Equitable Security Arrangements Needed to Implement Peace Deal

‘’The hottest place in hell is reserved for those who remain neutral in times of moral conflict” Dr. Martin Luther.

By Deng Vanang

Oct 18, 2015(Nyamilepedia) — The famous quote referred to above over played itself since the onset of South Sudan’s deadly civil war two years ago. Like false witnesses the Holy book admonishes for their self-interests. Those who supposed to step in and restrain the warring sides refused to show an iota of fairness and stewardship. They instead chose to confuse situation for their own advantage.

Their ambivalence does no good to the victims but perpetrators of the war with whom they are in business partnership of destruction. It is unheard of in history of conflicts except in South Sudan where both sides of the conflict can be equally right and wrong in their heated argument.

When mediators are any step closer to telling the truth is striking of a neutral chord. Pleasing all is a road leading to nowhere. Much as is not tenable in any possible resolution of the conflict. Since both sides can’t either be wrong or right at the same time. Wielding of a neutral card is simply an evil work of false witnesses doing some economics with the truth.

Blatantly, they are making a capital so huge out of controversy while it lasts. It is a deceitful act of corruption perpetrated by people hiding behind the moral cloak to be strong wordily condemned by peace loving people for what they are. Reason being they are rather overstretching an otherwise short conflict in order to fill up their long, bottomless throats.

They are part of the lingering problem than the desperately required solution. Their silence on Nuer massacre in Juba tells it all. If all they say time and time again since conflict started is all sides have violated declared ceasefire despite having all the sophisticated satellite networks to detect who attacks who.

Both sides have abrogated the signed peace. Or all are against peace and have killed innocent civilians. With equal number of officials either sanctioned or banned from overseas travels from both sides.

Not to mention the troubling irony that the more one is always blamed for the wrong he has not committed, the more he intends to do wrong since it doesn’t make any difference whether he does wrong or right.

From point A they jump to point B in approving security arrangements favorable to one side of the devastating conflict, being a confirmation that some human lives are indeed more inferior to others considered as superior. This is notwithstanding, all lives are created by the same God as equal before Him. Similar Heavenly law is echoed by man-made one stipulating all are suspects and equal before the court of competent jurisdiction until proves otherwise.

It is also utterly unfortunate as well when the costs of violating peace are far lower than the incentives of keeping it, when war rather creates the employment than joblessness and peace vultures than peace makers.

How can one nearly empty handed join another well armed and not interested in peace project both of whom are legally mandated to implement?

One side that armed itself to the teeth and accused of massacre that triggered off conflict is telling the other to return ill equipped to the same spot some of their kinsmen were previously killed while the rest narrowly escaped is not only a subject of heated debate but at worst mindboggling to say the least. I

f it is not conniving with genocidal perpetrators by the so called mediators to finish off the remnants, then what else can one call it?

When on the contrary security arrangements mean making it impossible for both sides to violate peace or resume conflict in the face of set dire consequences. Meaning, it is either to completely disarm or arm to the teeth both sides to the conflict in the strategic areas of peace implementation as the preventive measure to peace violation.

Otherwise, the faulty security arrangements will make peace more of a killer than healer in itself. Mediators must be cautioned that history of peace enforcement and keeping is fraught with shilling memories leaving more death and destruction in their wake.

In Liberia, former military ruler Sergeant Samuel Doe was killed by his rival and rebel leader Prince Johnson in September, 1990 after he was lured out of his stronghold in Monrovia to his death trap called meeting by Ecomog, an armed wing of West Africa’s bloc of ECOWAS tasked with keeping peace there. Allegedly fake Dollars changed hands between Johnson and Ecomog’s Ghanaian force Commander and nothing has been done about it till now.

Juvenal Habyarimana and Cyprien Ntaryamira {respectively Presidents of both Rwanda and Burundi and Hutus} had their plane shot down by unknown gun men near where Paul Kigame’s RPF rebel contingent stationed in April 1994 on the outskirt of Kigale from Arusha, Tanzania during the peace time.

he incident sparked off Rwandan genocide which the United Nations and United States were quick to condemn on their helpless watch than condemning and finding the cause that brought forth the genocide. Besides, praising RPF for putting off fire they themselves have been suspected to have ignited.

In Afghanistan, Mohammad Najibullah, the then President of Afghanistan was sacrificial lamb offered to his Taliban killers by United Nations when the former threatened the latter to storm the base if they refused to do so in 1996.

He was then castrated before his public hanging in Kabul. That followed collapse and ouster of his Soviet backed government by United States’ backed Mujahidins in 1992.

The reason why I cite the above mentioned incidences is to remind South Sudanese the damage peace process can cause if mishandled or lacking security guarantees.

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