President Mayardit: Re-evaluate your Amnesty!

Political viewpoint

By Luk Kuth Dak

April 28, 2011 (SSNA) — As South Sudan continues to grapple with the worsening security crisis, it’s critically important for all to recognize the fact that not everybody is going to be happy with our achievement of becoming an independent state in a little less than seventy days. It’s also true that some people take kindness for weakness.

Certainly, the warlords have done exactly the same, for the generous amnesty extended to them by the President of the government of South Sudan, 1st Lt. Gen. Salva Kiir Mayardit.

But the people of South Sudan aren’t the only people who have to worry about the dramatic increase of violent, our friends, particularly in the Western world, have some legitimate concerns that South Sudan could possibly turn into another Somalia, in the near future, if nothing is done in a hurry to end the security crisis.

There is an eloquent saying that goes: “Once a traitor, always will be a traitor”. The burning questions, however are: What is it about the word “traitor” the Sudan people’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) doesn’t understand? And why is it that there is no time- frame for the amnesty?

We demand some answers.

For decades now, those warlords have made an extraordinarily luxurious living terrorizing their own people, while fighting besides their masters in Khartoum. Therefore, anyone who would expect them to live on a monthly salary, is not being truthful. After all, most, if not all, have too many mouths to feed, an army of wives and children, who are obviously used to the lavish life- style, which was/is provided to them by NCP.

Clearly, no one wants war, especially those of us who haven’t fought one. Plato puts it best. He said: “Only the dead have seen the end of war”. However, there comes a time when enough really is enough. And President Kiir, and yes the people of South Sudan, has been extremely patient with the warlord generals. But even patience itself has its course, and in this case, it’s growing thinner and thinner by the day. Therefore, we believe that now is the right time for the President to re-evaluate his amnesty policy offer, put a time-frame to it, and stick it out with those who do not want peace. In my humble judgment, that’s the only language the warlords seem to understand.

Reading a couple of statements made by the NCP’s darlings, the so-called Gadeet and Athor, there’s no question on my mind that Khartoum firmly and heavily stands behind the warlord traitors.

Worst of all, the ICC most wanted fugitive, Omer Al Basher has said yesterday in South Kordofan that: “Abyei will always be part and parcel of the North”. Does it get any crazier than that?

Amnesty cannot be forever.

The author is a former anchorman at Juba Radio, and he can be reached via e-mail at: [email protected].

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