There is a great difference between the SPLM-IO and the Nuer Community
7 min readThe difference between the leadership of SPLM IO and Nuer community at large in this current civil war
By Mok Dei Gual, Kampala Uganda
March 6, 2016 (SSB) — Have you even heard that the people can be become friends when they have common enemy? The enemy of your enemy is your best friend and the same as; the friend of your enemy is also your enemy. Nuer tribe believes that the president Kiir is their enemy and he has personal conflict with Dr Machar in their political party SPLM. His case with Dr Machar is the power struggle within their political party SPLM. But what is his case with Nuer tribe he had killed in 2013?
Does he have personal conflict with Nuer tribe in the country? Did he hear that those Nuer tribes were members of SPLM before the civil war erupted in the country? The conflict started within SPLM party but what killed civilians? Nuer people had voted for the president Kiir when he had traveled to ten states in the country during 2010 election. They believed in him when he needs their votes in the country but he had given them a red card when he got what he needed from them in 2010.Our tribal identities have vanished in the first day the people had cast their votes for an independence of our country.
No country can be accepted our citizens by their tribal identities when one wishes to travel around the world. It means that the people shall be recognized by the passports which the citizens have that satisfied others with their country of origin. Therefore; the president of the country is the father of all citizens in the country because he is only the person who has already put in charge of others in the country. Let us be loyal to our country than to our tribal identities.
The dispute between Dr Machar and the president Kiir within SPLM.
On 16, 2013 Dr Machar and his group were on his way to Jonglei state when the President Kiir started arresting the rest of his friends in Juba. He was walking together with some of Nuer soldiers whom the president Kiir ordered his military leader Marial Chinuor to disarm them at Gedia, Tiger. That is what caused the civil war in the country when the soldiers refused to put down their guns. Some of Nuer soldiers were the presidential guards of the president Kiir, but they had divided themselves and started fighting each other when they were told to put down their guns. These are the SPLA soldiers who were on the way together with Dr Machar when they had decided to go to Jonglei State. It seems that the government had divided itself into two factions in the country because the people who had gone together with Dr Machar were the SPLA soldiers. The rest of SPLA officers were on the run together with him when he heard that, his dispute with the president Kiir within SPLM party has turned into civil war in the country. On his arrival in Jonglei State peacefully, he was informed the people that, their relatives who lives in Juba were killed by the president Kiir. Dr Machar told them that, his arrival in Jonglei State is the part of his survived from what happened in Juba. Most people had surprised indeed meanwhile the enemy of the president Kiir is Dr Machar who his aims is to take the SPLM leadership from him. This is where the people started running toward Juba as the part of rescuing their relatives from SPLA soldiers who were killing them.
Formation of the SPLM IO leadership in the first conference at Nasir Town and the second conference at Fagak.
To understand that, there is difference between the leadership of SPLM IO and the entirely Nuer community at large. Dr Machar had formed his Movement in the first conference which held in Nasir Town when he arrived there peacefully .This is where he had formed his political wings and military wings at the conference and he had also suggested the establishment of federal system in the country. He had appointed some of his politicians to contribute in the Movement politically. The people whom he held the meeting with them were also members of SPLM party. He had appointed his military leaders in the second conference which held in Fagak before Peter Gatdet defected from his Movement.
All I can say is that, what happened is the dispute between governing elites in the country. The SPLM leaders have difference purpose and ideology to run the country and that is what caused civil war in the country. The president Kiir wants unitary government where the central government holds all powers in the country while Dr Machar with his group want the federalism in which the central government can be ran by the parliament and cabinet and the powers can be divided between states governments and local governmental unit. He also want to include confederation states in which three states must be united based on military to protect its own border, for example Dar State, Latjor State and Bieh State soldiers can be deployed to protect our country border with Ethiopian.
Back to story of his struggle. Will Dr Machar be able to employ all Nuer tribe in his office? All he might do is to provide positions for statesmen and his followers and the civil populations must remain in the worst situations again after they have been struggled together with him since war erupted in the country. It means that he is not struggle for the case of his people but his story and what he shall be able to do is to maintain the security of the country. I hope that the president Kiir did not do that to all his people in his office when he has got into power since 2011.
Does the civil war caused by the killing of Nuer civilians and removal of Dr Machar from his position?
Dr Machar was removed from his position on 23, July 2013 and the civil war erupted on 15 Dec 2013.Dr Machar had made it clear to most people on Sunday at church in Jebel Market that, the issue is not between Nuer and Dinka tribes. He went on saying that it’s between him and his chairman in the ruling party. President Kiir remained silence when he sacked his Deputy in the ruling party from his government. Killing of Nuer civilians happened when the President Kiir failed to capture his Deputy in the ruling party in Juba. His intention of killing Nuer civilians is to alert the Dinkas who supported Dr Machar to face death when the politicians need to follow Dr Machar in the bush. His indirectly message is to tell them that Nuer would kill them as revenge of their relatives killed in Juba.
The people he killed did not meet with Dr Machar before their deaths. Most of them were the poor and their survival did not depend on what Dr Machar used to get from his politics in the country, but the politics took their lives. There are some of children whom their parents killed in this civil war but Dr Machar does not know where these children are in the country at the moment. He does not know how many people killed in the country during this current civil war. It means that his struggle does not have link with killing of Nuer tribe in the country. All they used to hear before their deaths is that, there is the greatest politician from Nuer tribe and his name is Dr Riek Machar.
Let us understand this politics which killed our people since 1984.Let the politicians never continues to politicize the citizens to get an advantage of their opponents in the country. What happened is an eye experiences which satisfied most people with what politics do in the country. Many of lives lost but politicians have returned back to their previous positions in the government. They used to tell the people that, this is compromise peace agreement. The more people still believing in politicians the more, citizens continue to suffer in the country.
Author is member of G10 and he can be reachable by gualkuiny@hotmail.com
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