Sirik Mijak,
Opinion.
September 10th, 2014(Nyamilepedia) — It is empirically true that each and every citizen in South Sudan is yearning for the rapid and absolute peace, reconciliation and healing from this destructive civil war in RSS. The crisis had triggered the widespread regional massacre of the civilians, massive displacements, hunger, destruction of properties, and disastrous humanitarian crises coupled by the natural calamity such as flooding because civilians are displaced from their permanent homes.
However, our expectation as the crisis-weary citizens of South Sudan had been dashed and mishandled by the IGAD mediating team in Ethiopia.
Precisely speaking articulately, the IGAD should not had concentrated over the sharing of the power models and structure as the strategy to settle the ongoing conflict at all because the war is not about power sharing.
Instead, IGAD should had stuck with the pre-proposition of creating a temporary government known as the interim administration without both Salva Kiir and Riek Machar so as to mitigate and lessen the mounting tension on both sides of the warring parties.
Both Salva Kiir and Riek Machar are the pivotal threats of the possible attainment and settlement of this outrageous crisis, simply because both Dinka and Nuer whose sons are dueling over this war will never accept to reach a compromising, political concessions and peace between as long as the two rivals remain in the center stage of power struggle. Neither Dinka nor Nuer is willing to permit either Riek and Kiir to remain in the power as both are accused of tribal massacres on both sides.
Dinka believe that Dr. Riek Machar had massacred Dinka and others mercilessly in Bor, Malakal, Akobo, Bentiu, Panrieng, Baliet etc. Meanwhile, Nuer believe similarly that Mr. Salva Kiir had massacred Nuer indiscriminately in Juba on December 15, 2013, a reason which led to the rise of the current rebellion.
Both Dinka and Nuer are demanding that they will never recognize any power under the presidency under either Dr. Riek Machar and Mr. Salva Kiir respectively.
Having seen the tribal arguments and rejections on both sides never to be cognizant of either Riek and Salva to be their leaders, given their respective allegations of murderous carnage to the rival tribes, the citizens are absolutely warring and rebellious against each one of them.
Dinka and Nuer respectively believe that both Riek and Kiir have murdered their civil population and that they believe they are no longer acceptable to be leaders.
Nevertheless, it appears that both Dinka and Nuer are willing to compromise and forgive each other only if these two icons are no longer imposed on them to lead or rule. Majority of them on both sides believe that Kiir and Riek deserve to be trailed to the international criminal court (ICC) due to the crimes they had committed in this civil war against the humanity ( Dinka and Nuer exclusively).
Based on my statistical social media opinion survey, these two rival tribes of South Sudan are not willing at all to recognize either Riek or Kiir to remain in the upcoming IGAD proposed National Unity Government.
It is common sense to all south Sudanese of all backgrounds that both Kiir and Riek would never sit again in the unified administration of the national unity in an interim period as is proposed by IGAD in their mediation, which collapsed last week in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
It is true to the best of the south Sudanese knowledge and experience that there is no absolute guarantee that Riek and Kiir will ever serve in the same government given the bitter injustices of the ethnic massacres against Dinka and Nuer in this war. This is why it would be wise of IGAD team to recognize that the formation of the interim government without both Riek and Kiir is crucial to the bitter compromise and political concession which would lead to the peace, reconciliation and eventual healing from the tribal hatred on both isles.
Both Dinka and Nuer are yearning that a transition government without both Kiir and Riek is the best solution to reaching a mutual consensus of the peaceful settlement of the current war. The two rival tribes are predominantly influential in both military and political directions of South Sudan, and hence neutralizing this conflict is by heeding to the proposal of the formation of the transitional government.
The transition government shall be temporarily tenured for one interim year under the auspice of the of impartial president who shall be appointed by IGAD from the neutral tribes of South Sudan. The interim president to be shall be nominated or appointed from the region of the Greater Equatoria, and he or she should be a person whose interest does not lies in favoring either Dinka or Nuer. The candidate for the interim government presidency should not be a political member of the SPLM party (both oppositions). He or she must be a competent person with an independent view. An example of such a candidate is Governor Bakosoro of western Equatoria, who is from the independent party. He was elected into the gubernatorial position on an independent candidacy. So he is one of the possible, raw suggestion who fit to be nominated by the IGAD to administer South Sudan at this transitional period of one year while preparing the nation for the national election. His administration should be assisted by the IGAD or UNMISS in ushering the fragile South Sudan to the next general election. Both IGAD and UN should assist in the supervision of the interim transition period under the neutral president (Bakosoro) in term of the security arrangement and technical challenges that may arise during his interim tenure.
