Taban Deng Gai: The Little Devil of Ruweng People has Resurfaced Again
By Santino Aniek, New York, USA
January 16, 2016 (SSB) — Last week when we were listening to the little evil of Ruweng people’s speech, what we heard was a crime, chauvinism, bigotry, and rhetoric that were threatened to Ruweng people. Everyone in our community by now is aware of the horrific speech during the convention a few weeks ago by Taban Deng Gai, and it should be condemned in stronger terms. His position on the issue of border between Panrieng and Biemnom that is now being discussed on Social Media has displayed an ignorance or intentional bias, and it is extraordinarily ridiculous, which deserves a serious response.
As always the case, his people in Unity state had continued to speculate whether Panrieng and Biemnom share a border, perhaps they are unaware of the location of Panrieng and Biemnom. With that being said, I find it particularly disturbing that I’m clearly more concerned about this rhetoric, crime, chauvinism, and bigotry, which he is trying to convey to South Sudanese people. Given the enormous situation facing our people, it was shocking and unbelievable to all of us to hear that Panrieng and Biemnom do not share border, however, I feel that many in our community are not familiar with many cruelty Taban Deng has been imposing on our community all these years, and I have to help our people to understand some characteristics of this little evil of Ruweng people has.
Looking bit deeper, we can see the reflection in the life of this evil tendency playing out in his behavior and we can all sense devils in his speech. However, my thought about the speech of comrade Taban Deng Gai and the question we need to ask ourselves is this: How did we get here and why was Ruweng made a state in the first place? What should this little evil of Ruweng people have done before the establishing of Ruweng State? Guess what, Ruweng State is coming to stay forever and will never be overturned by the likes of Taban. On the contrary, this loaded language by this little evil will never build up cohesion any time soon because we will never let Taban succeed.
These kinds of misleading language will not reduce the confidence of our people and this will bind them even more strongly to the will of unity. Unquestionably, until our neighbor from Unity State get serious about the society’s structure, and learn a lesson about their barbaric treatment, then those who are not happy about the formation of Ruweng State can talk as they desire, but at this point in time, the people of Ruweng mean it to be left alone, whether Biemnom and Panrieng have border or not.
As record has indicated, each and every South Sudanese community has experienced this barbaric treatment for too long and now you cannot ask others to care about you anymore and if Taban Deng Gai and his company does not want to care about themselves, then it is their own problem. As this resilience challenges continues, we distinguish that the only human being, who is refusing to recognize Ruweng State today, is the same person who was supporting Riek Macher’s 21 States proposal a few months ago.
More importantly, it appears that we are facing extinction, unless we wake up before it is too late and defend this gift by President Kiir because this is a confession at its best and we are not careful, senseless war will return to South Sudan sooner than later. Comrades, no one is going to save Ruweng people. Whether we are sinking or we are swimming now, we need to have the courage, and save ourselves from these lives and death, and take this little evil off our back once and for all. Nonetheless, I agree in part with this little evil who seems to be opposing our natural habitat given by Nhialic of South Sudan because they have been practicing this barbaric treatment for too long and when the initial judgment is the vehicle for breaking away from Unity State, denial increased.
Moreover, they have been massacring our people with no justification whatsoever all these years and this is why Ruweng State was established as a result of disappointment between the two communities of Unity State. Personally, no one should be in a position that condones suffering and also has a track record of allowing such a barbaric treatment to continue by oppressing other communities, and at the end of the day refusing to recognize the separation between the two communities.
Imagine if it is Ruweng people refusing for the little evil’s community not to have their own state. I’m sure we will be set on fire in day light like other sisters and brothers who were set on fire in 1992 and in 2013 in Bentiu. In fact, my analysis of the current state of this inflammatory speech by Taban because of Ruweng people have been once again free from Unity State is sorrowfully flawed. Although, this little evil think that they are the victims of the 28 States created by President Kiir, but when this reality of their barbaric treatment became the word of the day, they start blaming other communities of breaking away without fully understanding the scope of other communities’ long suffering.
Comrades it is extremely outrageous. How can you extrapolate your bad behavior to the entire South Sudanese communities? Those folks who are crying today are the same people who wanted to have their own state few months ago and they are the same people trapped in the absolute wasted lives that affected the entire nation.
Most importantly, our commitment to one another vs. the non-commitment shows ineffectiveness of our unwillingness to live together in Unity State. In addition, the relationship we have been having all these years ensures a majority of Unity State communities have remained in systematic purgatory of miserable suffering and death caused by this little evil. Let me refresh my history as a once resident of this community of Unity State.
