“Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person”, article 3 universal declarations of human rights.
By Peter Dragu
Yambio, Western Equatoria State
June 13, 2015(Nyamilepedia) — Mr. President, you have a tough job and that is just an understatement, normally, all citizens should be sympathetic to you as you shoulder the big responsibility of leading the nation to realize its long awaited dream. For the same reason, people should love you too as you represent the hope of the nation.
All of the above are true for most presidents, but unfortunately as for you, the case is different. There are more questions everyday on the way you are leading or misleading the nation. This letter brings one of the questions to your attention. Why is there a preferential treatment of the IDP Cattle keepers in matters concerning them and the indigenous local people who depend on crop cultivation in the region of Equatoria?
In the entire Equatoria there are many locations where this preferential treatment is so open and aggressively pursued by members of the armed forces under your command. Moreover according to the trend that has now appeared to be clear, the entire Equatoria is shadowed by the threat of the indigenous people losing their ancestral land to the IDPs of Dinka origin.
Mr. President you may not like this fact to be brought to your attention and even fortify yourself by the argument that, if such was the case, the representatives of the People of Equatorian in the Assembly and in your government would have talked about it to you. Or at least the governors would have notified you of this threat that is openly tearing the country apart. You are right to have those assumptions.
The truths though, have these representatives ever told you things you did not want to hear? In other words do you know that they are not telling you the truth coming directly from the people? As for the governors, at least two: the governor of Western Equatoria recently addressed the people of Mundri and blamed them for not acting to drive away those who are destroying their crops when he spoke allegorically telling the people that they invited the snake in their house and now they are crying to him to kill it. This was later dubbed as a hate speech by some members of your inner circle.
In a similar manner the governor of Central Equatoria a few weeks ago, questioned why some cattle keepers were protected by the army in the wake of some skirmishes resulting from cattle rustling that took place. Even these clips of the two governors referred to may not have been clear enough for you to conclude that something of a proportion that discredited your leadership and the government is taking place.
As I mentioned there are too many cases that can be referred to but one or two may suffice to illustrate the point. The case of Nimule and Ma’di Land is surely a long story and has never missed to show up in different media outlets. The fact is very simple. In Ma’di Land IDPs or soon to be called ‘occupiers’ are with cattle and well-armed. They are not only carrying simple weapons like AK 47, but more powerful ones like Rocket Propelled Grenades (RPG) and different calibres of machine guns. These are men ready for battle not grazing.
One wonders why they left their homes in the first place and called themselves IDPs which suggests they are victims of violence and should be treated with sympathy. They proudly graze their animals in people’s cultivated fields, destroying crops and nobody can stop them because they are ready to use their weapons to impose their will to graze in people’s farm lands. What is really shocking and at the same time very telling, is the rigorous efforts by the army to disarm the local people who could otherwise, defend their own turf.
Nothing can illustrate this double standard better than what happened at the beginning of April to the chiefs of Moli Andru and the one of Kerepi. After searching the villages of these chiefs, the only AK 47 found with the chief of Moli was seized by the army while it was the weapon given to the chief by the government. The issue of protecting their crops aside, where in South Sudan of today, Mr. President, can you find the entire village without any gun including the chief? It was in Ma’di area because the so-called IDPs’ cattle were in the area of both Moli Andru and Kerepi.
The next example is what is happening in Mundri that has captured people’s attention for different reasons. It is the same pattern. Well-armed cattle keepers driving their animals in people’s farms.
Additional to that SPLA soldiers assigned to protect them. One would wonder why these soldiers do not protect the crops. But that is not to be. The SPLA soldiers are paid by tax payers’ money to protect the cattle keepers who have turned into invaders. It reminded people of the question of the governor of Central Equatoria as to why certain kraals were protected by the army. True these valued cattle represent the livelihood of these IDPs. And equally the farms are the only means of livelihood for the other people.
Breaking down this means of livelihood has a far reaching effect as it affects the entire community socially, economically and culturally; for it creates the instability on which it becomes impossible to have an ordered society where the bond of interdependence creates stability. In fact if there is famine in Ma’di Land and Moru Land which creates population migration resulting into insecurity, the invasion of these lands by cattle keepers is the main cause. Not only crops are destroyed, but people are subjected to daily intimidation, humiliation and harassment.
Mr. President, be reminded Arabs have never done those things in these places. As such people’s confidence in the State as the defender of right and guarantor of peace has disappeared altogether. Rightly the people feel cheated, abused and left in the cold. So is this really their government? Mr. President, that question is for you coming from all the people facing similar situation as I described above.
There is no gain in saying there is a war therefore people are displaced from one region to another and this brought about the problem. For those who were keenly following the political developments in the country, this issue started back during the 1983 civil war. At one time it was said when peace comes the IDPs will return home and therefore, it was humanly important to bear with them, after all there was cultural contacts at a deeper level which brought out conflict. So that time it was to be considered a nation building process in the crucible of history. Therefore things will be alright with peace.
