The Proxy War in South Sudan (Part 1)
13 min readBy David Matiop Gai, Juba, South Sudan
April 17, 2017 (SSB) — Let me tells my experiences on peace negotiation and conflict resolution at certain level of human society, and point out few figures I have found as problem in South Sudan conflict. “My dear son, big people came here several times, and they have tried their level best to handle this case but they have failed, the case had accumulated, and people want to kill themselves.
Why do you accept to be misled by those who are not willing to have a heart of forgiveness, what if they fight in your front? Do you have prowess or great kill to do right things or handle this conflict David Matiop Gai?” My uncle asked me at the time when I was tasked to solved conflict at community level but I humbly answered him that, my dear uncle, through the grace and help of God, I will handle this case properly, and all of us shall be happy at the end of the conference, and negotiations.
I am not rattling or making noise over myself, my explanation to this war and conflict is rational, but at the end of conference as I said, we succeeded and everybody was asking gives me your phone number. So any conflict or war is put to an end if people are willing, and good facilitator who will respect others.
Who is supposed to be blames at the very beginning of war and conflicts in South Sudan? Who are to be blame among the war supporters such as South Sudanese politicians, citizens, and international community? Eventually this war is a bad war, and it is indeed a bad war, and some people called it a senseless war in the Republic of South Sudan.
It is well stated the art of war and conflict is very expensive, destructive, and costly. We have experienced this in the Sudan civil war for twenty two years, (22 yrs.), where we lost four millions lives and those of us who participated in liberation and still alive are so proud of those who died during that war because they lost their dear lives for the cost of liberation.
First able somebody may argue that this war in South Sudan is not a proxy war, but to confirm it, let us define the term, “proxy war”. The term, “proxy war”, is a conflict between third parties fighting on the behalf or for more powerful parties in the country or between two states.
Our conflict at this level is very complex with unsearchable secrets both at the national level and at the international level, but to me I do blame the three groups in South Sudan conflict as beneficiaries of this war. It had become a dark age today through war and conflict as people are suffering, while others are well off. Therefore, here are full details of my analysis on South Sudan civil war and conflicts.
South Sudanese politicians, masters of conflict.
Politicians are problems. Most of political indiscipline caused by politicians. It is worse in South Sudan where majority of current politicians are learning class of oral politics. And if these politicians were people who undergo through professionalism of humanity, there would have been at least fear of God and humanity by not choosing to opt for creating violent. They did not even attend a one day class of political science, and other social science studies. That is a big problem by itself. Last year, I wrote an article and published by Paanluelwel, South Sudanese Bloggers, and later on published by South Sudan Mirror.
I wrote about South Sudanese politicians who brought down the nation when it took off in a very fastest development to zero level. Juba buildings remained as they were since 2013 conflict started, and there is no more development. It is better to know the genesis of war, and conflict in South Sudan. Smallest issues begin at the ignorance levels, and began to escalate beyond control.
When we go back in our history as South Sudanese people, it seem like there is no problem with South Sudanese at all unless somebody among their tribes misleads them to conflict. But I have found slight dangerous problem with South Sudanese politicians, and if there is any; it is non-other than spirit of greediness. This spirit of greediness is a tool of destruction in South Sudan. In 1991, Dr. Riek tried to become a rebel leader of Southerners in the Sudan over his leader Dr. John Garang.
Southerners were divided the way they are now, but the issue was solved amicably from 1999-2002 through consecutive commitment of peace process between communities of Southern Sudan; CPA was signed, Garang died in 2005, but referendum on January 9, 2011, and independence in July 9, 2011 were achieved independently without knowing people will go back to war as such.
But before that bad spirit of greediness have to started its operations among the politicians, South Sudan general election was scheduled to take place in 2015, but because the spirit of greediness can’t wait, five politicians from main ruling party SPLM raised their desire to contest for both SPLM party leadership, and presidential post of the country.
But instead to contest peacefully because there is no problem with ten or fifteen people to contest on position of preliminary results at party level depends on party constitution, they began connected themselves, (politicians), with tribal military which cause the dark day and shedding bloods basin of the South Sudanese people. I have lost three family members in 2013, adding to thirteen family members in 1991 incident, and making the total of 16 people in one family.
