By Gatgong Koang,
Opinion.
Jan 29, 2015(Nyamilepedia) — If there is any obstacle to peace and stability in the world is youngest nation today it is none other than very same organization that the world is pretending to be looking forward to, for a lasting, negotiated political settlement in South Sudan the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), in fact since the onset of this torturous conflict in this Country, IGAD jumped in at one and from the very start the regional block’s partisanship in the whole affair was clearly shown , immediately after the so called failed ‘’coup’’ was announced by Salva Kiir , the regional block leaders ‘s first Summit on South Sudan quickly condemned it without prior investigation or before they could even differentiate the facts from the fictions on that regards, in that Statement, they just fall short of unanimously declaring a unified front War against what they termed as Criminals trying to take Power by force, indeed some members of the Block did just that , in particular the Republic of Uganda.
Soon afterward the Man that fancy himself as the Lion of Africa, and one of the World’s undisputed Dictator, Mr.Yuweri Kaguta Museveni declared before international and Local Media people in Juba that he was going to Capture the ‘’Failed Coup’’ plotters noticeable the Former Vice President and the Current Chairperson and C-IN-C of the SPLM/SPLA-IO, Dr.Riek Machar Teny and Comrade Taban Deng Gai within hours unless they surrender to Juba Regime so that they could be slaughtered along with Thousand of their tribesmen and women whom the President’s Home Boys were busy murdering in and around Juba suburbs as he was delivering that very statement, the threat however never Materialized instead in matters of Weeks He/Museveni and his accomplice Salva had to use cluster Bombs to prevent a strong rebel movement toward the City, had it not been for that banned Weapon, we would be discussing another issue today, possibly a developmental agenda .
As the dusts settled and lies couldn’t hold any longer it became clear to everyone , that Kiir Kuethpiny and his friend Museveni had it all planned long time ago, to Assassinate the President’s Political Rivals in a fashion that would make most if not all lost!, Subject the traditionally resisting Communities to terror they never imagine and then entangle and kill the reforms and Democratic transformation they were working to achieve and burry it hundred feet deep and then install a tyrannical, tribalistic Dictatorship in the Country , an impossible dream He and his Lunatic circle had had in their mind possibly for as long as only themselves know!!, however just hours or could we say weeks after the President gave the green light for execution of His mega Plan against the Democracy and the Pro-democracy in the Country which as planned resulted in the Juba gruesome and inhumane cleansing of Nuer ethnic Group members by the Notorious untrained Militias by the name ‘’DUTKU BENY AND Selected National Security Personnel members in the City, as per all the available facts, in matter of just two Days that’s between the 15th and 17th of December over twenty Thousand unarmed Civilians were killed in cold blood ,most of them in their houses in a door to door hunt, evident started to show that the very game was or would failed that was true so especially following the successful, divine escape of the much sought Leaders of the so called ‘’Failed coup’’ and latter the numerous defections that rocked the SPLA from all parts of the Country , the rest of course you know.
But coming to the point, every evident so far seem to indicate that the current South Sudan Conflict has a regional Masterminds, no wonder it became regional affair as soon as the first bullet was fired, a closer look at all the field evidences further explain and endorse that Truth. Practically the unwarranted presence of armies from several region’s Nations namely : Ugandan army(UPDF) this are in fact among the first Foreign troops to get involved and the World will remember them for dropping a Banned Weapon to defend a Dictator that was Committing a Genocide against his own Citizens , Rwandans army pretending to be Ugandans, Burundians, Congolese Rebels (MK23) under the Command and supports of none other than Yuweri Museveni, various factions of Sudanese Rebels leaving their own Cause to fight for Salva Kiir as Mercenaries , there is also a Valid reason to Believe that Egypt is playing very vital Role in This War, Surprisingly , all the above named Forces are fighting in the Government side an indication that the War is not only Regionalized but a clear indication that the Government has no army to defend itself and one wonders as to what kind of Legitimate Government would resort to Hiring of Mercenaries against its own population !. However all this validate the presence of the region’s dirty hands on our predicament.