Initially, I did beat these odds and I did overcome this culture of traps, and now I finally realized how intentionally these people have been defunding and destroying our people’s lives causing our innocent people significantly every things Nhialic has given them all these years and now this evil is complaining about our breaking away from Unity State is nothing, but pathetic indeed. Where should our innocent people look for help comrade Taban? Who should they ask for help when everyone around them in Unity State hated them to death?
President Kiirdit is the answer here and he responded beautifully by creating 28 states, which our neighbor in Unity State hated the most. South Sudan’s system of government has never been for equality and due process then this piece of legislature by President Kiir. Passing this law is going to make much of a difference and the majority of South Sudanese people particularly the Ruweng people will defend this decree for internal and external enemy. If this declaration can let each and every community live in peace, then there is no need this little evil crying baby to make it a big deal here because this is the same Federalism, which people in his camp have been talking about when Riek Macher introduced it to the nation.
Returning to this old system is pivotal issues that will spark other senseless war in South Sudan. This entire rhetoric is misleading, can often confuse people, and will take people back to another battlefield, which no one is ready for including this little evil. Comrades, if you see yourself as a victim of my word, I apologize; I’m not talking to you personally, but to those who never have a vision for the country they wanted to lead by themselves. In fact, I’m a product of South Sudan’s history the good, the bad, the horrible, and I know how long we have been suffering in the hand of this little evil because of his bad action and lack of vision.
Mind your own business, and stay out of our lives period. And to limit my thought on this speech, my parents never taught me how to become a victim of circumstances; they knew that being a victim would not get me anywhere. Personally, this is the problem of a certain community within South Sudan, it would take serious people who are experts in brain and behavior relationships to attempt to change these circumstances, otherwise, let accept this divorce once and for all.
It is actually very funny to watch this mouthpiece meltdown during the 28 States declaration by President Kiir. What these people fail to realize is that we are tired of these eunuchs of their misleading and the criticism of President Kiir all these years. These people have no clue about the system of government and they have an intuition to criticize President Kiir of creating 28 States while Riek Macher did the same thing and no one say even a word.
More importantly, President Kiir has divided the beef comrades and it is up to each and every community to go and cook their beef, otherwise, those who are not happy with this decree must hang themselves because President Kiir is alive and kicking as well. Generally, as far as President Kiir is having access to power, nothing is going to change this decision at all. Consequently, it is true that we are dealing with people who spent their entire life in a different culture, with different beliefs, with different perceptions contrary to our beliefs, and so it is time for our cousins in Unity State to let us go in peace.
In addition, it is likely that nothing will change Taban’s mind as nothing will change our mind from their beliefs in Unity State. Furthermore, the best we can do is being accepting and tolerant of one another, respect human lives, and that of course is easier said than done. When people are in an immoral situation like Unity state people are in, there are conflicting beliefs, attitudes, perceptions, and culture and the best is to remove ourselves from that conflict; it sounds like President Kiir has done just that.
In fact, President Kiir has just told the South Sudanese people to go to their cities and lived their lives. Still, those who have this wishful thinking that this decree will be overturned in the near future; know this, this piece of legacy of President Kiir will be protected.
On the other hands, it is really sad that the power sharing is hijacked by this little evil of Ruweng people. But, comrade Taban is not new to the people of Ruweng because he had made a career in politics at the expenses of the same people. I just don’t see leaning toward another senseless war favoring Taban Deng Gai, I know all the entities that have been alienated won’t help him. Let us hope that the unity within the party will come with changes or the backlash will doom chance of Taban Deng Gai of creating another chaos in South Sudan.
Yes, indeed, Taban will not be prosecuted for what most certainly appears to be a violation of war crimes and can ever be applied to the South Sudanese citizen without the citizen being able to use what I will call the Taban-defense or get-out-of-jail-free for as many wars crimes that he has committed so many times and could not be prosecuted. If he is not prosecuted then any south Sudanese cannot or ever will not be held accountable to for this humanity crime in our country.
Sadly, I watched the Taban comedy hour last week, my general impression is that he is good in creating conflict, in fact very well, and the best demagogue I have ever seen in my entire life. He is a first class liar whose position can be summed up by trust me, that Biemnom and Panrieng do not have a border, and what a conspiracy theory. In reality, if I had not seen this guy spending 8 years in power as the governor of Unity State, one could be fooled.
It is not interesting that Taban is advocating for another conflict in South Sudan having lying about the border between Panrieng and Biemnom. This is a constitutional right for Ruweng people to live where Nhialic put them, not to be threatened by guileful politician whose days of unmitigated misery has resulted as a fail leadership and has never provide adequate and appropriate choice of ward.
