By: Bol Khan
Quote “I am the president of South Sudan, and I must always remain in that position as the president, the leader of that country forever”, President Salva Kiir actor
May 28, 2014 (SSNA) — The Regional and Global Communities are already in total mystification about Mr. Salva Kiir Mayardit. That is why they are still bothering themselves by persuading Kiir Mayar to resolve the crisis and negotiate peace. This is not Kiir’s personal interest!! Had it been his interest, the current catastrophic situations in South Sudan could have been prevented. I clearly narrated this point in my first article I authored after Juba Massacres, titled. “The responsibility for the current South Sudan’s turmoil: It’s Solution”. So the Regional & International Communities which already in mystification about Kiir Mayar are IGAD, AU, US, EU, UK, Norway, France, UNSC…etcetera. Rationally, these Communities or Organizations can be mystified by Kiir Mayar, for variety of reasons.
First, they weren’t in Juba in 2013, when Salva Kiir was visibly pushing/setting the nation (South Sudan) onto ablaze, it is today. Because, if they were in Juba, they would have acquainted for themselves whether Salva Kiir was a kind of South Sudan’s President who had a need to prevent the present crisis from happening or not. Thus, they don’t know, up to now, that “Slava Kiir was a total failure beyond repair” as charismatically stated by Hon. Alfred Lado Gore. And, that the people of South Sudan aren’t entirely expecting him to resolve the current crisis. Due to what they, as ordinary, South Sudanese have been witnessing.
Second, Kiir is (a President) 63 years old and so they assume that he has ethics. The ethics tells human when to immediately respond to any disaster endangering civilians lives and end your people bloodshed. Or where are a right thing and the wrong ones.
Third, Kiir was elected President, in autonomous interim hilarious elections held in 2010 and he may bring drastic solution to current crisis which kills innocent civilians, indiscriminately.
Fourth, they may think that the percentage, 93% given to him (Kiir) in those elections was his precise popularity. While much of Kiir’s leadership success contributed by Riek Machar. They don’t know that electorates (80% of 93%) were painfully persuaded to vote for Kiir during 2010 elections. By none other than former Vice-President, Dr. Riek Machar Teny Dhurghon, every South Sudanese knows this truth. Dr. Machar a Kiir’s running mate in 2010 elections. An old man from Western Equatoria State, during campaigns, in 2010 general elections asked this question (s) “Dr. Riek where is your picture? Aren’t you standing? If you are standing then we will vote for you not him (kiir).” No my box and Kiir’s is one, therefore, if you want to vote for me vote for Kiir” Dr. Riek replied. The similar skeptical questions could be occasionally asked during elections process in every county. So a lot of electorates weren’t ready (80%of 93%) enough to vote for Kiir. Even the rest of the voters totally refused to casted their ballot papers. All the SPLM’s Leaders who had grassroots popularities were told to campaign for/walk together with unpopular ones. This is pure truth. No SPLM leader can deny it, including Mayarid himself.
Fifth, they think Salva Kiir knows the importance or difference between innocent thousands lives being lost and the simple seat in the Presidency. That the saving of thousands innocent lives which may re-elected him in next elections is better than maintaining the current contaminated Presidential palace. The former Presidents of Tunsia, Egypt, Yemaen,CAR etc had to leave Presidencies. Mr. Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, Hosni Mubarak,Ali Abdullah Saleh and Michel Djotodia respectively. They left during those deadly social uprisings erupted in their countries. However, those countries’ leaders were constitutionally and nationally (in their Republics) elected not ambiguously like Kiir, who was elected not as Republic President. CPA rules were constitutionally effective from July 9, 2005 and ended constitutionally on 9 July, 2011. A saying goes; “A President who made his way to Presidency through political consensus or barrel may have no sympathy for the country’s citizens”.
These may be the reasons why International Community is mystified—lost between Salva Kiir and quick solution to South Sudan’s current crisis. Solution is not Salva Kiir and Salva Kiir is not a solution to South Sudan’s current problem. This is what the International Community should know. Now that talks are ongoing in Addis Ababa, where the aforementioned Organizations have indirectly or directly involve in peace process. So we would like these regional and International organizations to prove to South Sudanese that Salva Kiir is there to solve this deadly problem.
Evidently, the first Cessation of Hostilities Agreement was signed on 23, January, 2014, in Addis Ababa and so the Agreement on Political Detainees on the same day. But a day later, before the ink could dry up Kiir broke it by removing articles 10 & 11 of APD respectively which guaranteed the right of SPLM-G7 to take part in the talks. Dr. Peter Adwok Nyaba, former Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research, is still in detention—under house arrest. UPDF, JEM, SLA-Minawi, SPLA-N and SLA-Abdel Wahab are all still on the ground in South Sudan. As time goes, President Kiir will also be the one to cancel the Peace deal reached and signed in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on 9 May, 2014. The participation of other stakeholders as well as that of SPLM- Former Detainees, for second time, may be rewrite before question mark by Kiirians’ undiplomatic team. The nature of Transitional Government of National Unity, who to head it, is not yet defined. A point at which Kiirians shall angrily stone the mediators with the same document signed in Addis, on 9 May, 2014.
