Request: Hold peace conference for Jonglei and Boma states
6 min readBy Philip Thon Aleu, Juba, South Sudan
February 17, 2016 (SSB) – The new governors of Jonglei and Boma states should not miss an opportunity provided by the dry season and creation of different administrative units to launch a new beginning for their people. Let’s start a people-to-people peace initiatives and enable our children, women and the elderly to enjoy the dividends of peaceful co-existence.
The people of former Jonglei state – now divided in Western Biech, Eastern Biech and Boma states, suffered immensely due to cattle raiding and child abduction. When the December 2013 war started, it was Bor, the capital of Jonglei state, that was engulfed in the conflict immediately after Juba. Women were raped and killed in churches, patients shot dead on hospital beds – by non-other than the citizens of Jonglei state themselves.
On January 21, 2014 when I and other reporters landed in Bor, the scenes were horrible. Bodies lied on the streets, in the markets, bedrooms, offices, churches and hospital wards. Because Jonglei state never reconciled with herself, it killed her people.
With the division of the largest state into four, the focus should shift to reconciliation led by the people. History has shown that peace initiatives led by politicians and our friends from the international community (through United Nations agencies) have failed. On the other hand, Jonglei’s people dialogues have been successful and fruitful.
In 2001, the Murle and Dinka Bor reached an agreement to allow the Murle to stay in Bor areas during dry season with their animals. 2001, 2002 and 2003 are known as years of peace between Bor and Pibor people. There were some criminals activities but were handled by the chiefs and local government officials. A failure to hold raiders accountable in late 2003 led to the collapse of the peaceful co-existence between Bor and Pibor in early 2004.
When the SPLM government of Southern Sudan took over the leadership of the semi-autonomous region and appointed governor for Jonglei state, the new leadership failed to build on the past peace initiative. On the other hand, the chiefs took backseats – rightly so because their sons were now fully in charge of the governance in Southern Sudan. What the traditional leaders did not know was there their sons are not bothered by demands of the civil population: which is peace, peace and peace between communities. It is only through peace that cattle could be driven from Pibor to Bor towns without being raided on the way.
The government will generate revenue through taxes to deliver services. This has never been a priority at all because oil money was flowing from Juba to the states capital. Raiders benefited from this leadership lapse and failure to perform the primary role of any authority: provision of security to the most vulnerable. Even the oldest monkey protect the young ones and females from other animal to depict authority. This was completely ignored in Jonglei state, like other parts of South Sudan.
The 2010 elections did not remind representatives of the people that constituencies are made up of people. Some candidates for parliamentary and gubernatorial seats visited their villages for the first in 2010. (One MPs confirmed this to me in March 2010). In other words South Sudanese are represented by people who don’t have their families in the country. During the recess, MPs visit their families abroad and return to South Sudan after holidays. Or to the “a field.” One MP said in Jonglei state assembly in 2012 that she has been in the ‘field’ for long and wanted to see her children. Realizing the negative interpretation of this statement and the presence of the media during the session, another MP stood up and condemned the description of Jonglei state as “a field.” But all the same, that indeed confirmed the behaviours of South Sudanese politicians – taking their country for a farm and foreign capitals for homes.
And when David Yau Yau (now an SPLA general) lost elections and accused SPLM of election fraud, he went to the bush and fought for separate administration for Pibor. In May 2014, his demands were answered by creation of Greater Pibor Administrative Area. There was relative peace in neighbouring Bor areas, partly, in my view, Yau Yau provided a leadership. That peace did not hold longer because, once again, the civilians, who bear the horrors of political disagreements, were not involved in the peace processes. So the circle of raiding and child abduction resumed.
Now that Col. Philip Aguer Panyang and Baba Medan Konyi are new governors for Jonglei and Boma states respectively, one would aspect a new beginning. Two months have gone since these leaders took over the helms of their new states but nothing has moved in this direction: peace initiative. There is no all-weather-road connecting Pibor and Bor and the leaders must use this dry season to hold peace conference in the villages and save lives. Saving live will be a credit. Bring the chiefs together; not to Bor or Pibor towns, but in the villages (say Gumuruk or Makuach payams). Political positions should be used to deliver to the people because chances of staying there for 20 years to see a change are very limited. My governors, Philip Aguer and Baba Medan, there will be no sufficient or better time than now.
The celebrations footage displayed on South Sudan TV will soon be forgotten if the people don’t get the peace they expect from creation of the new states.
South Sudanese are being quoted by politicians to have “popular support for the creation of 28 states” and I think the popular demand for peaceful coexistence should not be ignored. It is through peace that farmers will return to the gardens. It is through peace that commerce between Pibor and Bor will commence. The states governments will benefit from peaceful coexistence by getting revenues and saving lives that would otherwise be lost through cattle raiding and child abduction. This initiative does not need a special budget. Just inform the chiefs that Bor and Murle people need to meet and discuss insecurity. Identify a location and set a date. We shall meet there.
Equally important, these people-to-people peace conferences should also start between Jonglei, Western and Easter Biech as well as Boma. In other words, all the four states of former Jonglei state should identity the causes of insecurity and move swiftly to address them. This is the only way to allow opening of schools, build of roads, health centers and development. So the chorus of development without putting in place steps to achieve it will soon become irrelevant if leaders don’t act in the positive direction.
After the peace conferences ensure rule of law by punishing raiders without favour.
Philip Thon Aleu is a journalist and can be reached through: pthonaleu@gmail.com
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