Why South Sudan’s Sovereignty is at Greater Risk Now
6 min readSouth Sudan’s Sovereignty at a possible slaughter
By Ariik Atekdit Mawien, Tonj, South Sudan
February 5, 2016 (SSB) — It is an enormous challenge and disgrace at the same time to create a country in 21st century and have its sovereignty and independence rights of the citizens being abused several times while the system in government keeps watching and hopes that political miracles will be sent from heaven to rescue this nation. Sovereignty is solely based in the land, the laws, and citizens and in personality of the president of the country and the government. An external breach on such subjects immediately can be referred to as an attack of the country’s sovereignty.
Sovereignty by itself means: the state of which a nation makes its own laws and controls its resources without the coercion of other nations. Sovereignty gives the ruler of any nation to have supreme power over all things in his own nation. It is the right of being internally independent from outside and having the right and freedom to protect your nation from any external abuse. This is what it means in the rest of the world accepts in South Sudan where sovereignty is under “no man’s care.”
In 2012 one year after independence, Sudan and South Sudan fought over ownership of the disputed Panthou/Heglig. Our national army fought a successful war to capture our land of Panthou but because our sovereignty was sold to slaughter; international phone calls were pressured on our army for withdrawal and allowed the defeated Sudanese army to return to the border town which is not their land; a shame the generation will not forget.
Who then will bring Panthou issue on topic now? It is already a gone case subject like that of Abyei region while our leaders moan over the little resources in Juba until now that we are in another new mess of the nation.
In 2014 during peace talks, some officials in the IGAD bloc abused President Salva Kiir and his rival Dr Riek Machar of stupidity, could they fail to implement ceasefire; an act which was a huge and a direct abuse to the personalities of Dr Riek and President Kiir. It was also an abuse to the sovereignty of South Sudan because the citizens under both leaderships who are South Sudanese were affected for if your leader is insulted you are also insulted. Nobody could celebrate the insult on either of the two leaders because Riek and Kiir are both leaders at their camps and South Sudanese citizens at the same time who still have respect from the people they represent.
For so many months the country has been in search for peace at Addis Ababa’s IGAD peace tables and in the end both leaders were given a peace agreement which reads the interest of the mediators and that of the so-called international community while South Sudanese leaders became subordinates in their own affair.
In the name of: “there is no bad peace at all” South Sudanese citizens accepted that peace deal because at least we do not want to have more bloodshed in the country. While we know that the bloodshed was put to the brim by foreigners who badly campaign for war to occur in South Sudan in order to interfere and claim to solve it and sandwiched their interest in order to control us.
However, if we could think wisely and deeply as South Sudanese with the spirit of patriotism, we would then correctly translate this peace deal as: “the selling of South Sudan sovereignty to the IGAD, TROIKA and the international community for slaughter.” And for what reason would this country’s sovereignty be subjected to death while we are watching? Sometimes our leaders from both sides of the conflict were threatened with sanctions and therefore they rather protected their properties and forgot the sovereignty a shame of its own.
America has sanctioned countries like Cuba for over 50 years and they still survive. Iran, Sudan and many other countries are under sanctions but we are seeing their economies even growing faster than before, this is a proof that countries can survive with sanctions. Now that you have avoided sanctions what economic development have you gain in South Sudan in the recent days?
Today South Sudan is being led by a foreigner. The head of the Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Committee (JMEC), Mr. Festus Mogae, former Botswana President is now the technical President of the Republic of South Sudan whereas Gen. Salva Kiir in real term will be first vice president while Dr Machar is the second vice president, the faithful and the peace loving Gen. James Wani Igga is just a mere presidential assistant. This is a character of a country that is not independent and has no sovereignty either.
Because we don’t have an independent government there have been no services across South Sudan since October 2nd 2015 prior to the government’s the creation of 28 states. The government keeps delaying the formation of the state governments because it does not have a supreme power in hand. We never know whether we are under rebel government or IGAD governments.
I know Mr. Festus Mogae is a great leader of Africa who won an international Mo Ibrahimi’s Noble Prize for being a democratic leader at his time but that does not qualify him to rule South Sudan as a president but it came to being because our leaders have not known how to go about with our national affairs and the let they our sovereignty go unquestioned.
For so many times South Sudanese experience some external pressure in our own affairs. The bad of all is that our elites whether in opposition or in the government never play a role that protects the country and its entire interest but only struggling for their political accommodation in government; an issue that has resulted in internationalization of South Sudan politics and affairs. But was that the reason of struggle for independence from Sudan?
Never will the sky opens itself and sends us prophets that will be the rulers of this nation. We can differ in ideologies but must know that our sovereignty means a lot more than our personal interests.
You can reach the author via his email: Atekdit Mawien <ariqdudic@gmail.com>
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