Another phase why President Kiir mystifies the actors is, once he meets any visiting Diplomat or head of state, he always talks as if he is going to put into action what he says. Subsequently, he does different thing. For instance, in his speech he delivered shortly after the signing of May 9, 2014 peace deal, in Ethiopia. He semi-eloquently said these statements and I quote “I personally know that I was elected by all these people who are dying today. These are the people who voted for me. I have no reason to turn against them, to kill them. I have no reason to leave them to continue to bleed when I am responsible for the whole nation. The country called South Sudan; I am the president, to everybody. I accept whatever bad or good that can happen to that country, and I must also get a solution to it. Had we stopped this thing, very early from the beginning, more lives could have not been lost. End quote. Given these statements, somebody who doesn’t know Salva Kiir would just concluded that Salva is a President who knows that his own people who voted for him are dying. And he will soon get a quick solution to the mater as he said. Nonetheless, what has been so strange throughout is because there is no concrete solution being brought practically to bring to an end what kills the people. Innocent people are just dying in hundreds or thousands every day. So far he (Salva) directly or indirectly turned against them. About 20,000 innocent civilian’s lives lost in Juba, hundreds in Bor, Mapel, thousands in Upper Nile, Unity state and so on and so forth. When you sum up the number of people who died in South Sudan’s crisis irrespective of their ethnicity, in 2013/2014, you may get about 40, 000 of them or more. And death is continuing/more will continue to die either of hunger, diseases or in this weaponry war, which they call cross fire.
In fact, the nation has been bleeding for five good months now while he (Kiir) is still responsible, in the Presidency. If he thinks that the people who are dying or displaced are the people of Greater Upper Nile. And his district—Gogrial is not affected. The fight may reach there in the long run. Kiir should end rampant death in Lakes state. What an imposed care-taker military Governor, General Matur Chut, doing in Lakes state is not good at all. Where, 10-15 or even beyond are sentence and die every single day. The untold suffering in Lakes state’s Awerial IDPs camps, Malakal, Nimule, Bentiu, Bor,Wau, Juba IDPs camps plus those camps in the neighboring countries. All these are happening in front of Slava Kiir. Wow, who should alleviate such sufferings of these cursed-like innocent people of South Sudan? Traditional Kings, Joseph Lagu or who has a power to end the sufferings? Is it not Slava Kiir? I learned an interesting statement when I was in Secondary school. In military science “A President of any country has every power to change the country he/she heads from war-torn, dictatorship to peaceful and democratic country “and vice-versa.
The third phase is that, Salva Kiir doesn’t know the meaning of being a head of state. I’m not insulting him. It is a fact. He is far from being a statesman; he has no integrity and leadership confidentiality as well. Just try to attentively listen to his next or the speeches he delivers. Would you find anything which could strengthen the unity of this nascent nation he leads? I doubt. His interaction with other people like foreign actors is also defective. You might have heard or read his utterances consistently against UN, US, Secretary of state, John Kerry, Ethiopia Prime Minister, Hialemariam or anybody who happen to tell him: solve the South Sudan’s current crisis. Several of which I can also quote here. Kiir indirectly to UN: “The UN Secretary General, Mr. Ban Ki-moon, should come to Juba in person with his wife Hilde Johnson so that to run the Government of the Republic of South Sudan herein, instead of running it outside the country”. Kiir to Stephen Saka: “No! I was not the one who postponed 2015 general elections to 2018”. “They were Americans”. “It was pushed into my mouth by John Kerry, the US’s Secretary of State”. Kiir to his audiences in Juba: “I signed their agreement of 9 May under threat from Prime Minster of Ethiopia, Haile Mariam”. “Who told me that (Salva) you either sign the peace deal or risk being a prisoner in Addis, you won’t leave for Juba, unless you signed this deal”. “I said ok if you’re going to imprisoned me I hope I will get delicious foods here in Addis Ababa”. End quote.
There is no reflection of leadership integrity, confidentiality, in aforesaid utterances. Read, the third to the last two utterances shows Kiir’s hesitation that he doesn’t want to negotiate peace which can bring the country out of the current turmoil. He called it their Agreement. Can we say President Kiir wants to bring peace really to South Sudan’s citizens who are dying, if he could be pressurized by somebody else in order to sign peace for South Sudanese? I don’t think so. The later utterance intuitively also indicates the whole case why Kiir likes to remain in power for life. Delicious foods!! In addition, we always hear the same thing (hesitated statements) from his undiplomatic team. “We have no agenda, as Government’s delegation, to be tabled for discussion”. “We have to go to Addis Ababa and see what agenda rebels will have to table and discuss” This, either, seems impossible for a claim responsible Government’s delegation which its people are dying in such a established civil war, to say we have no agenda for discussion.
Instantly, as we speak, I think all regional and Global actors will begin to ease their being optimistic aboutKiir- Government (GRSS). The third round of talks is approaching. Is this leader, Kiir, pondering position (the Presidency) more than the lives of innocent people who are dying? We shall see in upcoming last round of talks. In this last round of talks both sides should reconsidered their burning need. “I must head the Transitional Government of National Unity”. Either side should be told to stand up for what will stop the bloodshed and save the lives of innocent people, dying. Not what he personally wants. That is ordinary people desire.
In conclusion, I have one important point that I would want regional and Global Community to take. Kiir is a fresh and fatal dictator of twenty first century. Who violently dismantled all the democratic, peaceful processes and almost arrested or killed his main political rival (s) in Juba. And we know always dictators only understand a language of bullet not a language of mouth, as such. That is why he cares less of incessant civilians’ deaths in South Sudan. Setting South Sudan onto ablaze was his primary ambition. He is now pushing yet for regional war. Kiir wants to remains in power for life as you can read in his statement he said in Ethiopia. That he will always remain a President of South Sudan. “I am the president of South Sudan, and I must always remain in that position as the president, the leader of that country forever”. Therefore, a question which remain now or Kiir will push the region to; very soon, is a question of who wants (if any) to join SPLM/A—Rebels and who wants to join GRSS—Uganda’s Government, their allies, in that pending regional war.
The author is a concern South Sudanese. He can be reached at [email protected].