Press statement on recent atrocities in Juba and our position on UNMISS
Men of the media, ladies of the press, welcome to Laico Regency, Nairobi, Kenya
July 28, 2016 (SSB) — The South Sudanese Diaspora Association in Kenya (SSDAK) would with deep sorrow like to express her profound belated condolences to the bereaved families, relatives and friends of the recently butchered South Sudanese in Raja, Wau, Yambio, Torit and Juba.
It is the prayer of this Association that Almighty God rest the souls of the deceased in eternal peace. However, the series of coordinated attacks by the enemies of peace have created very despicable state of the affairs. It is regrettable that a nation as young as South Sudan gets plunged into a deep war of dismal consequences such as mass murder and the continuous displacement in just two years after her independence.
However, and with indignation, the Association acknowledges that the situation in South Sudan is awful and the hands behind it aren’t invisible. South Sudanese leaders of the warring factions are not exclusively responsible for the current status quo. They have been coached externally to advance the agenda that they haven’t framed themselves.
The leaders in conflict have not devised that the country be subjected to torment. The external forces with hidden agenda are the possible culprits as far as the current culpability is concerned. At the fore is the United Nations Agency in the name of United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) and the next are corresponding International Non-governmental Organisations (NGOS).
The UNMISS under its ex-leader, Hilde F. Johnson has a prime role in the advent of South Sudan’s conflict. Though a well versed international figure in the affairs of South Sudan, Hilde F. Johnson had manifestly misused her personal connection with South Sudanese leaders. She connived with some leaders and plotted the strategy to unsettle the sitting leadership. Her connivance with such leaders has birthed the maiming of the innocent civil population in the country. Under her leadership, the UNMISS had not worked as an international peace monitoring body, it rather worked as a parallel government.
Through instructions from the superpowers (USA, UK) the UNMISS abandoned her peace monitoring task and opted to commit heinous delinquencies against South Sudanese people in the name of regime change. The list of delinquencies UNMISS have committed is long and however, the following are some of the despicable doings of such an international body.
Although not one of her defined functions, the UNMISS shamelessly gotten involved in procurement of arms for the rebels. The procured arms were intercepted in different sites. The initial interception was by ex-governor of Lakes state, Gen. Matur Chut Dhuol as the UNMISS convoy said to be ferrying consumable goods to Unity state was stopped under suspicious circumstances only to be found out that the vehicles and trailers were filled with lethal arms and ammunitions. The other interceptions were in Bor and Malakal respectively.
Through sustained pressures, the government of South Sudan allow the arms to reach their meant destinations only to be used destructively against innocent civilians by forces of Riek Machar in Bentiu, Malakal, Ayod, Bor and elsewhere. Following critical analysis, it is inferential that this was done in advancement of war and the subsequent extermination of South Sudan’s major tribes (NUER and DINKA). In her unembellished disrespect for the sovereignty of South Sudan, the UNMISS, had armed and used most of the Nuer fighters against the government. Nonetheless, not under any revered circumstances had a single community been fighting the whole government without extinction.
Again, it is inferential that the UNMISS is doing ethnic cleansing here and so is exploiting the anger of Nuer but the core principal is to finish them then find a different tribe that should follow suit. It shouldn’t go unmentioned that the so-called unknown gunmen are civilians armed by UNMISS at night to come out and kill at will then return to their bases at the camps.
Worse enough, the UNMISS has tempered with South Sudan’s social fabric. The mission’s personnel are escalating sexual violence, they are committing rapes and too they have made South Sudanese women in protection sites as their wives. Children have been born but distinguishably, they look not like South Sudanese. A white South Sudanese is a rare breed but many are popping up in UNMISS camps.
The said peacekeepers are raping women, impregnating young girls, and arming men to fight senseless war. Could this be peace keeping mission? In the same token, Young Shilluk girls in Malakal’s protection sites are in the race for such heart-aching, inhuman activities. The UNMISS set such girls to spy on their own government. The girls have gone for sex business with peace keepers because they have been terrorised that it wasn’t safe outside.
Siding with destructive forces of Riek Machar, the UNMISS had on intermittent basis failed to protect certain tribes in areas where they have erected protection sites. This is true with incidences in Malakal, Bentiu, Ayod and Akobo when elements belonging to Dinka were handed over to Riek’s forces for murder in UNMISS watch. Had it not been mercy of Riek Machar, three individuals (Chol Aruai, Aleer Bawang, and Mading Akueth) airlifted by UNMISS supposed to Panyagoor but intentionally taken to Akobo wouldn’t have survived.
It can be confidently reiterated that UNMISS had totally deviated from her primary mission. This is apparent that their tanks have been used by rebels to fight the government. They perpetrated crimes directly or indirectly through incitement of one tribe against the other and for these and many other reasons, the South Sudanese have lost confidence in them.
It is worth mentioning that it is worthless to allow an international body to continue raping women, impregnating underage girls, arming the civilians to commit serious crimes out of enforced vengeance against fellow countrymen and women in the name of peacekeeping mission. Condoning this atrocious act is indecorous. Giving more room to this UN body to enhance her despicable activities would amount to permanent hatred amongst South Sudan’s nationals and therefore is unacceptable and must cease.
Renewal of their mandate towards the end of this month would mean, that South Sudanese have renewed the permit for UNMISS to complete her mission of bringing the nascent nation to nothing but once existing country that exist no more. We are not happy with UNMISS because it is a parallel force that has gagged the government, empowered rebellion and maim the civilians.
It is our wish that the random movement of the UNMISS forces be controlled because their movement is a factor in furtherance of the conflict. The UNMISS peacekeepers shouldn’t be allowed to visit the Sudan People’s Liberation Army barracks and their main bases be based in Juba.
Enough is enough. The mission clad with destruction of the country shouldn’t be advanced. The level of destruction in South Sudan is alarming and it has been nurtured by the UNMISS. Continuous violence fuelled by UNMISS is damaging to the country and so UNMISS should change her objective or quit altogether.
As if UNMISS in South Sudan was the only mastermind of South Sudanese crisis, it is worth mentioning that African Union (AU) under Hailemariam Desalegn unmindfully opted for the approval of reinforcement force to be taken to South Sudan.
This is in furtherance of the compounded state brought about by the peace agreement that was signed under sustained pressure but not through consensus. The idea of taking foreign troops to South Sudan may create more problems and if not then it would jeopardise the already escalating crisis.
The best options for solving South Sudanese problem exist but they are being marred by the sustained international pressures.
South Sudanese leaders have a capacity to solve the current problem in a rather simple and peaceful manner. In adherence to South Sudanese norms and political will, we support the ceasefire that is currently in place and we as well recommend that implementation of the Peace Agreement be enhanced with due commitment and flexibility. The warring factions are urged and would continuously be urged to diminish their hard-liners’ spirit and embrace nationalism for the good of the grassroots.
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