Just and Sustainable Peace Lies with Conflicting Parties than Short term Intervening Force

By Deng Vanang,

Sept 26, 2015(Nyamilepedia) — To be begin with, I’m so honored and humbled by Jieng Council of Elders, JCE’s press statement personally copied to me via mail in a likely response to my last week column. In the statement they promised that they are resolutely standing behind the Igad’s plus peace process which I hope they shall keep in spirit and letter.

Meanwhile, I’m still looking forward to receive the same from Nuer Council of Elders, NCE if they still exist and similarly not defiant and daring. So far to their credit, I learned the Nuer elders have toned down their anti-peace rhetoric at some community gatherings as they renegotiate a return to SPLM/A-IO.

Those are giant and positive steps towards lasting peace taken by our still respected elders of both Nuer and Dinka’s ethnicities.

Back to the subject, there is positive side to the conflict if utilized as the means, other than an end in itself, to redress differences. It is not all that darkness and gloom about conflict. While in the heat of it, whether within the family or between groups, outside force to restrain is a necessity. To be followed by far more important agendum in order to resolve the difference immediately after the steamy nerves cool.

Such agendum is honest and candid discussion between the conflicting parties taking place. This must be within the framework of natural law that conflicts are bound to happen with affected people similarly armed with the willingness and ability to get them around.

Even in the most stable societies the susceptibility of conflicts happening time and time again can’t be wished away. The only difference between the forgiving and grudging societies is when the former relents to let go while the latter chooses to wallow in ceaseless rage.

Whereas, no man-made challenge can transcend his desire and ability to craft solution so long as there exists willingness. It is conversely the case with peace – makers who can merely facilitate in resolving conflicts by providing a road map, but turning such a road map into a workable solution is a different ball game that solely depends on the willingness of the parties to the conflict to amicably absolve themselves from their differences.

That is, peace – makers can only help rivals listen but can’t spoon feed them with understanding and acceptance since they are ultra- intrinsic senses out of anybody’s reach. Much as there can’t be required number of monitors enough to keep vigil on peace observance in each and every neighborhood across the country as big as South Sudan 24/7 a month all through the whole year of three year- old interim period. Too, they can’t stay forever in a certain hotspot to keep peace its beneficiaries don’t need.

Resort to an eye – for – an eye kind of conflict is too an archaic and wishful thinking that never solves misunderstanding than complicates it into more destructive form. The same goes with the intentional failure to solve repeated or chronic problem hoping against hope that it will peter out on its own.

Problems must be boldly, honestly and candidly faced head on as they come and go. Much as it is untenable to eliminate all your enemies as a foolproof means of solving once and for all the problems they have been causing. The more you kill the more you make worse an otherwise simple matter to be dealt with.

Relatively such scenario happened in World War II against the ethnic Jews by Nazi Germany. It occurred again in Rwanda in 1994 against 14% minority Tutsi by 84% majority Hutu ethnic group. All such desperate and inhumane attempts failed miserably. What later prevailed was honest discussion of their perennial differences they previously ignored and discarded as unreliable but now proves to be the only effective and lasting solution.

The spectacular failure is attributed to a singular reason than many. That God can’t allow His own creation to be eliminated by another on face of the earth till kingdom comes.

Some people may wonder why others fight. The root of all conflicts is greed being more often available answer. When one wants to take everything meant for all in disregard to life’s main goal for sharing what nature has offered in pursuit of mutual happiness.

For some don’t come to terms with bare reality that no any sensible human being can be happy by consuming everything while others around lack and look up to him in despair and the fact that much required peace demands love which lies in sharing as a rewarding customary value unlike the ever consuming furnace called hatred that is so denying besides being divisive and destructive.

Believing in power to attain selfish desires at the expense of the perceived weak and meek not knowing Empires, leave alone a clique of individuals, such as that of Romans, Ottomans, British and Russians powerfully arose and resounding fell under the minions they once savagely ruled.

With all lethal arsenals and multitude number of troops marshaled to impose their will on the other over the centuries rather proved to be temporary measure than peaceful dialogue as the only and proven lasting solution afterward.

In similar replica, South Sudanese and in particular Dinka and Nuer must borrow leaf and be fully aware of the aforementioned facts about the law of nature so as to deal with the truth they can’t wish away and neither run away from.

That truth is readiness to embrace virtues of tolerance and forgiveness as the only tripartite hallmark of good neighborliness and co-existence being the per-requisite to social stability and economic development for the common good.

Deng Vanang is a journalist and author to be reached at:dvanang@gmail.com