By Gatleak Andrew
Opinion
Authority on Development (IGAD) (File photo)
May 31st 2018 (Nyamilepedia) – It is very unfortunate that after eleven months of intensive engagements and negotiations to revitalize the agreement on the resolution of conflict in South Sudan (ARCISS) as mandated by the IGAD heads of state and governments finally came up with this so called ‘’ABRIDGING PROPOSAL TOWARDS THE OUTSTANDING ISSUES IN THE HIGH – LEVEL REVITALIZATION FORUM OF THE AGREEMENT ON THE RESOLUTION OF THE CONFLICT IN THE REPUBLIC OF SOUTH SUDAN’’ which doesn’t at all correspond to its stated meaning as a bridge to the outstanding issues but rather a malicious document meant to exasperate the people of South Sudan who have already lost trust in their inconsiderate government and left them flabbergasted to their last toils of anger for failing their expectation for the long awaited peace.
In this dimension, I pivotally regard it as a piece of dichotomy, purposely meant to create a much bigger gap and the deepest rift and hollow between the warring parties of South Sudan. With this, every mature mind could only be left to ask questions like, why on earth should a team of educated fellow Africans intellects and people believed to be of the highest profiles ever happen to be such heartless, and jealously portray such hatred on their regional brothers not to show at least a minute compromise on the innocent suffering citizens of the regional youngest member, but to always trod into the agreements and every time try to cunningly come up with point blank proposals they very well know are never the solution to the conflict.
My dissatisfaction is perhaps proven in the resent proposal (25/5/2018), where every datum percentage proposed by the IGAD in article 4.3.1 of the proposal assigning 55% of the national government power and 65% of article 5.2 states government, to the current government and 25%,20% to SPLM-IO and other opposition entities respectively in the agreement is a complete daft and dicey. I wonder if the world really sees what these guys are really doing, especially those who lavish their money into funding this un ending peace talks, the regime has done nothing with the wealth of South Sudan for the last 10 years, instead used the wealth to buy more sopisticated weapons that killed thousands of the country’s population with the biggest displacements ever recorded, so what is the point of rewarding them here? don’t the TROIKA and United Nations Security council (UNSC) see this degree of biasness being exhibited by the regional body, intentionally creating points of contentions and disagreements in order to create more disagreements among the parties to the agreements to extend their stay in the hotels and maintain constant flow of cash into their already fat pockets?.
Besides this shaky agreement, IGAD is further trying to establish another TGONU in addition to that already left there by the dead ARCISS being implemented between Taban’s faction and Kiir’s government even after the first agreement had been pronounced dead by majority and being resuscitated, IGAD in the first place was supposed to declare this 2015 agreement as dead and swiftly suspend it immediately but instead IGAD adamantly refused to do so and continue to nurture it giving it full recognition as the TGONU, concomitant to that, the JMEC that was tasked to oversee the ARCISS implementation in later and spirit went mute and ceased to protest or hold kiir accountable for his defiant acts to the ARCISS that almost had Dr. Machar killed, and thereafter, neither did IGAD even after fighting tooth and nail to drag him in to Juba. What does this imply, this definitely implies that these guys unanimously plotted the death of ARCISS and if possible the death of Dr. Machar as well, had it not been the gallantcy of his forces, Machar could have been killed by his own partner in peace, and this so called IGAD would still remain dead silent, Salva kiir having missed the plan became furious and restless for fear of blame from his partners in crimes, pursued Machar in the hottest combatant pursuit SPLA could ever lay since the beginning of South – North Sudan war through the thick and hostile forests of equatorial region until Congo for 40 days without adequate food and clean water. Thank God he persisted and survived these brutal attacks
I don’t see the legitimacy of the TGONU after officially expiring on the 17/5/2018 and after Taban Deng decided to surrender his faction and merged with the government, according to my own understanding a transitional government of national unity is formed to accommodate waring factions, so what is it doing with Taban and Kiir when they have not been at war and more so became one already, the silence of IGAD in this scenario is a clear indication that IGAD in its totality is a puppet to Juba and only bound to dance according to the tunes played by Juba regime.
