The 9th of January 2025 Commemorates the 20th Anniversary of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) in South Sudan
Naivasha, 2004, Dr. John Garang, Salva Kiir, Atem Garang Dekuek, Dr. Jemmi Wungu, and Dengtiel Ayuen
The 9th of January! The Commemoration of the CPA and the Referendum Day:
By Atem Garang D. Dekuek, Juba, South Sudan
Thursday, 09 January 2025 (PW) — In the history of every nation, there are outstanding important events that are imprinted in the nation’s memoirs; and are commemorated annually for the impact they had had in shaping and determining the destiny of the people of the nation.
South Sudan has many important events that have changed the trend of our fate and destiny; from being oppressed and exploited by foreign occupiers to free and independent people. There are specific dates that carry historic importance, i.e. the first Armed Uprising in Torit on August 18, 1955; the Anya-Nya formation in September 1963; the second Armed Uprising in Bor on May 16, 1983; January 9, 2005 and 2011; and finally, the Independence Day on July 9, 2011. All these are important dates that have historical significance and itch.
The 9th January 2005 was the day on which the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) was signed, in Kenya, ending the war of national liberation that raged in South Sudan for 21 years. Again, after six years of the implementation of the CPA, 9th January 2011 was the day designated by the agreement to conduct – after the necessary legislations – the referendum for South Sudanese people to determine their destiny; and they irrevocably voted for an independent country on that date.
January 9 every year therefore deserves to be celebrated as the ‘Referendum and Human Rights Day’: the day the CPA was signed in 2005 and on which the referendum was conducted in 2011. On the signing of the CPA, the late leader Dr. John Garang De Mabior outlined the following as a programme for comprehensive development of the (South) Sudan:
- ‘National unity through pluralism and democracy:
- Recognition of political diversity by guaranteeing full freedom for political pluralism. The entrenchment of the human rights and peoples’ rights in the constitution, the independence of the judiciary.
- Democracy should not be a struggle for power but rather as a competition on providing good governance, development, and delivering social services for our people and restoring the dignity and wealth of every man and woman.
- Economic and social development
- Growth through rural development and transformation of traditional agriculture that is integrated with agro-industries. Making agriculture the engine of growth and fueled by oil;
- Take the towns to the people in the countryside rather then people coming to the urban centres;
- Develop new ways of delivery of social services.
- Physical infrastructure – roads, rails, river transport and telecommunications;
- Social and cultural empowerment.
- Building national consensus
- Failure to appreciate the wealth in diversity could be a cause of national crisis’.
After twenty years, it is regrettable what was outlined on the 9th January 2005, as comprehensive developmental programme has not been realised; but why?
South Sudan has been under foreign rule for nearly two hundred years, which has created in the minds of the people a distorted concept of what is the government and the centralized authority. The concept is based on the interpretation of the hostile, and exploitative contact, and interaction of South Sudanese with the foreign occupiers, starting with the slave-trade-propelled government of the Turco-Egyptian between 1821 and 1885; to the slave-trade-oriented Mahdist state between 1885 and 1898. These periods of slavery were closely followed by the Anglo-Egyptian Condominium Rule, (1898-1955), a modernized oppressive and exploitative government. The last foreign government and authority was the violence-based Arabised-Sudanese rule, 1956-2011. All these imposed foreign authorities were characterized by brutality, oppressiveness, and exploitation aims; therefore, they were desperately disdained and violently resisted till 2011.
These colonial governments in South Sudan had never been developmental, rather, they were using whatever education, and social services provided, were designed as baits to lure the indigenous people for cultural assimilation, and used them stooges in intensifying and accelerating exploitation and coercion. The conquerors wanted the people to spiritually be reoriented and converted to believe in superiority of their God, lifestyle, and language. Consequently, the government’s image, and its essence remained as foreign establishment that is psychologically foreign and alien imposition even today.
The historic resistance of those foreign governments for nearly two-hundred years, have created enduring concepts and notions that have been adapted, incorporated, and become inherent in the traditions and beliefs of the people of South Sudan as caption of any government and authority including our today’s own government. It is therefore, conceived that the government: is a tool for oppression, exploitation, and never an instrument for development; and it must be resisted and fought vigorously. All people calibrating with it are considered puppets and agents of oppressors. Looting and stealing what belongs to the government is justified as heroism and cleverness. Today many people prescribe to such notions and concepts; the result is reflected by the corruption which is crippling the development and hindering the unity of the people of this country
The prevailing concept of the colonial governments among South Sudanese is probably the one summarized and described by one of our nationalities as: ‘The government, is an organized alliance of clique of people; that share and adhere to common purpose; extort people’s possessions and resources; and enclose themselves with might.’ (My translation and paraphrasing).
The above negative description and concept of the colonial governments, is further embedded in the minds of the people by the lack of tangible development in the post-independent South Sudan. This is also supported by relief syndrome, a phenomenon recently acquired when many South Sudanese were subjected to live during the war as refugees or internally displaced persons (IDPs) in areas controlled by the Sudan government or SPLA, from 1983 to 2011. Under those conditions, there was no accountability of the managers of the camps or settlements, in which size of the households, degree of the suffering and the hopelessness were purposely exaggerated and magnified for gains!
There is a dare need for substantial civic education to reorient ourselves, especially the elites, to comprehend what is expected of the national government as formulated by our Constitution, not as conceived by the communities or by politicians with vested interests who were groomed for leadership in the liberation war.
We should annually commemorate the January 9th as a day that embodies unity, symbolizes the sacrifices, and signifies the determination of the people of South Sudan for dignity, freedom and independence.
The End.
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