Now, coming to the issue of peace and returned of sanity and stability in this nation, it is unmistaken truth that South Sudanese are tired of War, they had endured decades of pain as they struggled for freedom from various Khartoum Regimes, so we wanted peace yesterday! In fact we desperately need peace now and we do not take it easily when the platform entrusted by the world to bring peace to our bleeding nation is gambling with that same peace, truly speaking, we do not need Scientific explanation to understand that IGAD and of course the other Supporting nations like the United States are not genuine in their quest for peace in South Sudan, the sad thing is, it’s all but just a game! Just think about it, how on Earth would IGAD succeed in it Mediation process when all its decisions are Biased and partisan toward one of the Warring Parties?, How could anyone believe in the Regional Block’s Mediation when it is partly overseen and influenced by Uganda, a Culprit and a partner in crime to one of the Negotiating parties? It is therefore quite a mockery to have the same Uganda pretending to be Mediating, the question is not whether the process will be fair and produces a useful results but whether it is worth all the efforts and resources. Indeed we are all aware that Museveni and the Juba regime are until this very moment continuing to violates some of the Cessation of hostilities Agreement’s provisions namely the Withdrawal of UPDF from South Sudan. Therefore it is high time the Troika and the Rest of the World Nations whose Diplomats are shuttling the region in the name of peace for South Sudan to get sincere and serious about the same, because  until that much needed change of heart happen, the taunted Addis Ababa ventures may well be but just a waste of time.
To bring peace back to South Sudan, The IGAD, AU and the International Community as Large have got quite a lot of avenues and all the necessary means at it deposal to solve at once the South Sudan Crisis, these in my own view includes but not limited to; It all began with sincerity of intentions, a holistic approach that give due regards to justice, accountability and respect for Human rights, what IGAD Should do: drop from the mediation processes partisan Members and reorganize the agendas so that addressing of the roots causes of the conflict is prioritized, Since it is now known to the World that there was no coup in Juba on that fateful night of December, supported of course by all the evidences from all sources including the Government’s own national Security Services Statement, you remember the Failed Court treason Case against the Detained SPLM Leaders and the pathetic admission by Museveni Himself to the dismay of the whole World in front of Salva Kiir himself in Addis Ababa, thus there should be no business for the UPDF and its allied Forces in the Territories of South Sudan , the Withdrawal of the Ugandan Forces is Eminent for attainment of peace in the Country, and should be considered by the mediators as one of the necessary and crucial step in the process , because , without the Ugandans and their allied Forces the Juba regime will not feel the Giant it believing itself to be, that way a balanced Power between the warring party (s) would be attained and that in itself will draw the Government in Juba to accept to negotiate a reasonable Political Settlement , it is as simple as that ! The so called Sanctions and Arms Embargo are probing to be ineffective so far judging by the kind and quantity of weapons being displayed by the Government Forces in its Frontlines! However financial Sanctions against Juba would work if that were to be applied.
Should peaceful negotiations fail to bear results for this bleeding nation, the World would then have a reasonable excuse to apply its traditional means of saving Nations and their People from failed and dangerous systems, the same process that was put to work to Deliver the people of Libya from Gaddaffi, the People of Iraq from Saddam and the list is long, all would be looking toward ‘’Legitimacy shift’’ the Libyan Rebels were Controlling much less territory in Comparison to the South Sudanese rebels when they were recognized by the United States, France and others , we hope the same happen here and we cannot wait to see the World to Formally recognize the South Sudan Rebel as the Legitimate Government of the Country, hence provide the necessary Support to the Latter be it Military, Financial, Logistical or Morale to boost its quest to Deliver the Nation from disintegration and Collapse.
It is everyone’s hopes and Prayers that IGAD with the Help of the AU and the International Community did succeed in this latest attempt to broker a peace deal For South Sudan in Addis Ababa so that the thousands of Dollars currently being wasted on peace expenses, would be channel to resettlement of the Hundreds of thousand displace by this conflict ,repairing of the destroyed Facilities, Compensation of the affected population and putting back-to-work the dead Economy of this Great nation. Therefore the World Diplomats should not just turn the Conflict in to an opportunity for touring the Eastern African Nation’s Cities (Khartoum, Addis, Nairobi and Lately Arusha) in pretence of peace search for South Sudan only to produce nothing but more expenses and a widened gap between the Two SPLM Factions. So far all the attempts by mediators has most been but just beating about the Bushes avoiding to tackle the Major issues noticeably the root Causes of this bloody War, the Unwarranted Ugandan involvement and the Legitimacy of the South Sudan President who have Murdered over Twenty Thousands unarmed, innocent Nuer in Juba in just two days and continues to murder more South Sudanese each passing day (issues like accountability and justice are paramount for any peaceful settlement in South Sudan). In short let IGAD be serious and honest in its intentions to bringing peace and stability to South Sudan and stop turning our suffering in to an economic investment, let the body do the Job now or hand the task over to an able, neutral and sincere platforms with legitimate concern for our plight.
 You can reach the author at g.gongk15@gmail.com
