By Deng Vanang
April 13, 2015 (SSNA) — In recent weeks a good number of people defectors from government to armed opposition, the SPLM/A-IO. That is good news for all the opposition forces, both armed and political so that Kiir’s regime is brought down sooner than the later.
But some loose tongues in the opposition family should be cautioned to hold their horses and not to celebrate for any defector that comes.
This is for many reasons. Kiir’s regime has been on a free fall since 2007 due to unbridled tribalism and run away corruption. It could have fallen long before now were it not because of opportunism to make more money on the part of the so many South Sudanese.
It took another three years for the regime to survive 2010 elections under the pretext of independence referendum to take place first. Again, it took almost three years for the regime to face its self-inflicted stage managed coup of December, 2013. That is when all the opportunists realized Kiir and his regime are for something nastier for a long haul.
However, whoever remained committing atrocities with the government until recently don’t have any further excuse to make. For many of them have hands in the death of those who got killed through the recapture of rebel-held towns or cold blood murders in the same towns. Some of those who claim not to have killed anyone physically; they have done so through denial of genocide or conspiracy of silence.
All those mentioned devilish acts are equally criminal liable to sever persecution in battlefield, the court of law or their perpetrators shall bear the dire political consequences when it is due time for elections.
There must be no forgiveness anymore for these perpetrators of repeated military, political and financial crimes either within the regime or opposition in general if impunity and opportunism shall be callous issues of the past that have caused untold – long suffering to innocent South Sudanese irrespective of tribes, religions and creed.
For that matter, opposition members should welcome them anyway but not to celebrate for the coming of people who might have clearly done any of these heinous crimes. In so doing, these opposition members are not at all sympathizing with those who died fighting these johnny-come-latliers who are simply disembarking from the obvious sinking ship.
While in displaced camps, we saw serious atrocities being committed in more bizarre killings than in December, 2013 against those suspected of being rebel sympathizers by some of these people crossing over now. Some of these guys planned the recapture of some towns causing a lot of deaths that have wiped out some families in resistance on the face of the earth forever.
This is not their first time to do these treacherous acts. They did many of them way back in 1994 without genuine cause but only because they were paid by Sudanese Embassies. When peace dawned they were not even asked why they did such things. They think they are clever and indeed it is true because they still fool more in opposition ranks and files many decades on.
But for how long?
More than those they offered for their illicit business adventure, these traitors immensely benefited from the benefits government of Sudan was obstructing South Sudanese of enjoying.
We as camp leaders pressed serious charges against these traitors and merciless killers in our discussions with UN and AU Commission of inquiry members visiting campsites in Juba, Malakal, Jonglei and Bentiu.Some of these recent Nuer defectors we were even told by these international community members denied there was no genocide ever taken place in Juba particularly against the Nuer.
More importantly, Nuer defectors to the opposition now carry little value for the Nuerland is already won over without them. What is difficult and remaining a big task for the opposition is how to win over other South Sudanese to join the opposition. For I always say in my long political analyses long before the war broke out is that battle for Presidency shall never be won in Nuerland by Machar and neither by Kiir in Dinkaland militarily or politically.
The victor shall be the one who garners the larger support from other South Sudanese ethnic groups simply because both Kiir and Machar control their ethnic bastions since they don’t face any opposition in their own ethnic enclaves.
Only Dinka defectors among other South Sudanese who carry both moral and political weigh against Kiir’s regime and not any of the Nuer defectors. Those who fail to listen to this simple logic in the opposition, they only do so at their own peril.
Deng Vanang is the Author of a book: South Sudan the Making of a Nation, a Journey from Ethnic Polities to Self-rule, State and Democracy.