From that very day, the SPLM politicians apart from other political parties divided themselves on basis of proxy war by using poor South Sudanese people to fight a war on their behalf as they bravely called themselves my brothers and my sisters. I didn’t saw one day that an enemy who is killing people on the other hand is being called as my brother but it is because public is dying in a senseless war on their behalf; it is not painful to them, because they have two-three passports.
Their children are in the West, they sit together and eat together in hotels in Juba as long as money is enough to accommodate them. Rebel is rebel until you integrated into system with serious training. I don’t see a reason of calling a mad person with blood of innocent people my brother.
Look politicians grouped themselves in different forms of destructions: government on its track trying to reverse horrible situation to normal in the country, while it is being tear into pieces from their hands by the rebels; political detainees are on their own journey trying to win the game of new leadership in the country; SPLM-IO who are the owners of South Sudan on fire are divide, and could not manage to restore peace into a basket since other factions are under former first vice president Dr. Riek Machar, and others are under current first vice president Gen. Taban Deng Gai.
The rebel group of Dr. Lam Akol called National Democratic Movement want to rule, (NDM), another rebel group from Murle called Cobra faction is a problem; the other rebel groups from Equatoria in IO, and National Salvation Front led by defected Gen. Thomas Cirillo want to rule, and current another rebellion is heard in Wau by name of other ethnic groups from Wau.
All these factions are criminals, and they should be declare as terrorists groups in South Sudan because their objectives are not fitting for safeguarding humanity, because if South Sudanese who are government supporters, and South Sudanese who are rebels supporters in their areas of control are dying for less national objectives, then they should they not be regarded as terrorists, otherwise whom are they fighting for; and what are they fighting for?
If they failed to unify South Sudanese regardless of their tribes, and win the symbol of national unity, then why are they calling for change; change without people?
South Sudanese citizens contribute to war.
The citizens are part of the problems; some say, it is because they are not educated, others say, intermarry should be a solution, but still another groups say, they don’t know their rights, but all these contributions are bit fair. My uncle has three wives; first wife from Kuku, the second wife from Kakua, and third wife from Dinka.
When the war erupted in Yei in 2016, the whole family was in Yei, and my uncle was in Upper Nile in front line. Some family members came to Juba safely and the two daughters of a second wife from Kakua remained in Yei. The father talked to his in-laws to let his children come to Juba but the in-laws said, road to Juba is blocked by rebels and we can’t sent the children just like that.
They promised my uncle to be patient while they looked a way to bring the children. Their uncle, a brother to their mother decided to take them to Uganda through Koboko, and they left Yei for Morovbo but before reaching Morovbo, their vehicle felt in ambush, and they were removed out from the vehicle one by one. The elder daughter is short like her mother but young one is taller.
The rebels point at younger one that you are a Dinka, but she said, I am not a Dinka. They said why are you so tall like this? She said, my mother is Cecilia from Kakua, but they insisted that yes your mother is from Kakua but your father is a Dinka. She began pointing her uncle as a father, and her uncle said, she is my daughter, and at that few arguments my uncle daughter survived from the hands of rebels on Yei-Kaya road.
When she came to Juba, she became traumatized and I begin to counsel her, and I got lots of news from her and that was the time I wrote about Dinka community: MTN of South Sudan? In April 2016 with lots of social problems which were happening on the ground in the country. South Sudanese are good Christians in churches on Sunday, and they are bad people when they come out from the churches. They are one accelerating easier of war in their country.
It is better to understand this deception. I have learn that if you tell false, or issues of tribe to tribe to South Sudanese, they must understand you very quickly but if you are a man of truths, they will not listen to you, unless you are a great liar, and you deceive them to the point of their death.
Imagine, I have stories of my colleagues whom I am working with; there is a new number plate for South Sudan, (SSD); and politics of rejection this number plate. My friend told me, do you know why people are rejecting this new number plate? I said I don’t know. He told me, “it is a Dinka new colonization” because letter, “D”, stands for Dinka, but I told him, is letter “D” also problem and stands for Dinka in other countries even England where the origin of English language was or it is just a problem in South Sudan?
He said, only in South Sudan, and I said, what if letter “D” is removed and replace with another letter you people proposed, will there be another problem? He said yes. I said what is the problem again? He said, inside that number plate, it is written “Jieng Council of Elders”, I told him let go and confirmed it. We went to the number plate nearby, and we found it as written, “Jungo”, and I asked him, is it the one or there is another? He said, I think it is the one. I said, there is no Jieng council of elders here, I told him, what we saw, I think brother it is a Chinese company name who manufacturing these number plates, and then he said maybe, and we end up there defeating him peacefully.