When CPA (Comprehensive Peace Agreement) was signed nothing changed. In fact the matter became more political and the IDPs suddenly donned as army officers claiming they will not move as they liberated these places. Hence on two counts CPA lost its meaning: firstly the peace is not meant for those whose land is taken by these IDPs who have through the process of political mutation, successfully changed their coats and were to be reckoned as occupiers.
Secondly, a new regime dawned where the so-called Jalaba oppressors were replaced by these Dinka IDps [who become new oppressors with different colors of the skin] the smoke screen device to deceive people was that people should wait for the independence of the country so that the IDPs could be repatriated. That was the official line meant to appeal to patriots and members of the international community alike. After the independence, the language changed: ‘Nobody can be called IDP in his/her country’, the statement by Mr. Aleu Ayieng Aleu in Nimule when addressing the people in October 2013, flanked by General Isaac Mamur. And now another war and another IDPs and the whole story continues. We have gone full circle already. Anything to learn has been learnt.
Mr. President, many people are reaching the conclusion that the preferential treatment of these IDPs cattle keepers is a tip of the iceberg of a grand plan. The grand narrative which is at the bottom of your leadership is the systematic occupation of Equatorian land and the subjugation of its people to become slaves in South Sudan. If this is true, it dovetails very well with the narratives of the people like the Nuer, Shilluk, Murle, Fertit, etc, who also have seen the same thing.
With the added evidence of your government loaded with people from your family and clan, truly it feels there is something sinister. This is not to say, that the Dinkas have hatched a grand conspiracy against every other people in South Sudan. Some among Dinka who talk loosely may make people believe such a plan was possible. But critical minded people absolve the Dinka as a nation in a conspiracy like that because it is irrational to accept such an idea. Ethnicity is superficial and does not determine people’s being at ontological level so that actions flowing from a particular ethnic group should be identical.
History has proved this wrong in Hitler’s German. So we cannot paint people with the same brush. However for those who have reached to this conclusion of the conspiracy, they know this kind of ideas come from the old political schools of imperialism which was at the early stage of evolution and therefore modelled on the evolutionary concept of the survival for the fittest. It has no place in the 21st Century. If you keep this, you find yourself in perpetual contradiction among the decent community of nations. Everywhere you go, it is only rouge nations where this kind of politics is practised like by the Islamic State in Iraq as they try to exterminate Christians and the Yasidis or some of those fundamentalist regimes.
In the case of South Sudan, first it is really shameful to admit that this is happening in South Sudan of all places, a nation that has come into being as a result of both the struggle against this rotten politics as well as the support provided by the free and democratic nations. For this reason South Sudan has fallen from grace very fast and deep into the dungeon. Many nations would like to emulate the struggle of South Sudanese like in the North Eastern part of India, the people of Western Sahara, the Kurds, etc. And many powerful democratic nations would like to enter into partnership with South Sudan to reform the autocratic and totalitarian systems in the region. But now South Sudan is the bad example for everything.
The further impact of the preferential treatment is that many people are not identifying with your government. It is illogical to stand for a government that has broken the social contract it has entered with the people. A system that does not respect the covenant of rights cannot be legitimate. This is the basic ethos of the republican government since the American Revolution. The next quotation has become known in history namely that:
“‘Certain truth are self-evident’: that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and pursuit of happiness—– That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed———– That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it…”.
Every American president remembers this statement and perhaps recites it every day of his time in the office. That may explain why it is the greatest nation. Even if our people in South Sudan do not know the exact wordings of this declaration, they have felt it and acted like this since the 1950s. So do you think the people should still tolerate your presidency and your government? Well it is not your fault that you are still there. It is the people who should make you leave according to the quotation above.
The truth is we are where we are because this fundamental principle has been overlooked and is being overlooked even now. So notwithstanding the convoluted political debate in Addis Ababa, there is more and more unification behind the common cause: at stake is the very existence of the people as a people!
The author is a concern South Sudanese, he can be reached at peterdragu@gmail.com
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12 comments
We have gain nothing from them. In Reality,those who benefit from them are non Dinkas. Don’t go to Bona Malual for help if your from TWIC.
During Equatoria Operation in 1990s, The writer of this article forgot that Most of Equatoria In 1990s used to called themselves foreigners and claimed themselves to be Uganda, Rwanda, Congo and Burundi citizens, really?
So stop complaining about Nationalist Patriotic citizens of the Lion King. Therefore every where is possible.
I speak my mind and you are all free to read and understand.
