The Year 2019 Must be the Year of Peace and Reconciliation in South Sudan
By John Deng Diar Diing, Mombasa, Kenya
Wednesday, December 19, 2018 (PW) — As said by many writers and political commentators including myself in many occasions, the war of 2013 should have never occurred, it should have never been fought and should never have been authorized. We are all aware that there had been mismanagement and feeling of marginalization by some communities within the government of South Sudan since 2005. It was and still is a fact that is evident statistically in terms of jobs distribution and access to national cake.
And yes, some communities have been deliberately kept out of reach of national cake. Nonetheless, it did not and it does not warrant war. Therefore, it is good that some semblance of peace has been signed. It should be embraced and promoted. All these holdout rebels should just give this peace a chance. There is no better war among brothers whatsoever. We need peace; our people need peace. No one is justified to wage war; be it government or rebel.
The way forward should be to give comrade chairman, Gen. Salva Kiir a benefit of the doubt that he might have been hijacked by perpetual detractors of liberation who never rested for 22 years of the just war. And that, he might have realized where the wheel lost the track. If it is anything to go by, then his SPEECH in Lobonok can be taken as a reflection of this intention. Since the spirit of comradeship has been signaled in that audacious speech, he should be allowed to make good of his missteps as he endeavors to reunite the ranks.
We need to help him in the process of finding our way back to the path and ideals of liberation that were long forgotten. The detractors succeeded in dividing men and women who were once ready to sacrifice for each other in the corridors of death. They should not be given a chance again. Comrades must unite to give meaning to the blood shed from 1983-2005.
Some of us have been continuously vocal on how certain things were done within the circles of decision-making. It was not out of hate for anybody or a system. It was the feeling that we had and still have the responsibility to live up to the aspiration of those who never made it out of trenches of the war of liberation. Aspiration to give hope and stake to free South Sudanese in their own country.
It was the feeling that we and other more deserving comrades and veterans were marginalized and left to the whims of those who never gave thoughts to the liberation, leave alone emotions. It was the feeling that the agenda of liberation had been left to die in solitude; it was crying out aloud for parenting. It was the feeling that the resettled refugees in Western Countries and the region should be given a chance to come home, contribute to development and live dignified life on their own land.
It was the feeling that, we were tooled enough and were therefore primarily duty-bound to give life to the state we aspire to. It is that feeling that kept many of us thoughtful about the affairs of our country even on behalf of those who do not have the privilege to reflect on what their future holds. We have been called names but our records in the moments of division will testify for what we stood and still stand for, morality in the face of adversity!!
All we want therefore is mutual respect for each other as citizens, comrades and a resolve to implement the second phase of liberation; that is poverty eradication through economic development. SPLM remains the only way we can explain some of our experiences to our children. Our memoirs will be based on the pains and successes of the war that was justified. A war that traumatized many of us. A war that brutalized many of us. A war that decimated families.
A war that destroyed our ancestral wealth. A war that slit our social definition by the throat. That history is what many believe should be correctly recorded and justified through national resolve and glorification of citizenry that suffered and fought with unyielding tenacity to protect its self-esteem for over half a century. To them, nothing is beyond dignity.
If we sit and reflect sincerely on what went wrong from August 2005, we can rediscover ourselves and retrace the path that kept us going amidst hunger, sickness, thirst, despair and even during the worst divisions from 1955-2005.
The message to Comrade Salva Kiir Mayardit is to continue with his positive attempts to reuniting people and set an agenda for the national reconciliation and transformation. It must begin amongst the comrades and thenceforth. Mr. President, please, allow room for politicking free of intimidation. A country that is overwhelmingly Nilotic can only be ruled through consensus, not by use of force. History has it, otherwise, it breaks.
To those who want to continue with the war, there is no justified war against your own brother. Join the peace bandwagon and urge peacefully for democratic space. As we close 2018, rebellion should stop; intimidation should stop. Let’s try civil politics and peace will prevail.
Let 2019 be the year of peace, reconciliation and a resolve to firmly set an agenda for our national reconstruction, construction and ultimate transformation of our beloved country into an oasis of HOPE and Prosperity that our heroes gasped their last breathes aspiring to and for!.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, 2019.
The author, Engineer John Deng Diar Diing, has a Bachelor Degree in Civil Engineer from Moi University, Kenya, and Master’s Degree from Manchester University in the UK. He is currently the Deputy Director for Infrastructure Development and Management at the Secretariat of the Northern Corridor Transit and Transport Coordination Authority (NCTTCA), an economic bloc comprising of the East Africa nations of Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda and South Sudan. He can be reached via his email: Deng Diar <diardeng@gmail.com>
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