The call for the Hybrid Court equals the continuation of the 2013 war
Bol Ringdit, Omaha, Nebraska, USA
June 11, 2016 (SSB) — The formation of the hybrid court that is being pushed by the UK and the US diplomats and strongly backs up by the leaders of the Sudan People Liberation Movement in the opposition (the SPLM-IO) is a continuation of war they initiated on December 15, 2013. If not, people like Dr. Riek Machar and Mabior Garang should have never been employed by the government in the first place while they are on the list of the people accused of the war crime. Rather than promoting peace, the consequences of the hybrid court will lead to another conflict when people with guns are about to be told to come to court.
The motive behind this is to focus on pushing most government officials they deemed as the strong supporters of the President Salva Kiir into a prison. In another word, the IO members won’t face the court, and they will blame their atrocities of the war they committed during last two years on those generals they have fired already. They will point their fingers to people like Peter Gadet, 1st. Gen. Simon Gatwech Dual and Johnson Olony as they are the only war criminals on their side.
The leadership of the SPLM- IO of South Sudan still believes in political changes that will grant them a chance to control the power. We know they are not in Juba to serve collectively with the government but to continue with their plan of overthrow the President Kiir from the top office of the nation.
If the hybrid Court is practically looking for the war criminals of South Sudan, 90% of the IO would be convicted of war crimes. But the people behind hybrid court are not after the IO; they want the government members who they see as the strongest followers of Salva Kiir, who may completely oppose the strategic plan of seizing the power gradually by Dr. Riek Machar and his friends.
Therefore, the hybrid court is a sequel of the war they started on December 15, 2013. If the SPLM-IO leaders are insisting for the formation of the hybrid court till this time, then they are still at war. No doubt that their intention is to lock up those they fear on the government’s side. That isn’t an easy task to be met either.
The government should make it clear that the hybrid court is meant to serve justice for all the people who are accused of committing a war crime and have fueled the war. Then some of the IO members should have never been employed in the government. The court can never lead to a peaceful South Sudan at this time. At least we are looking for another bloody dispute; then it can be formed.
These people who are the war criminals include Riek Machar himself, his wife, Taban Deng, Alfred Gore, Mabior Garang, Nyandeng Chol Atem (Mabior mother), and all the SPLM -IO army generals and the list is so long. Can somebody say what kind of force that may be used to bring them to justices if not the army? If the military is used to take them to court, then that is an imminent war. Will the people with the military proceed to prison peacefully if they are convicted? No, they will never. Will the hybrid court even name them as suspects? No, it won’t.
Then what will happen when the court concentrates on the top leaders of the government leaving the IO war criminals? That will be another challenge to the peace, and we may have another war. It will not work, and it is very complicated.
I would suggest one condition that all the suspects must resign until they are proven innocent then they can resume their jobs. If that happen, we can move forward with forming the hybrid court. If it didn’t, that is a sign of warning to do not proceed with the formation of the court. It is a boom-shell and can blast anytime the names of the suspect are revealed.
I repeat that the hybrid court is an extension of the war in another form. We are in the peace and should only advocate for the peace, not for matters like the so-called hybrid court which will only lead to another fight rather than keeping the peace in the place. The issue should be clarified that any nation that is in the support of this tribunal is against a peaceful South Sudan.
We cannot allow war criminals to occupy the highest offices of the government and later come talk about indicting them. It won’t be easy to take to a court someone with an army without using a great force. The people who are behind this intrigue of continuing the war under bogus justices that is meant to target only one side of the conflict are the authentic enemies of peace in South Sudan. They are not after peace this nation is in need for it. Evidently, their actions speak louder as the proofs they are the number one enemies of a tranquil South Sudan.
In conclusion, peace is much important to South Sudan and can be secured and maintained in the current political atmosphere. There is not guarantee that the hybrid court will succeed and be effective by any chance weighing the current political provisions of the country and considering the type of the people we are trying to place behind bars. We are talking about many warlords and top officials in the country. They are in power, and they cannot give in easily as people think. Therefore, it is our great interests to move on with peace building. There is no way for the hybrid court to be formed and serve its purpose effectually.
Bol Ringdit, the author, is a concerned citizen of South Sudan and a peace advocacator, currently living in Omaha, Nebraska. I can be reached at bolringdit@gmail.com
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