RED LINE
Your lie is too open. Speaking your mind does not give you the right to lie. The big operations of 90s including the Bright Star Campaigns were the monopoly of the forces from Equatoria. Therefore what you are saying here is that even as far back as those days, the leaders who hatched the bad plan were already misguiding you with sectarian ideologies which has become open nowadays. The other thing which proved you wrong and shallow is that the struggle in South Sudan did not start in the 90s. The torch of this struggle was lit by Equatorians and in Equatoria. Rightly the credit should be given to them. How could they deny that in the 90s? Thirdly modern boundaries became fixed in the first quarter of the 20th Century and citizenship is determined based on these borders. So according to your so-called history which is really pseudo history when did this foreigners moved into their present locations? And if you studied the trend of migrations in the last 1000 years in this region you would not have said what you have said. Fourthly, you are really a pathological liar because when the operations of the 90s took place, the people in Equatoria were there and they remained there to date. Why would they stay there when officially refugees from Uganda were repatriated in 1986 at the onset of the war.
Unfortunately this kind of lies which have been peddled by selfish politicians have poisoned the minds of many young people. For your own good, and the good of the nation stop it!
Good advice Red Line. Equatorians have been in Equatoria during the civil or after civil. They have never moved to Bor or Malakal as Dinka have been moving up and downs like their stomachs are aching. I think their ugly anger does not allow them to stay in one place or their own land as others do. Shame on them!
what equatoria demand is reality all south sudanese fought for independent not only dinkas as you complaint in circulated media which is lie totally,dinkas said they liberated this country from arabs while theirs objective is united sudan. self determination which all south sudanese enjoyed said by machar.
Yes Dr. Riek Machar and Equatorians were the only people in South Sudan who were determined to fight for self-determination which Dinka regime in enjoy without shame in Juba.
loberito
you and Riek are claiming that Danish were fighting for the whole Sudan , my question is did sudan was divided? the answer is not divided. this is misunderstood of the main objective of the SPLM movement,let me tell you in jiengs (Danish) culture, when you need the foods from someone, you asked person for whole food and than he or she may not give you the whole foods, if he or she want to give you the food he or she give you half, that is exactly what happened in the case of liberated whole Sudan, when the government of Sudan agreed to signed agreement with SPLM for self determination,that where we allowed to vote for referendum and results is independent of the Republic of south Sudan period. don’t tell me that Riek Machar is the one who brought us independent
Sorry man. The so-call philosophy of Jieng you misquoted here refers to a general and well known rule of negotiation applied since time immemorial. You ask for more when negotiating but under very specific conditions. It is not only meaningless, but suicidal, for a starving man to ask for the whole food from a person he does not know or not related to. You will not only not get the food, but shut down any opportunity for further communications and you risk being kicked out. What you say only refers to transactions in a friendly atmosphere. I heard that kind of statement from this very president himself in the presence of his adviser, Lual Diing, but referring to a man who asked for the thigh of a bull when he found his friends slaughtering the bull but got some portion of the ribs. In his good times, he like those kinds of stories. You see it refers to a friendly context. Learn more of your own culture and that of others! The good thing is you are reading into the behavior of this government, but informed by this unsophisticated perspective. So your words cannot be taken seriously. However, the danger is you are helping to promote the myth that will deepen the hatred towards the Dinka people. Take history seriously and you will know the consequences that come from this misguided philosophy of hegemony.
Red Line.
Mr Peter you don’t know whole south Sudan was called Equatoria region in 1800 by Egyptian administration, there is so called the Equatoria indigenous we Equatoria indigenous. to the comment of the governor of the west jungle of Equatoria we are all snacks we should expect ourselves and live together.
president Kiir is a kind and man of peace yet you are calling him Dinka president
Do you know that 99.8% of South Sudan struggle was from Jieng?
And you are now so dull to understand Jieng wisdom, Garang said he was fighting for unite Sudan so that he get support.
What happen to Fashoda aggreement when it was self determination?
We the husband of all are going to rule this nation until infinity.
And are ready tk defeat any external attempt
You may not believe the truth when I said it, but ask Our enemy Arabic about the south sudan tribes they only know Dinka.
You are a really a monjang that’s all the Dinka majority dream like that. It is shame but actually you don’t know the shame (fool). play with these resources one day you will be regret.
Son of Bentiu
This fictitious figure of 99.8% is a sham. If that is the proportion of the Jieng population in the IDPs in the Sudan, it carries some truth. But majority of those in IDP were there because the Murahaliin since the time of Sadiq, attacked and destroyed the Dinka villages, or the people lost their cattle or were hit by severe famine. These are known facts and Operation Life Line Sudan (OLS) has a good documentary on it. In those days- generally throughout the 90s- there were pictures of moving skeletons everywhere in Dinka Land. We saw them live during the exodus from Bor to Equatoria in 1992. Those were people who were dying and could not fight. They could not even defend themselves. In Equatoria, they were gracefully received on the basis of the unity of South Sudanese People united for a common struggle and in a real way, on account of the humility humility of Church leaders like Archbishop Nathanael Garang who contacted his fellow clergymen in Equatoria to help. Hence their destination was not the army but the IDP Camps. A serious military struggle, such as was in South Sudan, cannot be sustained by a dislocated, starving, sick and displaced community. That is why Equatoria was a real blessing for the struggle.
Red Line.