SouthSudan.Net

By Bol Thon Nyabeb, JUBA

The people of South Sudan have come a long way, and still they have a long way to go, the Independence that has been recently acheived was started by South Sudanese some time back before the so-called independence of the Sudan on 1/1/1956.
The straggle for separation was started in early 1940s, for example in 1947 Juba conference the Southern cheifs preferred separation to unity, the Southern Liberal Front and other Southern political groups were also doing the same.

On 18/08/1955 the Southern elements in Torit who were in the Northern armed forces took up arms for the first time against the Khartoum regime when they suspected that the colonizers were about to hand over power to Northern elites, that was the first military step which manifested to the world that the objective of Southerners was separation.
And so, in 1962 Southern Sudan Liberation Movement( SSLM/A i e Anyanya One) was formed by Mr Joseph Lagu the current special advisor to South Sudan's President.

On 03/o5/1975 a group of Southern soldiers rebelled in Akobo when they realized that Addis Ababa Peace Agreement was not being implemented by Jaafar Nimeri's government, and called themselves Anyanya Two or South Sudan Liberation Movement/ Army(SSLM/A).

Again, in 1983 the Sudan People's Liberation Army/Movement(SPLA/M) came into being, all these Movements fought for the rights of South Sudanese, because Khartoum regimes had been marginalizing the South in power sharing, no democracy, human right abuse and general discrimination was every where, the worse of all was sharia laws imposed on every Sudanese.

So, unlike Anyanya One and Two the SPLA/M in particular fought a twenty one(21) years war against the Khartoum's governments and criticized the regimes for not availing justice, equality, democracy, peace and unity in the Sudan and its failure to give the people of Sudan an opportunity to choose their leaders democratically.

In a flashback, Yoweri Museveni the president of Uganda blamed most African heads of states in 1993 while addressing the African leaders's conference in Abuja Nigeria by saying that giving chance to others would be better than clinging to power, but in 2015 he will have spent 30 years as Uganda's president following his re-election last year.

Hence ,many African leaders including the incumbent presidents of Zambawe and Senegal respectively to mention but a few have had struggled very much in order to chase away the colonizers and national dictatorial regimes in another word, but as soon as they acquired the power they swiffly forgot the democratic spirits which they fought for.

Like now, it seems that the Republic of South Sudan is unknowingly or knowingly going to invoke the situations of the above narrated countries.

On 17/02/2012 I attended one of the political ralies,the rally was organized at University of Juba by the students movement which called itself'' Modern Southern Front''(MSF) under the theme'' Is this the South we struggled for''?

The speakers in that rally were Mr Yien Matthiew Chuol SPLM's spokeman, Mr Onyito Adingo member of National Assembly, SPLM-DC, Dr Abdala Deng Nhial of South Sudan Popular Congress Party(PCP) and UDSF-M's representative.

All these political leaders including Mr Mathiew Chuol to whom the question was targeted or directed as a ruling party had politically and admittelly answered the question. Yes, as a rulling party we have to admitted the failure and we can accept even the blaming for not fulfilling what we struggled for he said.

So, in the first place according to the author a possible answer to this political question can be ''YES'' because the South which we struggled for is this very South Sudan(ten states) as its 1956 border with North Sudan.

Also the answer in another way round is a'' BIG No'' because the South that we had been fighting for is supposed to be the demoractic South Sudan which respects human rights and its people, but not the South which persecutes and tortures both its ordinary citizens,journalists and even its officials.

Because we don't want this country again to behalf like that country which once tortured Mr Yasir Arman and Mr Pagan Amum.

Therefore,this behaviour of African leaders which come soon after gaining power and forgot everything that they were fighting for has let me to understand fully the following story which I can compare with any African politician who fought for certain objectives and at the same time forgot to implement the same objectives once in power.

A freind of mine from Jongei's Ayod county told me a very interesting story which I think can illustrates the aim of this article clearly. Of course, Ayod county is inhabited by the Baar and Nyang clans of Gawar Nuer and he said, once upon a time there was a certain man from the Nyang clan in the said county, this man had one of his relative from Baar the clan, so one day it happened that, the man's relative left Baar's area for Nyang's area where this man was, when he arrived he found all men were preparing themselves for a fight and he was told that there is going to be a fighting tomorrow.
When he heard this he said and I quote; You are very lucky, for it is the Almighty God who brought me here, I am a gallant(brave) warrior I can fight one hundred men and defeat them, so you are going to see me tomorrow, I will show them(your enemies) what they have never seen before; end quote.

Thus, every body become happy for having found such a brave man. The following day early in the morning he was given a very good shield and many spears, and all the people including himself went to the fighting field.
But, as soon as the fighting started, he was the first person to run away by throwing down all his spears and shield, while leaving behind all the people fighting with the enemies.

When the fighting was over and all the people returned home, the man whose relative had ran away felt very sory so he said and I quote; During my next life time starting from today I will not again praise and believe any self-claimed brave man who come from the Baar clan; end quote.

Likewise,for me( the author) I won't believe and praise again any self-claimed African leader(politician) who say I am a democrat, peace maker or I will give others a chance and let the people choose their leaders democratically, unless their speeches are turned into actions.

Coming back to the point, depending on my observation and history, over the past twenty one years or so. Many Southern movements the- SPLM in particular -had been claiming that it was fighting aganist the Khartoum's regimes simply because of sharia laws and the Arab culture imported from Middle East that was being imposed on all Sudanese even non Muslims.

Moreover, the SPLM blamed the dictators regimes in Khartoum for not giving justice, equality,peace and unity a chance to be prevail in Sudan.

Democratic transformation was among the other reasons which let the SPLM to fight against the Khartoum, Journalists as well as opposition parties's leaders were suffering in the hand of NCP/NIF for instance the case of Mr Pagan Amum and Yasir Saed Arman who were beaten as ordinary Sudanese without considering their immunities.

But as I can see it now, my Government is doing the same, Western cultures are being imported like niggers'behaviour. Married women are also being encouraged to walk half-naked together with their boyfreinds at weekends holidays.

However,if we would like to free this country from all sort of instability let us implement what we fought for and avoid the tactics of democratic mechanical majority(DMM) that was being used against us(South Sudanese) by Khartoum and is now being developed mostly in national committees like constitutional reviewing commissions of the current transitional and permanent constitutions of South Sudan respectively.

Also, in 2009 this tactic was used against SPLM and other South Sudan political parties' deputies in National Assembly when the parliament was drafting a national security bill and other bills.

To make it clear to any South Sudanese who may support the so-called DMM, imagine if our right to self-determination was presented by then to the Sudan presidency in order to determine wether South Sudan should secede from the North or not, do you think our president Kiir who was only Southerner in the presidency could win and defeat Omer Albashir, Ali Osman Taha and Nafia Ali Nafia?( the three northerners in the presidency), I don't think so.

Anyway at this juncture, my last message is for the SPLM-led Government of RSS to stimulate the situations and not to stigmatize the people of South Sudan.

Finally, in my opinion consensus and sitting together as South Sudanese in case there is any national issuses should be better if we need to prioritize our political, military, economy and social stability or security.

The author lives in Juba and can be reached at bolthon@ymail.com