Gov’t and Rebels Boycott IGAD-led Addis Ababa Talks
EGO WILL KILL US ALL
By Tearz Ayuen
The peace talks have been postponed until further notice allegedly because IGAD insulted the two chiefs the other day. Okay.
Both South Sudanese President Salva Kiir and rebel leader Riek Machar were “stupid” if they thought they could win on the battlefield, spat Mahboub Maalim, executive secretary of the East African IGAD bloc.
In trying to resolve a conflict, a mediator must consider, amongst others, cultures of those in conflict. In South Sudan, simple harmless remarks like silly, stupid, idiot and fool can invite slaps or even bullets. So, Maalim should have remembered cultural bits and pieces of the conflict.
However, even though Mr Maalim went way too far, even though he got out of peace and conflict resolution cocoon, I would not boycott peace dialogue that would probably end mass killings in my country if I were Nhial Deng or Taban Deng.
Anyway, let’s look at the insult keenly.
Stupid as a noun can be defined as a person who is not very bright.
As an adjective, to be stupid is to be…….in a state of mental numbness especially as resulting from shock or lacking or marked by lack of intellectual acuity or devoid of good sense or judgment or lacking intelligence.
Now, which definition above pissed off my beloved peace negotiators?
Grammar
The statement was in conditional tense. That means the insult is hanging in the air; it hasn’t reached the two leaders’ skin yet. I can liken it to a bullet that has been shot but it hasn’t yet hit the target. Should the target duck, it’s gonna be a miss. Should he or she stay put, the bullet will blow his or head off.
Likewise, should Riek and Kiir heed advice, they will not be called or considered stupid. Should they continue to let poor sons of poor parents kill themselves, they will be stupid.
So, Kiir’s ego is still fine. The insult is still traveling. It’s probably somewhere in the highlands of Ethiopia. So is Riek’s. his ego is super good. They have enough time to duck.
Now, can somebody please tell Nhial Deng Nhial and his crew to get back to the negotiable table?
Tearz © 2014
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