Both Salva Kiir and Riek Machar plus all their political subordinates should be barred from participating in the interim government altogether. The other former political detainees led by former SPLM secretary, Pagan Amum, known as the SPLM-detainees should also be left out of the interim administration as well as other political parties are no exception. Barricading all these rival, political blocs of the SPLM-Salva, SPLM-IO, SPLM-Detainees, and SPLM-DC shall ease the current crisis, and relieve our civil population from the traumatic fatigue of the civil war. Blockading all these political blocs will lessen the intensity and destruction of the meddling politicking in the nascent state which is presently on an intensive care under Salva Kiir.
All the aforementioned groups of political parties including Salva Kiir and Riek Machar shall be given the political amnesty to run for the upcoming general election. All the former political detainees and other political parties shall be permissive to contest in the upcoming general election under the future supervision and management and administration of the UN observers. Whoever shall win the general election in the future shall be declared the president elect of South Sudan sovereignty, and he or she shall be recognized by the supreme law of the South Sudan as the legitimate president under the witness of the UN observers who shall be there to monitor and facilitate the free and fair election of the nascent state. Whether Kiir or Riek will it in the future, all the citizens of South Sudan shall be obliged and bound by the permanent constitution of South Sudan to respect and recognize whoever is elected irrespective of their records. Democracy must be respected, and whoever shall wins it shall also be expected by the citizens to abide by the rules of law and constitutionality of the future South Sudan without demonstrating any violation of the constitution and other biases which could be tribally motivated.
Conclusively, failure by the rival leaders like Salva Kiir and Riek Machar to recognize the formation of the interim period without them should be punishable with some punitive measures such as placing them under sanction as well as issuing international arrest warranty for their selfish and self-centered greeds which is holding the nation hostage of rival tribes in escalating the civil war and massacring of civil populations in RSS. The two leaders are responsible for genocidal massacres against Nuer and Dinka already, but it appears that the UN and IGAD is not willing to bring the charges of war crimes against humanity at this volatile and fragile stage against them. Their individual records are already shattered with the notorious legacies as the results of the subsequent consequences of ethnic massacres of Nuer and Dinka civilians on both sides. Kiir and Riek should be lucky enough that they are being compromised by the Human rights watchdog and amnesty international over their ethnic notoriety.
Although they have not involved themselves practically in the commission of the ethnic crimes, it is imperative that a big boss or leader is held accountable for the notorious acts of their subordinate or junior military officers respectively in the battlefields. This is a logic and common phenomena for a commander to issue orders in a soft, confidential communication chain of the commands in the war.
Finally, I also believe that the international sanctions of the military officers by the USA and European unions against both the rebels and government ranking military officers under Salva Kiir and Riek Machar is impractical, ineffective, and will never solve this conflict either. To the sanctioned military officers under Kiir and Riek, such an international sanctions against them in banning their travels and freezing their individual assets is a laughable joke to them. These sanctioned individuals are not even international travelers nor do they possess any assets or financial capitals invested in a foreign nations unlike their bosses ( Riek and Kiir) who frequent and tour international world at will. They are the ones who deserve sanctions because they would lose the privileges of traveling internationally and they will also have their financial assets lost should they continue to misbehave and prolong the civil war and sponsor the continuous massacre of the civil populations indiscriminately in RSS.
If the international community does not want to pursue them for the crimes against humanity and war crimes so far, it would be wise if they sanction the two rivals ( Salva Kiir and Riek Machar) because they posses valuable assets in the foreign lands ( both materialistic and financial assets). Banning their travels like that of Sudan president, Omer Beshire, would certainly exert pressure on both of them to compromise and comply in reaching a mutual peace, reconciliation and national healing with an expedition unconditionally. Treating them like saints in this conflict embolden both of them to prolong the war as if they are legitimate and favorable to the nation. Enough with them! Get rid of them from the power or anticipate the continuity of the war, massive destruction, displacement, hunger, disastrous humanitarian needs, further massacre of the innocent civilians, which lead to the burden of the international community to respond with the monetary contribution and delivery of the costly humanitarian assistances to the displaced persons in RSS. All of these are man-made disasters by these two rivals. Both Dinka and Nuer need to reach a collective compromise to denounce both Kiir and Riek so that we the victim families and citizens in this conflict can reach promising peace, reconciliation and healing.
The author is a citizen whose family members are wiped out in Bentiu town in April, 2014. The author can be reached for comments at dengcholmijak@gmail.com
Best regards,
Sirik Mijak.
