President Kiir should repair relations with the new US president and new UN SG
6 min readPresident Kiir should work hard to repair battered relations with UN, US & EU’s new transitions to gain political momentum
By Ariik Atekdit, Juba, South Sudan
November 13, 2016 (SSB) —- We might have seen in the recent past the political shocks that South Sudan has faced while trying to convince the world about the domestic politics in the new born nation, a business that went misunderstood for the last two or three years of conflict. August ARCISS peace agreement was imposed by the world and regional governments against South Sudan therefore resulting to the current split of the SPLM-IO. Mostly some of the great politicians who dominated the SPLM politics during the CPA and post independence periods thought to go against President Salva Kiir as Kiir kept his heart strong not to surrender to them.
Dr Riek Machar, Pagan Amum and maybe Madam Nyandeng Garang and colleagues have played a major role in the neighbouring countries to tarnish the image of South Sudan. The whole world picks directly from Mr. Amum and Dr Machar who were then SPLM’s top officials holding the Secretary General and Deputy Chairman positions and continue to refuse any reaction from Juba. This is what has weakened the National politics. Now chances are lying ahead for the better change.
But then what must the Juba government do after Trump won the election? What does Juba prepare to forward to the New UN Secretary General in New York? Can’t South Sudan benefit from the politics of Brexit in European Union? What about the crisis in Ethiopia? We correctly know that Ethiopia and maybe Kenya have stood behind the South Sudan rebel movement and for how long should they continue doing that?
With a lot of frustrations South Sudanese have been hit by the economic crisis and majority of ethnic funded rebellions got erupted and creating a lot of loopholes for the Juba Administration. The shooting crisis that has been heard far away from the Presidential Palace indeed came to occur at J1 with many people killed and several others injured. People thought that it was the end of the day for any political struggle in South Sudan between the two rival principals: Gen. Salva Kiir and Dr Riek Machar, yet days later both the two men were heard speaking and explaining the situation that occurred while they were in the meeting.
Now the war was fought with the increasing frustration and South Sudan economy became dollarized, a situation that refused to improve. However, recently and even before that, we came to realize that Western Administration spearheaded by Mr. Barack Obama had been negative on South Sudan and the push to overthrow Kiir Administration seems to be an important agenda to them as Riek and Pagan Amum dominated the media and international politics.
Today high chances are available for President Kiir and his closed elites to deal out a very important political groundwork to repair their relations with the neighbouring countries and to get engaged with the UN Security Council, TROIKA and the recent US President elect, Mr. Donald Trump. President Trump would not want to exactly repeat the politics of the Obama Administration. He would want to play his own with his promise of binding the wounds of division. We hope that the “binding of wound of division” mission should not only stop at US borders but extended to the rest of the world. We so much need that in South Sudan.
I believe Mr. Trump will have no any intention to badly torture South Sudan if the country’s administration make good introduction of its crisis to the new US administration with honesty. It should not be a matter of turning wrong eyes onto the rebellion of Dr Riek Machar only but the reality should be explained, so that Trump Administration picks a positive definition of South Sudan crisis and rebellion.
If for instance, Kiir Administration and Trump Administration try to work the together, the new UN Secretary General that replaces Banki-Moon will have no reason to victimize the innocent South Sudan in the world of nations. Trump and the New UN Secretary General need to be approached at the earlier times by Juba administration. This does not mean to surrender to these new offices but at least to crack out some positive politics and understandings about the country.
I am seeing that there is a reason to celebrate with the coming of Trump to White House and the new UN secretary general not because that they must work in Kiir’s favour but because they are new and can accept on their own experience the accurate information from the administration in Juba.
Another high chance for Kiir is in Ethiopia which used to the house of rebellion. Of recent Ethiopia has been hit by the crisis of protests that turned violent and political. In 2014, Ethiopia has played a very negative role in South Sudan’s peace process in a way that Addis Ababa had wanted to be a minor superpower to South Sudan with the intention of forcing the leadership to ink the peace agreement that reads their interest.
Now that Ethiopia has got its own problem at home it will not extend its stubbornness to the innocent neighbour before fixing the domestic crisis of Oromo people. While Ethiopia turns its eyes to the domestic catastrophe, South Sudan under Kiir should speed up to recover the relations that they have so much lost to regional mistrusts.
As Kenya got frustrated from the UNSC for having sacked its Commanding General in South Sudan UN mission, Kiir administration at least this time has a clamp to stand and hold on it. The recent deportation of Riek Machar’s mouthpiece, Mr. James Gatdet Dak is a negative setback to Machar’s Camp and serves well for Kiir’s interest. This can make Kiir to try to befriend Kenya’s Uhuru who had been seen hosting rebel generals making Nairobi to be the city of South Sudan’s Rebel Declaration Centre before aiming gun barrels at Kiir administration.
With recent changes in the European Union as Britain (UK) declared its breakaway from the continental organization of EU, South Sudan foreign policy can work hard at least to rebuild relations with the breakaway Britain and the individual countries that have remained in the union. World politics is not stable these days and South Sudan’s Kiir administration has the advantage to work to persuade the world with evidences and facts.
While doing that the nation top leadership should not forget to fix the rampant insecurity in the country. If South Sudan security situation is stable it will not make any sense for these politicians to claim sending troops to South Sudan. The simple question would be: What for?
If Juba administration can quickly switch to the new transitional administrations of UN Secretary General and US President Elect, Mr. Trump that country will have saved the lives of its own people who always become the victims of wars and displacement and again chances of development can occur. From now January President Kiir has high chances to recover and repair lost friendships and relations.
The author is a long time experienced journalist, a freelancer and holds a bachelor of education in bio/chemistry. He can be reached @ Atekdit Mawien: ariqdudic@gmail.com
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