The Looming Isolationism of President Kiir, and What it May Offer for the Nation

The defections of seasoned army commanders of the SPLM garrisons in Bor and Bentiu exposed the hidden tribal tone and exacerbated the unnecessary military confrontations among brothers and sisters who have long fought together against archenemy.

The escape of Dr. Riek was certainly for his life but no wonder he has been behind the alleged coup detat given his positions after December 15, 2013. He showed some leadership of calming down tensions when he was sacked from his position as Vice President and should have shown consistency not to ally with the bigoted commanders. His escape and quick alliance with the revolted commanders; plus not only claiming victories over government forces but also instigating further mutinies within the army to oust the president was an uncoated depiction of a coup plotter. No wonder Dr. Riek is one of the rare smart politicians in South Sudan who are foresighted and straight forward, but his involvement in two heinous disastrous murders of innocent civilians in Bor alone may erode the trust and high standards many especially non Dinka/Nuer hold him to.

Whatever the case may be, South Sudan found herself in so shocking a situation that needs resolutions sooner than after putting many lives to death, displacement, public and private property damages, and above all; the nation’s and people’s image to the world; especially the earlier predictions that we are unable to govern ourselves. It’s upon the people and government of South Sudan, especially those who look at themselves as leaders at the  moment, to take big breaths, reflect on the past, analyze and accept the realities of the present and postulate the future of this baby country.

I have seen/read some mixed reactions from our fellow citizens about both the indifference and interference of foreign nations/international communities.

First of all, the indifference: The political firestorm in the SPLM never started yesterday. It has been there for as long as SPLM existed, but has been contained by the charismatic Dr. John Garang who pardoned both Dr. Riek Machar and Salva Kiir and managed to reunite the party after the Nashir and Yei factions. Do we resurrect Dr. John to come and help us out? No. Do we need other charismatic leaders? Yes. But where are they? They are Salva Kiir and Dr. Machar who should de-vow their allegiance to power thirst and put the nation first by reflecting back of what Dr. John did to them so they may do on each other.

Let’s assume that the international community knew less about the levels of the internal conflicts within the SPLM party. Even, so they would do less to fix the problem since the party problem can only be fixed by the members if there were no conspiracies. The conspiratorial nature of the SPLM party crisis made it difficult for the party to find lasting solutions to the problem which now extended outside the party. The conspiracies driving forces were (the Garang boys) which have never been any secret at all. Secondly, despite Riek’s reintegration into the SPLM, there has always been a lot to speculate on Dr. Machar as having a parallel agenda to the core SPLM.

For Garang boys, there has been this thought that Salva has diluted the SPLM core values by accommodating ideologies of politicians who were once  bitterly opposed to the SPLM. Apparently with time, the Garang boys sought alliance with the Machar parallel ideologies, after South Sudan became independent as per Nashir faction ingrained agenda. So, the international community can not be blamed for indifference in what our leaders should have contained if they have at heart the plight of the people of their country. With muscles behind both giant tribes in South Sudan, military ouster simply exacerbates the conflicts rather than bringing any solution.

Secondly interference: With the army so divided and you don’t know who is standing where, it was a bright idea for the president to call for external help not because he lost trust of the army but because the conspiracy has deeply penetrated the army and without the Ugandan interference, who knows the level of suffering our people could be in today? Others may say Juba could have fallen, but would Salva as we know run to exile or would have been killed? What could have been the worse case scenario in the country should that happen? It should be made very clear that military ouster of any government in South Sudan will bring disaster instead of peace. We all know that no tribe or region will want to be bullied in South Sudan; Murle under Yao Yao is just but an example.

Another interference I have read is about the pressure to release political detainees. It’s true that whenever there are negotiations, there will always give and take. I think South Sudan’s president acted in that line of give and take although it sounds more submitting to the rebels demands. It’s the rebel’s turn to give up something if they are serious about negotiating the future of the country. I am not a believer in the military action although it’s a very important tool for garnering political negotiating strengths.

To me, Salva should just make it clear that the coup players or at best those suspected of, should stay out of the SPLM and current government but they should be pardoned and left to democratically campaign against the SPLM and its dominated government. The SPLM and it’s government should do likewise so they square it off in 2015 or later if 2015 has already been interrupted with the current conflicts. Dr. Riek and the accused should also abandon the idea of sticking to the name SPLM; it’s known that SPLM is a brand name one wants to identify with, but the 9 year shattered legacy may open way for fresh brand new party with clear ideologies for the future of South Sudan. As long as freedom of the press and expression are guaranteed then there should not be and fight over the SPLM reform. Form a party and begin a new journey.