kiir could advocate not only for peace and forgiveness but also for the well being of the two states of the Sudan. Tell us which president will accept peace with state that is militarily attacking the sovereignty of his state. What would you prefer, war and no referendum, or Peace and yes referendum?
- Furthermore, With the internal crisis in South Sudan from 2013-2015, some part of the international community have preferred not to stand with the government and the people of South Sudan. These part of the international community have done and said a lot of things which are not true such as this war is between Dinka and Nuer was actually named by the outsiders who are working against South Sudan, its people and president. How can this war possibly be between Dinka and Nuer while Nyandeng Garang (Dinka) was in the site of Riek (Nuer)? Those enemies of South Sudan insisted that this war is between Dinka and Nuer. But President Salva Kiir Mayardit demand that everybody shall feel free and welcome and that peace, forgiveness and justice as usual are his top priorities.
- Even people of South Sudan have expressed that President Salva kiir Mayardit is more than to be called a priest because he has always ready peace and forgiveness to anyone who done wrong. Yet President Salva kiir Mayardit demand to keep people together whether you are with his vision for peace or against it.
- When there is no hope President Salva kiir Mayardit will work hard to bring hope back to people mostly he likes to let south Sudanese understand his vision for peace, forgiveness and justice by educating them that the night may be too long, but the day will surely come, and therefore you south Sudanese need to embrace peace, forgiveness, and reconciliation among yourselves and with the neighbors.
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Response from Landi Dwong
Dear Gisma
South Sudanese still live as second-class citizens under President Kiir and the new SPLM my sister. A citizen without rights and powers to make political decisions to shape his/her destiny is a second-class citizen no matter what the color of the skin of the person who leads the country has, or what religion he/she professes. Independence, my sister, is not about the color of the flag that flies on our government buildings, but how the lives of our people change for the better.
Substituting the thieving and murderous brown hands of the Mundukuru with that of black South Sudanese under any flag is not what millions of South Sudanese died for. Independence should translate beyond the tattered flag we love to wrap ourselves in and wax nationalistic. I do not know what independence means to our brothers and sisters who are dying weekly in the Lakes State; I do not know what independence means to the countless South Sudanese cowering in UNMISS “refugee” camps; I do not know what independence means to the average SPLA soldier who cannot feed his family after fighting bravely for so long; I do not know what independence means to the average South Sudanese in the rural areas who have neither hospitals nor schools to send their children to.
But this much I know: The government of President Salva Kiir and the SPLM party has betrayed the dreams and aspirations of the people of this country. They have rendered independence meaningless!
South Sudan needs neither a priest nor a bishop to run the country. It needs a leader, which, unfortunately Kiir is not.
The SPLM Vision (whatever it looks like) was conceived, developed, and written by people. It should take people (read leadership) to translate that vision into viable political programs. Leadership (people) serves as the bridge between a political vision and practical programs beneficial to the citizens and country. If you people in the SPLM Party still do not understand the simple fact that it takes responsible and pragmatic leadership (read people) for a party to live up to the expectations of its agenda (if it has any), then I am beginning to see why the SPLM party has failed, and failed so spectacularly.
I do know what you understand by “free citizens in an independent country”, but I do know that under your government radio stations are being forcefully shut down by security agents for doing their duty of informing citizens, journalists are murdered for their opinions, citizens are mowed down for exercising their right to free expression, and thousands of mothers and children who survived the murderous spree that was deliberately orchestrated by the leadership of your party still languish in filthy camps in their own country.
I do not know what you understand by “facts”, but facts are these: The SPLM party leadership and members have stolen billions of dollars from South Sudanese citizens (Read Kiir’s own letter to the 75); health and education in South Sudan are in deplorable conditions ten years and so much money later; our roads turn to roaring rivers in the rainy seasons while millions of dollars are stolen by the clique in government in the name of road construction contracts; party operatives who know next to nothing and do nothing but harm the country are handsomely paid from public coffers.
This is robbery my sister and you know it. In some states, an average of 50 South Sudanese die violently every week, while the government twiddles with its fingers. This, my dear sister is the SPLM party you tell us has a vision? May be the vision of the SPLM party is still stuck in the pages of the recycled paper it is written in.
Second class citizenship is not an abstract concept that one can dish out just to make a case. The truth is, the lives of the majority of South Sudanese have not changed in the last 10 years. And if they lived as second-class citizens under Arabs, they still live as second-class citizens under this government. In some places, services have deteriorated to the extent that citizens feel better off under Arabs than under this government. These are unfortunate, but stubborn facts neither you, nor your party has the spine to admit. Independence is not an end in itself, but a means to improve the lives of our citizens.
But I must admit, independence brought us a few thieving South Sudanese multimillionaires in the sea of poverty, diseases, illiteracy, and political decay. If this is what you are trying to sell to the majority in the country as the benefits of independence, then you have a very small pool of buyers indeed. What you people in the SPLM party are doing to South Sudan is an insult to our collective intelligence and an affront to the very idea of civilization!
The saddest part of it all is that those of you, the seemingly enlightened members of the party who are supposed to be better informed do not look beyond the party to see the suffering your party and its incompetent leadership has brought upon the people of this country.
And, let’s not carelessly begin bandying irrelevant words about: We do not “hate” Salva as a person; pointing out his failures and abysmal leadership records should not be mistaken for hatred.
Good luck.
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