President Kiir Should Release the Remaining Political Detainees
By PaanLuel Wel
During the transitional period, Comrade Oyai Deng Ajak was accused of organizing a military coup to instal Madam Nyandeng Garang in power; after independence, he is being charged with participating in a coup to put Dr. Riek Machar in power…same person making the accusations…Yet, it is him, Oyai Deng Ajak, more than anybody else, that the SPLM/A honored with leading its most prized military campaign of its revolutionary war–Operation Jungle Storm of the Bright Star Campaign…the campaign to wrestle Juba from Khartoum…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rEf_iWAuQqo
Somebody somewhere is either jealous of his chequered records or damn afraid of him or both…What is Nyandeng and Riek to Oyai that he would risk his life to put them into power? If he were such a hire-mercenary as the gov’t of President Kiir would want us to believe, wouldn’t he have been hired first by his own kinsman, Dr. Lam Akol, in 1991? It is high time President Kiir retires from making a fool of himself and of the historical SPLM/A.
If people like Oyai, Pagan and Majak could be humiliated on baseless and ridiculous charges…more of an inside job than otherwise…what would prevent such heroes as Hoth Mai, Mamur Mete etc from such humiliation? The only crime committed by patriots like Oyai and Pagan was their failure to follow their tribesman–Dr. Lam Akol–in 1991, for they would have been Kiir’s heroes today…
Dr. Majak D’agoot, who has been accused of planning military coups on as many occasions as the number of times Peter Gadet has rebelled against Juba, should rather have gone with his uncle Akuot Atem Mayen or with Arok Thon Arok…he would have been a hero today…Mamur should have gone with the Equatorian Defense Forces…and Hoth Mai with Riek or Nyuon Bany…and both will have been heroes by the time they would later be accused of carrying out a fictitious coup.
But then, what would have become of our revolutionary struggle? Of freedom? Of all the sacrifices made by previous generations before August 1991? This is what comrade Kiir has forgotten, once he arrived in freedom. Still, the cabals around the President have nothing to offer the country other than confusions, suspicions, death, destructions and wars; inevitably, the successor to President Kiir will comes from among, besides Wani Igga and Riek, these guys being humiliated today.
By then, it will have to be investigated afresh how many troops, mobilized for the coup, were commanded by Pagan, Oyai, Majak–i.e how many Chollo, Twic East Dinkas did join Riek Machar and the White Army against the gov’t–failure of which someone around the President or even the President himself would have to be held responsible for endangering national security, lest some future leaders would be tempted to do the same.
Our historical heritage, embodied in our revolutionary struggle…our nation, and our future….is greater than one fleeting leader…Salva Kiir will go as Garang did and so will others who will follow them…but our heritage, nation and future will remain…for us and our children’s children…President Kiir should do himself a favor by releasing the remaining political detainees…it is a national shame that our heroes should be seeking political asylum in foreign capitals, 2 years into our independence…and sadly for a crime wholly own by Riek and Kiir…and their armed forces…
YES, the detainees are corrupt and have utterly failed RSS…but who is not corrupt in Juba? Who haven’t betrayed the spirit and the letter of our liberationary struggle? who haven’t failed the Republic of South Sudan? If corruption is the yardstick to determine the most qualified candidates for the guillotine, who is more royal than the king in the king-court, to borrow Dr. Lam Akol phrase?
The king and the would-be king…having led the messy RSS for the last 9 years…shud have been the first to face the music, not the mere courtiers caught in the act of bemoaning…decrying…king’s nakedness…
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