But when I analysed it at my capacity, I realized that some politicians are leading this game of number plate for internal rebellion or either these people were eating money from the old number plate, and if new number plate came in with tough regulations, and collection of money, then there must be no room for them to get money again unless they should create something to despite the matter on tribal basis.
Another story was a false attacked on Dinka people by my colleague in the working place that, “when a person died in Dinka area, people don’t cry but if a cow died, people will cry too much”, and Dinkas around her want to react aggressively, but I told them wait! I asked her, where have you got this nice news from madam? She said in Aweil, I was in Aweil for three years and Aweilians were there with me. I told her madam; let me ask you a question?
You are a human being and you have blood from your veins, and precious life; what do you think made Dinka people to cry for cow, and not cry for human beings when they lost them? She said I don’t know. I said; let me ask you more questions; according to you, which one is important, cow or human being? She said human being. I asked her why? She said because human being is created in the image of God; I continued asking her, is human being created in God of image minus Dinka?
She said, hoou no, yea, yea, including Dinka; I tell you, we all laugh at her and one of my friends told her, you answer yourself. And finally she surprisingly provoked us again, she said, you David, “you don’t slap me because you are from Bor”! And we saw it as another misleading agenda. So citizens are also another problems on social matters at the grass root levels, they touch wrong bottoms.
International community, (UN).
I have wrote an article last year that if the modern world of new technology is not looking after world affairs carefully, third world war is not far away to start its operations with superpower nations and their alliance because the United Nations have deviated from the core values of its mandatory of humanity, impartiality, and neutrality. The United Nations is no longer neutral in other nation’s affairs, and the interest of superpower nations is favour at the UN Security Council.
They have their military wing, political wing, economic wing, and they interfere military in the name of saving humanity. They are very smart in fuelling conflict especially in third world countries which are now working in fields of humanitarians assistants where lots of hazards against humanity do occurs. Again, superpower nations play interest over weak nations, (imperialism), and UN is voiceless to defence its member states.
United Nation decisions are tough on periphery countries; they send researchers in fields and do not revised reports conducted by independent journalists, but later on they regrets with wrong reports when destruction took place like in Libya, Iraq, and now Syria. The United Nations is losing popularity from the world because nowadays, UN began supporting rebellion over the all countries where war and conflict are taking place, and instead for UN to support legitimate government in power where conflict and war are killing or displace millions from their homes.
They support rebellion for change without follow up of democracy principles because the way to democracy is dying little by little as war is taking over its shape of democracy. The evidence is like conflict in South Sudan. Apart from other supports to rebels, they unify violent as crimes committed by both side. There is no proper accountability of violent; just both sides have killed people.
In African culture, if you don’t hold accountable a child who has wrong against members of your family or other people and unify all children as wrong, then your family will end up in destruction, and they become total troublers in the whole community. Its means, somebody is a problem, and in order to restore the wrong doer not to repeat again, she/he must be told that you are doing is wrong, and don’t repeat again.
There are many things the UN is failing to do, and the world will blast up from its control to war. In Africa, we have war in South Sudan, Libya, Central Africa Republic, Somalia, Burundi, Sudan, and Democratic Republic of Congo all are supported by UN and that is the problem of world today, while fresh wars are on their ways coming.
The UN want to becomes like league of Nation in 17th -19th centuries who were at that time very quick to jumped to solve conflicts but failed to maintained peace until Second World War from 1939 to 1945 took placed.
And this proxy war in South Sudan is fought by all elements on behalf of few South Sudanese to come to power regardless of massive displacements, and deadly attacks which are happening daily in the country, but to provide that any group among the above mentioned groups can be a lucky beneficiary of proxy war in South Sudan to take over a cake cover by innocent bloods and lives.
The author is a co-founder of South Sudan Mental Health care Organization, (SSMHCO). He holds Bachelor degree in Social Work and Social Administration from SSCUST, Bachelor of Theology from CLT, Bungoma, Kenya/Kalispell, USA, and a fellow researcher. He can be reach at david.matiopgai@gmail.com
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