Dr. Peter Kopling
Kiir try to cope with this dilemma by at first sending a letter of what amounts to rejections of the peace deal, when IGAD plus did not back down but rather stepped up their pressures, the Jieng council of elders landed him their hands by putting out their own press release outlining how dangerous the particular path to peace was.
The next maneuver by Kiir was to go through his political mentor Mr. Museveni in Entebbe where they sought to derail the Blue print by IGAD, this too failed to trick IGAD plus.
Then Kiir threw the ultimate Tantrum and refused to show up at the IGAD plus set date, August 17th 2015. By some press report, until Museveni called Kiir, which he must show up in 3 hours, Kiir ended up showing up at the 11th hours.
To most of us we thought there were no more cards left in Kiir’s hand to play against the peace deal and we were wrong! Kiir sought to delay or avoid the signing of the peace deal all together and refused to sign it instead return to Juba Empty handed without delivering peace to his people timely as planned.
The Agony then revealed itself, Kiir declared, “We have reservations”. Because of these reservations, Kiir would rather not end the blood bath for that is the direct implications of refusing to sign the peace deal. To Kiir and his cohorts, because of these reservations; let death continue to reign on South Sudanese. Mind you being the president, Kiir is the Chief of those who even rebelled against him one way or another. It seems if he had the abilities to kill off all his people who did not agree with him and rebelled against him he would do it rather than compromise! He would rather have death continue to claim the lives of fellow citizens from both sides than sign the peace, simply because he has a reservations.
Mr. President, I have news for you, if you didn’t have reservations, then it would not be a compromise peace deal!
You have a hell of tough time to, not because the peace deal was horrendous, you had hard time because for the last 10 years you never compromised, the interest that only mattered to you is that of Jieng and let the rest rot. Yours was the first and the last word, you have never learned to comprise. Like a true Dictator your color came through and you agony more over areas of the compromise peace deal that strip your powers than over the death of thousands of your fellow Citizens whose lives hangs in your hands!
You literarily have the power to give life and to take life we saw it the last 21 months. For 21 months you have not agonized over the loss of lives of fellow South Sudanese but over powers, you do! The truth is out; actually the most power hungry person in South Sudan is you! You strip 8 out of 10 elected governors off their Citizen given powers, you fire and appoint at will.
It was you who triggered the war by lying about a none existent coup and releasing your Illegal Militia on fellow Citizens in Juba and it is fitting you should be the one to end the bloodshed. You started it and you alone can end it.
You said, “The Peace deal is a reward for rebellions.” Well Mr. President, Look how much some of us have reservations against you but had to shallow it.
We know you lied about the Coup, so we have a lying president. We know all the deaths that resulted from this war is on you because you were the author of the war by killing democracy and lying about an imaginary coup which lead to thousands of loss of lives, thus the blood is on you. We know on top of this, you committed targeted genocide against your own people. We know because of you, there are more orphans in South Sudan and the number illiterates increased.
So this is the view of majority of South Sudanese, minus most Jiengs, about you. This being the case Mr. President, By IGAD plus, putting out a road map, keeping you as the President of this nation, the very one you let down and lead into bloodshed, We indeed too have some serious reservations about this peace deal and this peace deal is rewarding, a Liar, one who committed genocide and an ethnic cleanser, a tyrant and a corrupt inept leader!
We think your place is not at the presidency in Juba but at ICC, but never the less IGAD Plus have rewarded you for killing your fellow Citizens. Those of us who think this way had to swallow our bitterness for the sake of stopping loss of lives and must compromise.
Mr. President, it is a compromise peace deal, it is not a victory peace deal, but more important, it is lifesaving peace deal, which gives us the opportunity to learn to compromise and solve our issues through words not through deaths.
I wish to see you anguish more about loss of lives than loss of powers. You have revealed that what matters most to you is power, all your reservations has to do with reductions of “this power that belong to you and they want to take it away, would you let them?”
The next 18 Months Mr. President, put your country’s interest first, not that of Jiengs and its Council of elders that have failed you and South Sudanese miserably, if you so do, you shall have a second chance to redeeming your legacy. For it would be said of you: you deliver your people a country and you also deliver them from utter destructions and gave them rights to life and liberty.
Dr Peter Kopling Josep, MD, lives in the Republic of South Sudan. He can be reached at [email protected].