Blaming, Pointing Fingers is a Tool by Incompetent Leaders

South Sudanese politicians and citizens should understand that acknowledging one’s mistakes, accepting responsibilities for one’s actions and choices, and taking up the challenge to correct the subsequent failures are some of the most significant steps to reach a viable solution in any conflict resolution.

It will make a great difference if the South Sudanese leaders at the peace talks in Addis Ababa understand their roles in causing the current crisis, instead of waiting to object the proposals from the IGAD mediators and boycotting the roundtable talks for one reason or the other. The leaders’ behaviour is understandable because accepting the responsibilities comes with additional challenges to correct the mistakes and shoulder the accountability for the atrocities, two difficult tasks of which no leader would want to fall a victim.

The remaining strategy the leaders resort to is blaming each other on the cause of the crisis, passing time in luxurious hotels, and imposing impractical conditions on the opponent group.

However, the war continues on the ground where citizens are dying of gunshots, hunger and diseases on daily basis. There is a disconnection between the politicians’ opportune worlds in Juba and Addis Ababa and the citizens’ miserable worlds in the refugee and displaced camps in Kenya, Ethiopia, and Uganda, among other neighbouring countries.

The claim that there was a coup in Juba (even when there are no evidences to support the claim in a court of law) neither validates acceptance and sympathy for the innocent lost lives and property nor impact the outcomes of peace in Addis Ababa. Such claim does not justify the reasons why there is war in the nation because war can result from other causes rather than a failed coup attempt.

For example, the SPLA was fighting Khartoum successive, oppressive regimes for over two decades, but the cause of rebellion was not a failed coup attempt. The claim from the government and the supporting thinktanks and individuals that citizens should just believe there was a coup because there is no war without a coup is void of logic. In fact those who cling onto this claim have already lost the battle because of lack of evidences to prove such claim in a court of law.

The lack of presenting evidences led to the subsequent actions by the government to release the detainees and fire individuals such as James Hoth Mai and Mach Paul for not supporting the claim that has not supporting evidences.

The struggle to shift accountabilities for the atrocities is the unfortunate reality that delays the peace progress. The few elites who are clinging on to the coup claim argue that the rebels are responsible for the atrocities in the nation.

To this group, accepting that there was no coup seem to amount to ‘nothing happened’ because the rebels and rebel supporters use the lack of evidence from the government to argue that that the government is responsible for the atrocities in the nation. Nevertheless, the rebel and allied groups equally fail to convince the world because their claims to support lack of coup plan are not validating absence of coup.

For example, coup does not have to planned by military leaders and executed by soldiers commanded by army dignitaries. There are no black and white techniques to plan, attempt and execute a coup because politicians and protesters have previously staged successful coups in different parts of the world.

Both the government and rebel groups fail to realize that the argument about coup, or lack thereof, is not the only way to describe the crisis that has brought the nascent nation to its knees. Because there have been more coups that were announced before the December 15 crisis, and there were no evidences that have been brought forward, the independent thinkers may then conclude that the fear to lose power among the leaders led to the deadly plans that have led to this crisis.

Arguing that there was a mishandling of political conflicts makes the honesty the South Sudanese yearn for more truthful and humane. The best justice we can accord to the dead and the suffering is to say the truth, seek the solutions to end the killing and then put in place the strategies to prevent such atrocities from happening in similar or related manner.

I am writing this piece because the shift in tones (that seem to pushing the claim about coup) from the individuals working for the national thinktanks such as The Sudd Institute is troubling. What really happened to those independent research institutions? Are there some threats of closure (like that of Catholic Radio Station) that the individuals hope to avoid by the shift from ‘institutional neutrality’ to ‘institutional partiality’ (to temporarily favour the government for survival)?

Even in such fear, the independent research institutes should understand that suffering for maintaining the right position in any crisis is more dignifying and honorary than lying to avoid temporary consequences.

The South Sudanese politicians and elites should put the needs of the citizens first before the interests of their parties and institutions. From the presenting facts since the war started in December, no side is free from the accusations of violations to human rights and crimes against humanity. The best way to come to term with reality is neither brushing away the claim about coup nor clinging to claim about coup that has no current presenting evidences.

The main steps in reaching one’s mental and emotional liberation and independence include (1) taking pride in and appreciating what one does for a living or for fun; (2) accepting responsibilities for one’s choices and actions; and (3) continuously assessing one’s own assumptions, behaviours, principles and values, in view of the above two steps.

Nobody is free until one learns self-evaluation and self-criticism and takes appropriate measures to address the presenting challenges. Are South Sudanese not yet aware of the causes of their demises and suffering?