The resulting implementation of these two TGONUs impacted the proposal that latter came about accumulatively proposing 40 ministers with some deputies, 440 Transitional national legislative assembly members(TNL) three presidential deputies, states governors which I believed will remain as 32 according to their number of states, thousand army generals that will be produced by the would-be integration of the continuous rebelling armies. With the current economic stagnation in the country, where will the funding of such a huge government come from.
I can further argue that this new IGAD proposal is a prove that all the previously Kiir’s reservations which he had presented to IGAD in 2015 are now satisfactorily addressed and cohesively adjusted to his favor, since he is so used to getting things according to his wish, they have now clunked to the issue of no two armies, No sharing presidency with Machar and no interference with the position of the 1st Vice president which is reserved for their play boy Taban Deng Gai.
I’m quite optimistic that Taban is becoming the man of the match in this game refereed by IGAD with its assistance referee JMEC leaving TROIKA and AU as mere innocent lines men who have no say in the match dictated by the ref. Mayardit in this case owns the pitch and holds all the powers that determines when and how the game should be played. Kiir has indeed succeeded in pushing his interests into the mouth of IGAD utilizing his membership in the IGAD regional body, and most important of all, uses the public accounts to manipulate IGAD decision as it’s a habit in East Africa that everyone is free to take kitu kidogo (petty cash) the big men are no exemption from this. This time because the South is in a big mess created by the president himself the East African big boys take Kitu kubua (big cash)
Believe me, big money has been and is being spent in South Sudan to keep Kiir in power. This act of expropriation of public funds for private dealings by Kiir must be condemned in the strongest term possible. The greedy IGAD boys do not even give a diminutive heart of care about failing South Sudan economically, politically, and socially. Now it happened that public servants, the local government staff, commissions and the army have forgotten what is called salary making survival in the country, a survival for the fittest where begging and street life are becoming the order of the day, as the saying goes, “an hungry man is an angry man” this left the army in the name of “unknown gun men” unleash the beasts in them by causing unplanned insecurity in the country’s cities by turning into armed robbers and the most dangerous mafia assassins that leaves no one safe, including the men and women of God, somehow to find bread and butter of the day for themselves and their starving families.
The TROIKA and AU shouldn’t sit idle folding back their arms in ancillary, to watch South Sudan ripped to pieces by these greedy IGAD leaders who chose to milk this lone cow without feeding it. IGAD in it’s capacities will never hold Salva Kiir accountable for all the grave violations he is committing to the agreements mediated by them (IGAD) including many secessions of hostility treaties with the mentality and hope to any time crush the rebellion once and for all, this ended up consuming longer time than they expected instead the delayment of peace keeps on filling the bushes of the country with more fighters and the economy getting more dwindled.
Therefore, TROIKA can never escape the blame in this pretext because they keep funding an initiative that doesn’t yield fruits and turns loath to account IGAD members for taking sides evidenced by Military aids directly offered to Juba regime by Uganda, deportation of opposition members by Kenya against their will, and Uganda involving directly in ground confrontation alongside Juba combatants against SPLA I-O, the unlawful detention of the main partner of peace Dr. Riek Machar. All these aberrant acts amount to serious scrutiny of this right body by any other recognized overseer charged to observe the peace processes of South Sudan. The TROIKA instead are fond of pushing for empty threats of sanctions and property freeze, in the UN security council that doesn’t in any way affect these guys who doesn’t keep their property abroad but in East Africa who doesn’t adhere to execute these sanctions.
The endangered population of South Sudan is in dire need of not a trial peace but a permanent peace therefore, I’m of opinion that the peace mediation be taken away from IGAD mediation and be tenderly handed over to another neutral actor that will consider humanity, being undermined by IGAD members for their selfish interests.
I urge all the opposition parties who are partners in the peace negotiations, the civil society members, church representatives and the entire population of South Sudan from within and in diaspora to come out openly to protest and condemn IGAD for continuously failing to bring peace to the country, collectively call off the IGAD from mediating South Sudan peace and to boycott future summons from them. Unless we do so, we will never taste the sweetness of peace in South Sudan under IGAD mediation.
Solely my opinion.
The author can be reached via daangluak@gmail.com
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