The unexpected deadliest shooting at J-1 during a cabinet meeting in Juba

By Pal Chol Nyan, Juba, South Sudan

July 9, 2016 (SSB) — We have been telling the war mongers that peace is better than war but we have been being insulted, spat at and bullied for saying that. It was only yesterday when the shooting started at J-1 that I knew people don’t want to die given the way they were running away, confused, disoriented and undecided to different directions. I applaud the Leaders for standing firm and calling up on the people to stay calm.

War is destructive. War is costly. War breaks up families. War brings hunger. Who will deny that many families slept with empty stomachs just because there was shooting? War brings death. It must be avoided. I hope some of my friends who have been hostile to me for rebuking and advising them against inciting the public were on the line of duty. If not, then I have the audacity to question their man-hood.

There is no reason to die at this point in time. The President, the First Vice President and VP James Wani yesterday showed a resilience, wise leadership and real statesmanship otherwise it would have been hell on earth. It is now calm. There is an usual movement of security forces on the streets of Juba. Let us embrace peace. What triggered the shooting is still contested.

It is important to know because most of the investigation committees which have been being constituted by the President do not tell the public their findings. The two and half year’s civil war was more destructive than the 21 years North-South War. It was a surprise as to why should the shooting occur while the Presidency was meeting to iron out the contentious issues related to the implementation of the Agreement.

My thoughts and prayers with the troops who were killed in action in both sides. They are lovely sons of this country. They could have died in an external aggression wars. May God rest their souls in eternal peace and may their blood cement the unity of the people of South Sudan. This misconception of rule by majority at all costs must stop. It won’t take us anywhere.

We have indeed proven our neighbours right when they said we would not be able to rule ourselves and be a failed state because South Sudan is a polarized state of 64 tribes. When the trusteeship was tabled as the last option in case the parties do not agree on the mechanisms to resolve the conflict, the rulers, who are none other than those who fought yesterday, turned it down outright and beat their chests in anger.

Do you think confederation with the North would have been the wisest decision and still an open option should all attempts to put our house in order fail and become an ineffectual? The agreement is the only way out. What happened yesterday at J1 has never been heard of except in coups which are banned in the AU constitution. It is good that the situation was handled wisely and with high degree of responsibility.

Although, I did not grasp anything significant and new, because of the contents are repetitions of things said already, in the speech of the President to the Nation, at least his call for calm was a display of responsibility and deserves a thumb-ups. The FVP took a courageous decision to restrain his troops from advancing onto J1 despite fierce resistance from the SPLAIG because it could have been deadliest.

We don’t need wars. They take away our souls, separate us from our families, deprive our children of education, subject us to an abject poverty, our children die from malnutrition and prevent blessings diseases, displace us from our homes and instill constant fears in us which may turn into a trauma.

Peace is the only way. With peace, there is security, development, free movement of people, education, no highway armed robberies, with peace there is health care. Which one would you choose between the two? I would go for peace. Let us go for peace so that we build our country.

The author is an insider and an opinion writer, and can be reached via his email: Palchol Nyan <palcholnyan@yahoo.com>

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