Do South Sudanese Rebels Understand the Implications of Propaganda?
6 min readBy Samuel Reech Mayen
May 1, 2015 (SSB) — The continuous propaganda of the Rebels is disturbing and destructive not only to the current generation but a bad legacy to the series of the next generations. As the war erupted at the military barracks on the 15th of December 2013 at around 10:00pm in Juba, Rebels alleged that the subsequence three days had been days of killings. The Killers are assumed to be pro-government soldiers. The number of the victims of the three consecutive days is alleged to be highly shocking.
Whether many people perished in Juba demands several questions before rushing to answers; first, does the figure alleged include pro-government soldiers and civilians’ causalities? How many of the alleged figure were armed rebels? And what circumstances led to the death of civilians if any?
The alleged figure is a pure propaganda which is meant by the rebels’ leadership to further its aspiration of misleading the public of South Sudan and the international community. Although the war that began in Juba resulted to the death of pro-government soldiers, civilians and the armed rebels, the extreme high figure alleged is a lie meant to plant permanent hatred amongst the innocent citizens of South Sudan. With Propaganda, the war is being fuelled by the rebels.
Rationally, before any one asked for a murderer, one must have a murdered (person killed). Who are the murdered by names that can make over 20,000? It is ridiculous to claim the killing of such huge numbers without evidence. If such a number was killed in one week in Juba, the city would have been declared uninhabitable from the health perspective for a period of time.
Rebels overstated the numbers of the causalities although interaction with the local population disproof the allegations. These figures which are claimed to have been slain in Juba are mere exaggerations and being overstressed by the rebels for these reasons;
First, since the cause of the war was purely political struggle at the SPLM top level and the war broke out as a result, it’s apparent that the alleged figures are meant to mobilize the rebel fighters in and outside the country to feel bitter and join the war. Convincing masses to fight for individuals political aspiration is not readily acceptable, thus the rebels’ leadership designed this strategy to get more support by sandwiching their interest with the propaganda of huge numbers killed.
This is clearly seen at the onset when Dr. Riek Machar reached in Lou Nuer area and went straight to the heap of Ngundeng’s shrine. When the crowd gathered around him and asked to explain what had happened in Juba, he kept on crying and uttered through tears of pretense and quilt that “go to Juba and burry the corpses of your relatives”. This assertion mobilized thousands of fresh ignorant and bitter fighters who kill anything which crossed their way as they pushed toward Juba.
Rebels have used propaganda in numerous ways to mobilize the public against the government. They have lied to some individuals who were unwilling to rebel against the government that the SPLA in Government had exhumed and threw away the body of the late General Paulino Matip. This propaganda resulted in the rebellion of more people who had nothing against the government but thought that some sorts of disgrace were committed. After rebelling they later learnt that they had been lied to, for no reasonable mind would remove the dead body of a great leader from the grave.
Others were also misinformed that their loved one in government had been killed and they joined rebels but later discovered that these were mere fabrication meant to turn them against their government. This group that was deceived could not reverse their decision on the fear of accountability. Most rebel fighters were mobilized with mere propaganda.
Secondly, the inaccurate figures are also being used by the Rebels to win sympathy of the International Community so as to condemn and push for the change of the Government. As the International Community is incompatible with the government that does not respect the provisions of the Bill of rights, the Rebels see it as a good argument to tarnish the image of the government in the face of the world. They find it a necessary mechanism to throw the government at logger head with the international community by being misinformed.
Thirdly, rebutting guilt is another reason the rebels’ leadership overstress in Juba killing. The killing that happened in Malakal, Bentiu and Bor were committed by the rebels but have formulated clear plans to ensure that they counteract blame by raising Juba killings to the most shaming figures hence divert public attention from their acts to that of the Government. By raising and exaggerating the figures of civilians killed in Juba, rebels also think it’s a point of defence when coming to the atrocities committed by their forces in the three States of greater Upper Nile.
The fact that Nuer were not residing somewhere close to the UNMISS camps in Juba before the war but were later allowed to access the Camps is a clear indication that the government forces didn’t involve civilians. No blockage was made to the civilians fleeing to UNMISS camps. This is contrary to what Rebels have been doing in the three States of Greater Upper Nile were they slaughtered numerous civilians that included even Nuer civilians whom they suspected for being loyal to the government.
Realistically, why would pro-government soldiers contributed to the death of civilians in Juba? Nuer working as government officials, NGOs workers and Business people are fully protected and safe in Lakes, Warrap and Northern Bhar el Ghazal States. In the Counties of Greater Upper Nile that are under pro-government control, no single Nuer civilian was killed despite the fact that rebels slaughtered their loved ones in their controlled areas.
All civilians of various ethnicities are important and Nuer are not exceptional. It is worth mentioning that the independence of South Sudan came as a collective contribution that the citizens made during the referendum. No prudent person has forgotten this historic choice that brought an end to marginalization except Hon. Riek Machar who visited President Bashir in mid 2014 to facilitate him in the process of tearing apart the new nation.
It is important that whatever body that conducts investigation into alleged atrocities committed should have clear means of corroborating its findings. Inquiry that does not have ways to verify findings is doubting and subject to aggravating the situation. On the other hand, rebels need to stop propaganda of giving wrong numbers as a tool for political campaign and prioritize peace over political interests.
Finally, the government needs to reassure the citizens of the new ways and strategies to reach peace with the rebels. It is also important to open wider gate to receive those who rebelled because they were lied to. This includes reconciling civilians at the grassroots. At this hour, both parties need to put down the guns, sit and negotiate in good faith. Hatred should be stopped to create space for peace which is the only way of accessing justice.
The author lives in Juba and can be reached at: mayenreech@gmail.com or 0955 079 266.
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