Photo: BBC
By William Pay
Dear World, A
August 24, 2022 (SSNA) — As I write this opinion piece, I am so disappointed and dismayed by the gruesome and inhumane treatment of my people by the so-called liberators, men, and women who sacrificed everything but at the final hour turned their back on the very people that they liberated from the tyranny of the minority few. Today, the citizens of this Promised Land have been abandoned by ts and daughters in the government and by the world which helped usher them to freedom after nearly 60 years of conflict where many lives in the millions were lost and countless more made homeless. To me, how did we get here and who is responsible for this mass murder agenda? And why is the world silent on the violation of human rights without accountability?
after much reflection, I came to realize that the world is mute and busy with other things and my people are left to be preyed upon by the undisciplined tribal Junta and criminal enterprise where many are arrested, tortured, and killed without due process or being taken to court. Many more have disappeared without a trace while men and women who are supposed to protect those citizens are busy looting and lavishing wealth in the neighboring countries. If you look closely, those around so-called called leaders are close relatives of tribesmen men who see nothing wrong with the current system and will kidnap, too, torture, and kill mercilessly as they see any opposition to their way of last life, as a threat to their existence. As a liberated citizen, I feel betrayed and humiliated in the eyes of the world as our collective image is being tarnished by agents of darkness and the world is sitting silently watching heinous crimes being committed without recourse or accountability.
The Way forward!
As a member state, South Sudan has obligation to live by the treaties that it has signed and respect the rules and norms established by the regional and international organizations. It is imperative that those institutions uphold and enforce the rule of laws against any member state who operate in conflict with those norms. I believe that the world community both regionally and internationally have not followed through on those commitments as they have not held South Sudan leaders accountable for the gross human rights violations and crime committed in broad daylight.
To our African brothers and sisters in position of power (EAC, IGAD, COMESA, ECOWAS, and AU), South Sudan is a member state in all these civilized regional and continental organizations, yet it is not held accountable to the standard required of a seating member of these institutions. My question is: Is this the Africa our forefathers fought for? If not, it is time for the South Sudan government to do right by its citizens!
The writer is a South Sudanese expatriate living in the United States and he can be reached at [email protected].