Accountability and reconciliation might yields peace than revitalization of power sharing
4 min readBy Kurthii Manyuat, Beijing, China
March 3, 2018 (SSB) — South Sudan is in both political quagmire and economic downturns, for five years The situation is like a thorn in the eye of citizens. In search for peace, the revitalization of 2015 agreement surprisingly broke down last month in guise of taking a break According to mediators.
However, through those who attended the talks, it was like chewing grains mixed with sands. There were a lot of difficulties and barriers among the parties in many areas on table according to minster of information Molana Michael Makuei Lueth. it’s hard to predict the outcomes of the future settings.
On my personal opinion, Incase the whole revitalization becomes helpless, mediators should turn the tail of the negotiation by starting on accountability and reconciliation process as the means of bringing peace to the people’s South Sudan.
IGAD, troika and other hanging groups of mediators behind have been pretended for so long, repeating mistakes one after other that they are after what will bring peace to South Sudanese, but they completely missed the points.
Their concerns are instead centered around how to satisfy disgruntled parties and individuals with pistols hold to their wrists, through power sharing. Absolutely they have nothing to do about satisfying citizens wishes through accountability and national healing.
We have all seen Accountability always been taken behind the queue by mediators because it is not a term loved by government and its fanatics supporters, it is not neither being liked by Dr Riak extremists too, only political celebrities or they called them political detainees, sometimes in their comments seem moderately willing to the process of accountability, even when their feet and fingers are questionable.
The mediators role on the table should not be bending to forces or demands of the bitter rivals who are after their own specific interests they should instead be pushing on behalf of South Sudanese ordinary citizens.
After all Citizens are the one who have lose everything in the cost of power struggle, their loved one and properties have gone . Majority are now under the torture of rotten economy while others are there suffering under UN camps, being exploited to mobilizing resources internationally.
On the other hand they are abused through sexual exploitation by un personnel like the case which recently popped up from Wau UN camp. It is so terrible that they are being used by the united nation to concurrently gain resources as well as to gaining sexual need while in their own country. And yet in all these deplorable situations, IGAD and troika are deeply thinking about what ratio or stake to be given to who on the table?
The government would tell you they wanted to placed everybody on it’s umped and walk away majestically, rebels wanted to chase away everyone in the country and bring in Dr Riak machar, political detainees wanted to push the country in to the arms of united nation for unclear reasons, I assume that they are either paving way to overtake the country or they are doing that maybe for their celebrities persona. But very importantly the citizens want accountability and reconciliation to take place first before distributing food among politicians.
Accountability can work better than the so called peace revitalization. Citizens wanted those who killed people or relatives along the highways, those who killed people in juba, in states of Uppernile and in the bushes of rebel everywhere to be brought before the law. With accountability to hold culprits accountable for their did, societal demographic order might realize some positive changes overnight.
Those communities in the camps are not all waiting for coming of Dr Riak, some are there because stereotypes and prejudice had been cultivated in their minds which need to be ironed out by means of reconciliation and not by power sharing.
The sharing thing between President Kiirdit and Dr Riakdit is not new to South Sudanese citizens, they shared the same kitchen under compromises for eight year and their services were poor as their relationship. The ended up fighting, which lastly broke down the kitchen they were serving in and Dr Riak left to the bush. In 2015, they were persuaded to compromises themselves where Dr Riak was courtesied back to j1 and again the event repeated itself.
Revitalization has become other focus of power sharing and accommodation, Why do mediators stick with sharing power and resources as the only main and way to bringing peace And not the accountability and reconciliation? What if they negotiate on behalf of citizens for accountability to take course first. It might yield peace who knows.
Kurthii manyuat is a Student of petroleum engineering—China university of petroleum, Beijing China. Kurmanyuat@gmail.com
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