By Achiek Jok Riaak
The Ugandan government has stated right not to withdraw their troops from neighboring South Sudan, a statement stated by United States (US) government over the weekend calling for the withdrawal of all foreign troops that have been deployed to quell the conflict between forces loyal to incumbent President Salva Kiir and former vice president, Riek Machar.
The United States (US) government during the South Sudanese crisis utilized its military forces. A force was deployed in the country to evacuate US embassy personnel and to guard their economic interests in South Sudan.
Uganda government has it troops in the country, too, to protect its traders, monitor the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), a Ugandan rebel outfit led by Joseph Kony. Uganda People’s Defense Force (UPDF) which sided with the government of President Salva Kiir is to help in normalizing the crisis in the country such that South Sudanese people return to peace.
Meanwhile, the Ugandan government is a close ally of United States government in importing military hardware from the US, and the Ugandan government has been benefited for years from training programs and direct assistance in the purchases of weapons.
The US State Department describes Uganda as the US Key partner particularly in the fight against the rebel Lord’s Resistance Army and in Somalia.
Ugandan troops make up the bulk of the African Union peacekeeping force in Somalia, AMISOM – conducting operations against the militant Islamist group, al-Shabab. The United States pulled its own troops out of Somalia in 1993 after 18 American soldiers were killed.
The US Embassy spokesman Dan Travis in Kampala says America has been helping finance the Ugandan operation in Somalia since 2007.
Therefore, with what the US government has done in supported to Ugandan army and their military intervention in Somalia, the United States has no proper idea of calling for withdrawal of Ugandan troops in South Sudan.
The US call for withdrawal of foreign troops is not solution to South Sudanese Crisis. So South Sudanese government has to maintain their positions of welcoming foreign troops, through more threats are coming from International communities.
UPDF role in South Sudan is like the US military role in the Uganda. Why do US called for withdrawal of UPDF in South Sudan while they had instructed UPDF to fight Islamic group of Al-Shabab in Somalia?
Uganda has been in friendship with Sudanese People’s Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A), and during the long civil war Uganda government forces sided with SPLA in tracing the LRA in South Sudan territory. By then Kony’s base was near Juba and his forces were scattered in all corners of Sudan particularly southern Sudan.
UPDF was engaged in fighting LRA in the country till the Compressive Peace Agreement (CPA) was signed in 2005 to end conflict between the Sudanese government and the SPLM/A led by Dr. John Garang de Mabior. After CPA in Sudan the UPDF and SPLA managed to clear off the LRA forces in northern Uganda, Central and Eastern Equatoria.
Currently, the SPLA is still monitoring subversive activities of LRA in western Equatoria, such that their forces may not cross to Uganda territory. Now there are cases of killing being committed by the LRA rebels in Yambio, the headquarters of Western Equatoria state.
With the presence of Ugandan troops in South Sudan, we see it as a chance for the South Sudanese government to be assisted by the Ugandan army because there is no any other time better than these times; South Sudanese people have been working for the freedom and peace for so many years.
Regarding peace process in Addis Ababa, the presence of the Uganda troops may disturb peace process; none of Ugandan troop had gone to Ethiopia for talk, their role is internally to protect civilians and restore peace in the country.
We do see UPDF like struggling for peace in the country. Their duty is like what Inter-governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) is doing in Addis Ababa. And to achieve peace in South Sudan, there is need for all the possible ways for resolving all these problems.
The US government’s statement is trying to blow up South Sudanese fighting which is due to die within this year. What US made is a negative decision which may kill another 10,000 people in South Sudan because no more fighting launched by Machar’s militiamen after intervention of Ugandan troop.
For US government to call for peace in South Sudan, they need to talk to Kiir so that SPLA maintain their position such that peace is achieved and not to listen to Machar’s objectives. The peace between the Government and SPLM/A-in opposition is easy to achieve if the US government has no interests in the South Sudanese crisis.
Why US troops did intervenes in Africa yet they are foreign troops from western world? With the respect from the Central African Republic (CAR), the US government has been assisting with the transportation of French and African troops into the country, where the recent forced resignation of interim president Michel Djotodia and the Seleka Coalition and his replacement by Catherine Samba-Panza has not stabilized the political and security situation.
At present, anti-Muslim mobs both within the CAR military and among Christian militias known as the anti-Bakaka, have engaged in attacks on Islamic communities where numerous people have been seriously injured and killed.
A spokesmen for US secretary for Defense, Chuck Hagel was quoted by a military publication as saying “Minister Le Drian request airlift support to enable African forces to deploy promptly to prevent the further spread of sectarian violent in Central African Republic,” Pentagon Assistance Press secretary Carl Woog announced on December 9.
“The United State is joining the internal community in this effort because of our believe that immediate action is required to avert a humanitarian and human rights catastrophe in the Central African Republic, and because of our interest in peace and security in the region.”
With that intervention in Central African Republic, both the United States and French have only worsened the conditions for the people of CAR.
The growing French, US and European Union (EU) military involvement in Africa is designed to secure western imperialist dominance over the oil, diamonds, gold and uranium that exist in abundance in both the Central African Republic and South Sudan.
Those western states are creating deteriorating atmosphere and false propaganda between the societies such that all the communities kill each other so that they get opportunity to grab our resources.
The so called US “humanitarian intervention” is the act of war and occupation of powers in Africa continent. South Sudan, which is rich in oil, is in plans of US government to control its resources.
The US Ambassador to Juba, Susan Page said in June 2013 that companies from her country were interested in South Sudan’s oil, when asked about the subject at a press conference.
Page pointed out that the US government does not “have oil companies as part of their machinery of the government” in the same way as other countries but said that among the US’s “independent” companies “there is a lot of interest oil and gas companies”.
US deployed its personnel to win its South Sudan interests but since the deployment of US personnel in 2005, US government has not achieved their interests as noted by the ambassador.
With steps taken by the US government in South Sudan, the current crisis has become a great opportunity for the US companies to achieve their interest.