Why We Are Fighting and Must Continue To Fight In South Sudan

By Gatleak Yul Dhoal,

Retired SPLA officer.

Revised

August 02, 2016(Nyamilepedia) —– It’s apparently disgusting that many fair-minded Africans and the rest of the world leaders do not really understand why South Sudan, a country with huge potentials that is inhabited by purely black Africans, who have struggled for more than half a century to be independence, is still fighting itself. Undeniably, people of South Sudan have suffered enough and by no mean death is painful, inhumane and unwarranted in all its forms; however, when the cause justifies the means the means have to be sacrificed. For the people of South Sudan more sacrifice is needed for the young nation to be truly independence and sovereign from it own self.  Sacrifice at this minute is the only obligation and the national duty for the patriotic citizens of South Sudan.

Historically, South Sudanese fought Khartoum’s regimes because their fundamental natural rights and freedoms were stolen by the enemy and used against themselves as tools to divide them and set them to kill one another to divert their attentions from leadership and wealth of their ancestral land.

As soon as the Southerners discovered the trick, they took up arms and sacrificed overwhelmingly, losing over 4 million lives and left the entire Southern Sudan undeveloped. Because the justification was more than death of millions, many fathers, uncles and young men willingly volunteered to die at the frontline for their children to have a better future. That dream was almost achieved with the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement(CPA) in 2005.

Sadly, three weeks into the implementation of the Peace Agreement, the charismatic leader, Dr. John Garang de Mabior, was hurriedly assassinated by a combination of his internal enemies and external foreign friends. Garang’s death was not coincidental. It was well planned and executed in a similar passion that another visionary and charismatic leader, Dr. Riek Machar Teny, almost met his fates three weeks ago in Juba.

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In retrospect, South Sudanese freedom was simply hijacked by these disgruntled illiterate unpatriotic elites within the SPLM/SPLA rebel movement with the support of powerful foreign allies – the Ugandan government and some invisible hands from the western countries. Looking at many similarities: timing, venue, use of national resources, use of internal enemy, unannounced meetings at the presidential palace and involvement of a president; we can undoubtedly conclude that Dr. Garang and Dr. Riek’s assassination cheat-sheets were prepared by the same serial killers.

Now, the history of Khartoum and its rebel movements has repeated itself in the South and the patriotic South Sudanese are left with no choice but to continue the struggle to once again liberate themselves from the york of the new black-Arab regime in Juba. Salva Kiir hijacked the SPLM/SPLA leadership from his chairman, Dr. John Garang de Mabior, to take power for himself and his people. Since Garang’s death, Salva Kiir has done everything to bury Garang’s legacy and the foundation of SPLM/SPLA with intention to impose himself on the people of South Sudan just like Omar el Bhasir has stuck in power in Khartoum.

In a similar passion, Salva Kiir wants to leave the power with his Dinka people and particularly with his clan and the region of Bhar el Ghazal. Worst than Omar el Bashir, Kiir is too illiterate and too incompetence that he hasn’t offered leadership and services to the people of South Sudan more than war, death and suffering. It has been ten years and counting yet the people of South Sudan have no hope for a brighter future. In the shoes of Omar el Bhashir, Salva Kiir is using tribalism, like Khartoum regime used Islam, to divide and rule the people of South Sudan. While death and suffering of the people continue, Kiir will continue to build his imaginary kingdom and consolidate powers to rule until his death.

It is because of such mentality that President Salva Kiir has fit clan against clan, tribe against tribe and region against region. If the people of South Sudan do not realize Salva Kiir’s long-term power plan today, they will continue to suffer and die in large number yet no development will ever come to sight. The way Salva Kiir put a knife in Taban Deng Gai’s hands to kill his Nuer brother, Dr. Riek Machar, he will also put the same knife into a hand of a distance Dinka to kill a dinka brother, and the same strategy will be extended to Choll brothers, Equatorian brothers and Murle brothers alike. This is how dictators have ruled in many parts of the world. Death will never cease in South Sudan until Salva Kiir’s regime is out of power and a better leadership is installed.

My Message to All Minority Tribes

Let no angel lie to you that things will change and peace will come under Salva Kiir leadership. Let’s no one lie to you that what has happened to the Nuer people will never happen to you. Let’s no one lie to you that Salva Kiir’s government loves you or your family. Let’s no one lies to you that you can make yourself enough money and become rich under Salva Kiir’s regime; you will only grow poor and poorer. Afterall Salva Kiir and his Jieng Council of Elders will continue to use politicians and tribes like condoms, which are good for one time use.

In the same chronology that Salva Kiir has used Gen. Taban Deng Gai today to destroy the peace agreement and tries to kill Dr. Riek Machar, he will use the same strategy to dispose Taban Deng Gai and any other politicians that will be powerful enough to challenge his leadership.  Your senior elites will be used against one another. Taban Deng Gai is just a tool that Kiir needs to extend your suffering, death and displacement in the name of peace. Once Taban is used enough, he will be pooped on by the same Salva Kiir like most of his senior colleagues, and dumped deep into an ocean.

Taban is not a solution but a problem, and therefore, you must act and act now!

The author of this article is a retired SPLA officer. He can be reached at gatlekyuldhoal@gmail.com