What gives him the right to lie about the border between Panrieng and Biemnom that he tried many times to eliminate its people and he could not even succeed for the second time? Likewise, why does he always demonize the people of Ruweng when we are a very responsible community?
I would like to remind him that this tactic has never work in the old Germany, or in Israel where terrorists are in the civil society and guys like Taban Deng Gai took his time to lecture Ruweng people about the border he has no knowledge about it while he import more issues from Addis Ababa to Juba that has need immediate solution. Moreover, I have always wondered if people like Taban Deng Gai can learn anything, lesson, and thus cannot be proportionately paid the price for the problem he has generated all these years.
This is generational crime by the system that Taban has set up when he was a governor of Unity State for more than ten years to exploit the lives of Ruweng people for his own benefit still hurting our people. In addition, Taban has made a career in politics through crimes and he is now threatening the peace loving people of Ruweng so that he can protect his position and wealth for his family and his community in Unity State. Equally, this provocative statement by Taban is very disturbing to all Ruweng people.
Let me move in here and head things off before we get too far out of control starting to talk about what we need, who we need to focus on, and what kind of person we need to be watching here. I cannot imagine, but I think what is really important here is, going forward, that we need to declare Taban soon than later as the first enemy of Ruweng people because if Taban gets his hand on any power, he is going to dig up the rock.
Nonetheless, the future of our country depends on a great politician, I mean; may be a pretty good politician like any other politician, but Taban is not one of them because his past record will never favor him as a good person. It is the only chance we have to begin the process of reversing this transformation that Taban has begun to threaten the Ruweng people.
I’m not trying to be divisive here, but I’m trying to stay focused on what we need to do and what needs to happen before Taban made his next move. Indeed, one cannot help, but wonder how many suicide attempts, but Taban Deng is trying to eliminate Ruweng people that will never happen. In adding, Taban will not properly understood, is not brilliantly articulated in thinking, all of that is what we need to know about him, and not only that we need to stop this little evil before harming our people again.
In conclusion, Taban took a victory journey during his inflammatory speech even though he has little to celebrate. The failure of Taban Deng Gai is apparent to ordinary South Sudanese across the country, but he continues to engage in denial and self-congratulation without knowing that history will never be kind to him in the future. Taban says freeing Ruweng people in Unity State was over the top; yet, the savagery of his action all these years tells us that the only thing over the top is Taban’s nonchalant disposition regarding the threat of this little evil of Ruweng people.
While lecturing the Ruweng people about the border of Panrieng and Biemnom, he cannot even identify the border between Northern Sudan and South Sudan because comrades you all know that Taban was the Governor of Unity State during the PCA, but he did not claim Panthou as part of Unity state from the regime in Khartoum. However, I would like to remind former Governor of Unity State comrade Taban that Khartoum Peace Agreement and the current Addis Ababa Peace Agreement were not sign as a result of Panrieng and Biemnom border conflict, but these two agreements were signed as a result of Taban’s recklessness behavior all these years.
In reality, if Taban is serious about the border, he needs to come up with another strategy for defeating Khartoum regime and destroying the real enemy of South Sudan before talking about the border between Panrieng and Biemnom. Thus far, he has only come up with empty rhetoric and movable threats to the people he never defeated because Taban has tried many times to achieve his goalmouths of wiping Ruweng people off the map of South Sudan. Subsequently, the vast majority of Ruweng people are nonviolent and choose to ignore Taban Deng Gai’s repeated calls to physical aggression and violence, but nonetheless, given tactic approval for such actions by our silence, and have done so over the decades need to stop.
Yes, this has repeated itself many times with barbaric ways, but this atrocity sits at the heart of our people and is one of the bases for this little evil actions need responsiveness right now. The perpetuation of our neighbor from Unity State violence against Ruweng people with the intention and domination needs to be addressed now and settled once and for all. Our neighbors from Unity State must come to peace in and of themselves. In authenticity, what I have learned throughout the course of my life is that there are things that we cannot control, but this little evil of Ruweng people must control his action.
Finally, we as Ruweng people cannot ignore the danger that has been inflicting on us by people like Taban Deng Gai, but neither can we ignore the strength and the ability of our great community to embrace the best and the highest ideals of humanity.
Santino Aniek is a concerned South Sudanese lived in Upstate New York, U.S.A. He can be reached at santino.aniek5@gmail.com and find me on Facebook, on Skype, and on twitter @saniek
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