By Chol Akoy Ajeth, Samsun, Turkey
Saturday, 13 August 2022 (PW) — Despite this fast-paced unfolding of the menacing events in South Sudan, our leaders are warned more by time than by the elections or by the suffering youths. However, holding an election, with President Kiir and Dr Machar among the contestants, would be too harsh to call democracy. Believe it or not, it will slide us back to bloodier ethnic violence, whatever time.
The recent extension of the Transitional Period for 24 months will not make any difference nearly as much. It will only increase our suffering. The people of South Sudan have no choice between the extension of the R-ARCISS and holding immature elections. Either way, our lives are at the mercy of the forbidding weapons of poverty, starvation, corruption, and war.
Much to our surprise, our leaders think they own South Sudan and anything else in it; they just want to drain out the substance of our independence while simultaneously retaining the shell. They only care how much longer they remain in power but do not yet know what to do with that precious time.
Most of the armed rebellions today are fragments of the major armed confrontation between the government and the SPLM/A-IO. The peace agreement (R-ARCISS) they are implementing magnifies only the power-sharing rather than addressing the root causes of the conflict. The debate of who should get what and what not continues to dominate it.
These armed rebellions shape the worst general outlook of the situation in our country today. Without prejudice, I must be thankful to the political parties that have not taken up arms against their own people as a means to meet their ends.
Everywhere in South Sudan, there is a stench of suffering; murder, rape, abductions, etc. Security, health facilities, schools, clean water, and roads have never been prioritized. The leaders have resorted to get-rich-quick schemes for their own benefit. We must acknowledge that our future and posterity are not only stuck in the mud but are also sinking.
Let us always flash back to our roots, our history. Our patriotism can be traced back to the dark days when we were under the repressive regime of Khartoum. It is unfortunate that we are still afflicting these atrocities on our own brothers. We must remind ourselves of the hard times our heroes endured in bushes in order for us to live in freedom and liberty, some of whom may never return home!
In May 2012, we got the news that the SPLA had captured Panthou (Heglig) from the SAF. There were prideful celebrations countrywide! What if the same problem happens again? I’m sure we will be on the defensive and in a weak position. We need to rescue this country, please! If the leaders can not do it, then we, the youth, have to. They are our obstacles.
Our national army is weakened to the point it can hardly defend our borders. What they can afford is what we saw in Mayom county in the video.
Worse yet, the unfolding of events in Unity State, as elsewhere in the country, is not the first of its kind. There has been the disappearance of innocent people, journalists, activists, and members of the opposition. The difference is that those other forms of crimes against humanity have never been recorded on camera or made public.
What the governor of Unity State, Joseph Nguen Monytuil, did on Monday is the worst brutality I have ever seen. Others say it amounts to a “war crime.” In fact, it surely is. Today is your time to oppress, but tomorrow will be our turn. Justice and accountability will hunt you down.
He and others should be prosecuted for not only extra-judicially killing these prisoners of war but also for any psychological damage that may be caused by these graphic videos. In addition, they have tarnished the reputation of the national army—SSPDF.
It should also be recalled that Kerubino Wol Agok was killed exactly the same way. Let us unite under one tribe called South Sudan and condemn all these strains of incompetent cliques. They consolidate their power and prolong their rule through the use of ethnicity.
A transitional period extended is suffering, a prolonged war in waiting. But is this going to be the absolute last extension? What actions should be taken if they ask for another extension past 2024? How can they convince the citizens and the international community that they are committed this time?
Perhaps, then everyone else asks the same questions, but these thinly disguised hints are indicators that this will be a pattern. The President vaguely stated he was extending not because of being in need of power any longer. Well, he has overstayed and it is time for him to back down. He doesn’t think about why the country lurches from failure to failure under his leadership.
The only option – after an election – for Dr Machar and President Kiir is obvious; that is to order their already starving soldiers, whose salary is virtually worth nothing, back to the battlefields. And the aftermath will be worse. With this leadership fashion, it may take forever for peace to come.
The National Dialogue Initiative, which called for the exit of President Kiir and Dr. Riek from politics, has successfully been ignored and trashed. They are still there on their own. They do not have our support anymore. The best we can do is to denounce their legitimacy!
The author, Chol Akoy Ajeth, is a concerned citizen and student studying in Turkey and can be reached via his email address: cholakoyajeth@gmail.com.
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