The reinstatement of Dr. Riek Machar is a significant step towards final peace and reconciliation in South Sudan
5 min readThe Policy of reinstating Dr. Riek Machar Teny as the first vice president is the significant step to final peace and reconciliation amongst the leaders and the citizen of South Sudan at large
By Daniel Machar Dhieu, Juba, South Sudan
February 12, 2016 (SSB) —- It came to my mind that, President Salva Kiir Mayardit has accepted to forgive and make reconciliation with those in rebel camp after hearing the presidential decree that reinstated back the former vice president Dr. Riek Machar as the first vice president of South Sudan and deputize by James Wani as the second vice president on 12th February, 2016. This was not out of nothing, it is the part of agreement signed by the two parties during the peace talked in Ethiopia capital.
Right now, we have our President and two vice president who holds the executive powers, the legislative powers, power over the military, and the power to veto the drafted constitution or create another constitutional committee if they wishes to do so. If this alone wasn’t disconcerting enough, let’s add to it the fact that there is no organized opposition to peace implementation. One would think that, why president issue decree accepting Dr. Riek Machar again as his first vice president in the republic of South Sudan?
But I would like tell you the doubt Thomas, that president has preferred a right decision to reinstated back Dr. Riek as the first vice president because the matter was not for Dr. Riek Machar and president Kiir it was national trouble. Therefore, if the country is ready to work with Dr. Riek Machar then president has no any option to reject him out of the country.
On the other hand, I thank H. E Salva Kiir Mayardit and his executive members on this agenda as a good step for peace and reconciliation amongst the people of his nation. Our country has been affected a lot with crisis of political war and economic war that need all the leaders to cooperate in building this nation.
We still have problem of 28 states as always reported by media houses after one month suspension by IGAD communiqué meeting in Ethiopia at the end of last Month of January 2016 which need to be discuss appropriately with peaceful minds so that we may not go back to war before one year of implementation.
The dialogue for these 28 states will need us to compromise on important points because it will be meaningless to have 28 states of war zones, the same when we have 10 states of mistreatment of other communities, where other big communities intimidate other small communities.
I always believe that a corrupt and possibly murderous state is better than having no state, since they believe correctly that millions would suffer at the absence of state institutions, and incorrectly that such a state can be reformed with time and also believe that no state is better than having a corrupt and murderous state, and that such a state would need to be brought down and rebuilt correctly for the sake of our long-term benefit, even if in the meantime millions end up suffering the absence of what little state they had.
I personally encourage the formation of government of national unity which is already started by reinstated the former vice president as the first vice president base on compromised peace agreement. The formation of new government of national unity will require us to forgive those who failed us, deny our freedom and led us back to political war, the message is clear to all those politicians we will never vote them into power in the second round of the presidential elections instead.
The argument over 28 states is debatable, because we live in all states and in reality no longer have one, so, the focus should be how to build it right this time around and not over who dropped the ball. The argument over the presidential order no. 36 creation of 28 states is stupidity because they are over, and if we are truly democratic, we should be able to respect each other’s choices and not hold it against them now. As for the Character debate, well, besides the ridiculous notions that each side has about the other, if you are serious about loving this country and rebuilding it, you need both.
We have so many problems one doesn’t even know where to begin, and we are stuck in this country together. And here is where we agree: We want a state that respects all of our rights, where government services function, one where corruption doesn’t rule supreme and where the arts are not considered satanic distractions. We want a country that we can be proud of and that has a future.
Well, I personally need Dr. Riek Machar to reconcile with President Salva Kiir because reconciliation is a process that requires both sides to have mature respectable political leadership, which is commonly for the SPLM since its formation. The SPLM symbols are big on platitudes and have real experience or solutions beyond theoretical ones and are too ready to take risky stands, and opposition’s symbols are also ready, that they have to make peace especially Dr. Riek machar and many other leaders are respectable to make peace throughout the country.
The writer is the Student at South Sudan Christian University, Juba South Sudan. Contact him through machardhieu@gmail.
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