Speech By Mr. Aguer Rual

South Sudanese separation celebration Day 9 July 2015-Australia Dandenong.

Compatriot , ladies and gentlemen,

Good evening all,

July 18, 2015(Nyamilepedia) — Please let us stand up for one minute to remember our dead and injuries of December 15 and now. Please be seated and thank you.

Compatriot:

I greet you all in the name of our visionary leader, Dr Riek Machar Teny, the Chairman of SPLM/A and in the name of our almighty Father, God of Heaven and earth.

To begin my speech:

Let me make it clear to all of you that everyone here knows the history of the struggles and deprivations suffered by the South Sudanese people before Separation in 2011. The struggle was never simple: there were warring factions, rivalries, treacheries, atrocities and other unproductive elements among those who stayed in Sudan to fight against the enemy.

But today, four years after the political separation from northern Sudan was finally won, is a good time to reflect on why the war was necessary in the first place, to put the present situation in perspective.

The South Sudanese people did not want war with the north. But even less did North want to submit to sharia law, either as converts to Islam or as non-Muslims living as dhimmis, and see their culture disappear under the weight of the demands made by the Islamic faith.

The British on the other hand had closed the border between north and south and, with Sudanese Independence, the fanatics who wanted to see pan-African Islam thought they could restart their historical push through the south to conquer eastern Africa for Islam.

This is why we fought, to preserve our freedom and our integrity as Africans.

Much of the division which afflicted us as South Sudanese during the post-Independence period was created by our enemies. All kinds of tactics were used to divide us to create confusion, enmity and distrust. Secret deals, distribution of weapons, lies, shifting alliances and other forms of corruption confused not only the South Sudanese but the entire world which looked on and sometimes tried to interfere or help.

Separation of Sudan

The separation of Sudan did not completely dispel the distrust or erase bad memories. And separation was not made with care as to the establishment of a viable political system with competent leaders. The ordinary people – soldiers and civilians – who had contributed so much to winning freedom and prevailed all those years, despite their suffering from attack diseases and hunger, were only to be disappointed and betrayed once again.

The people supported the idea of a South Sudanese nation and a national identity. Unfinished business about their border with Sudan and arguments with the north about oil revenue did not deter the people from feeling optimistic about their future. They expected to benefit from the new situation and expected a sense of nationhood to develop naturally.

Leadership lacking in South Sudan

Nothing in a new nation such as South Sudan is more important than good leadership. But good leadership was absent right from the beginning, and deteriorated steadily with the entrenchment of cronyism, corruption and theft of public revenue by the holders of power and their families.

This situation was not inevitable. This corruption is not a consistent feature of South Sudanese culture.

Addis Ababa Accord in 1972

Addis Ababa in 1972, for example, had delivered a measure of autonomy in South Sudan when the people exercised their rights: the Parliament was strong, and a democratic system was recognized, all government, and private institutions were established.

But Nimeiri destroyed this in 1983 purely because of his own political insecurity and need to placate the Islamists, and so freedom was lost and the war resumed.

Current separation of South Sudan

The current post-separation period has differentiated from the post-Addis Ababa period, despite the apparent winning of autonomy for the South Sudanese people. The situation for most of them – for those without family or other privilege – has gone backwards, compared to the CPA time which preceded separation.

What has the Salva Kiir leadership offered?

It has offered no other than ethical basis for actions, no vision, no checks on growing corruption and tyranny, no progress. All the structures put in place after the war have fractured, are destabilized and decaying.

Juba political crisis and atrocities

After the 2013 crisis, the situation has continued to deteriorate. Only a few benefit from national resources. Unemployment and economic hardship are severe, tribal tensions are high, political machinations and manoeuvrings continue to bedevil the country.

The lack of a common culture is a problem which has waxed and waned in South Sudan, but has been severely exacerbated by the present immovable leadership. The problem is not insoluble if policies supporting a national identity are put in place by a competent leadership. Instead, we have seen the opposite.

What is known of Salva Kiir’s killing of innocent soldiers and civilians in 2013 and since that time has revealed a long-term plan to achieve complete hegemony of a certain group. Government objection to United Nations and other international contributions has contributed to a perception of this plan: humanitarian workers have been threatened and aid organisations and individuals chased away (such as the WFP in Bentieu recently.) Guns have been bought, foreign troops imported (Ugandans, Dar Fur rebels and SPLM-N rebels) and citizens killed with national revenue which should have been used to improve conditions for the war-weary people of South Sudan.

Slava regime is not for peace

Many peace talks have followed from the atrocities of 2013, but they cannot hide the fact that Salva Kiir is not in favour of peace, because he continues to attack the opposition. He has also objected to the IGAD proposals and the Draft Peace Proposal for no valid reasons. Salva Kiir is interested in consolidating his illegal positions, and for longing his period of being powerful, not peace.

There is only one part in this conflict which actually wants peace and to get on with the business of building the South Sudanese nation. Which I believed is the SPLM/A in which a member to under the wise and visionary leader Dr Riek Machar Teny.

The nation-South Sudan

This nation is for all of us and we should not shy away from celebrating our nation. It is not owed by slava and his group.

The South Sudanese in this vulnerable time once more have choices to make. They do not want to be drawn backwards into having to choose to fight for the existence of their hard-won country, or see their identity and freedom disappear under the yoke of systems imposed from or by Slava regime, whether those systems be derived from tribal principles or by individuals assumptions based on their personal interest.

South Sudan was fought for and won. We must not let despair, sadness and self-recrimination overwhelm us. We must not blame ourselves for the situation which was created by our common enemies for their own purposes. History has shown that we can be united and resourceful.

Concluding  Speech

Let us not mix up the current mourning we have all been experiencing with our happiness at our achievement and our commitment to peace and prosperity .

Nation is for all of us, not for Slava Kiir regime

Long leave people of South Sudan

God safe you all and go home in peace

Once again thanks for those who managed to make this celebration to happen and success.

Aguer Rual

Advisor in the office of chairman SPLM/A

For comments: aguer.kuot@hotmail.com