Keeping it real about South Sudan: Jieng ‘Luak’ Supremacy

[Elisabeth Janaina]

Keeping it real about South Sudan: Jieng ‘Luak’ Supremacy
Jul. 27 National, Uncategorized 2 comments

By: Justin Ambago Ramba, JUL/27/2017, SSN;

For all practical purposes, the issues of war and Peace in South Sudan
only came to take a foreign policy priority position when the USA
administration under William J. Clinton, who was inaugurated in office
in January 1993.

As the first USA president elected immediately following the end of
the Cold War, President Clinton found himself face to face with what
became known in the West as the new wave of Islamic Terrorism.

Coincidentally, it was the same time when the Sudanese Islamic
fundamentalists seized power in the country through a bloodless
military coup d’état, overthrowing a democratically elected government
of Prime Minister Sayed Sadiq Al Mahdi on 30th June 1989.

Unfortunately, however, it is this narrow narrative which squarely
links the future of South Sudan to the USA foreign policy and its
national interest in the Sudan and the North-East Africa region that
became the official face of an otherwise a wider South Sudanese
struggle with how to properly govern itself since the days it started
to enjoy a semi-autonomous status within the United Sudan.

First following the Addis Ababa Peace Agreement between the Military
Junta headed by General Ga’afar Nimeri between 1972- 1983, and
thereafter again following the 2005, Comprehensive Peace Agreement
(CPA) and even today following its rightfully deserved declaration as
a fully independent and sovereign state with a full membership not
only in the United Nations, but also in many other regional and
International Organizations South Sudan is still struggling with the
very basics of how to govern itself effective as a modern state and
not some kind of a tribal cattle Camp!.

To ignore the fact South Sudan had had the opportunity in past to
govern itself under a semi-autonomous structure between 1972-1983 but
failed the test, is to cut corners in an otherwise a very long story
of how this part of the world has chronically struggled with
governance issues

The truth be said, prominent elites who once ran the affairs of what
was by then the Autonomous region of Southern Sudan, are largely still
around to testify to the historical facts what is currently breaking
this newly independent African country apart. All ills of South
Sudan’s politics and failures lie in what is a deeply rooted ethnic
bigotry.

Even long before the late military Dictator, Ga’afar Nimeri could
decree the re-division of the then semi-Autonomous Southern Region
into its original components of Equatoria, Bahr Al Ghazal and the
Upper Nile, the southern Sudanese were already at each other’s throats
as “one Single Tribe” looked at its numerical advantage and chose to
declare itself as the only tribe out of the country’s 64 or so other
tribes whose members are worth of not only holding the nation’s top
positions, but especially the top job of President.

Little wonder, and hence, it came as no surprise when the infamous
slogan of “Born to rule” made its way into the south Sudanese
political vocabulary and public life even when the South Sudanese were
still languishing under the successive dictatorships that took power
in Khartoum since the dawn of the so-called postcolonial Sudanization
that characterized the Sudanese national politics up till the official
succession of South Sudan from the Old United Sudan.

Some of you may wonder as to if that was the case, who then come the
South Sudanese all came to embrace the SPLA/M and fought under its
insignia to get to where the country is now?

To keep it real, this is what the situation was like. When the SPLM/A
rebellion begun in the Town of Bor, of ALL PLACES, the message it sent
was of a Dinka frustration with the re-division policy decreed by
Dictator Ga’afar Nimeri, obviously in contradiction to the articles of
the Addis Ababa !972 Peace Agreement, but with a popular support in
all across the Equatoria Region, and some parts of both Upper Nile and
Bahr Al Ghazal regions.

But then something very important happened. Ga’afar Nimeri
miscalculated the whole lot. When he chose to create a new alliance
with the Islamist groups of late Dr. Hassan Abdalla Al Turabi and the
Sufi Sunni Al Mahdi dynasty of the UMMA Party as represented by Imam
Sadiq Al Mahdi, knowing or not, he had left the true basis of the Anya
Nya Movement and the historical mutiny of Torit on 18th August 1955,
no choice but to either come up with a rebellion of its own or
tactically join hands with the Dinka dominated SPLA/M. The later
choice prevailed and the rest is now history.

This brief prelude to the background of South Sudan’s politics is
hoped to serve those not well versed with some of the nitty gritty and
bits of one of Africa’s very dynamic political dispensations. And it
is against this benchmark, that the author hopes his readers will be
in unique and informed position to accept one solid, but very
important fact, that the proliferation of violence, displacement, and
food insecurity under dictator Salva Kiir Mayardit is not new to South
Sudan, and so are their root causes.

The 2005, Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA), which Paved the way for
the succession of South Sudan from Sudan. It was essentially an
Agreement between the National Islamic front (NIF) of the
predominantly northern riverain Arabized Nubian tribesmen and SPLA/M
of the predominantly southern Dinka tribes. The CPA for practical
reasons exempted the once again Autonomous Southern Sudan from any
forced Islamic influences and jurisdictions, an outcome embraced by
all south Sudanese of all ethnic denominations.

However, as it became abundantly clear later, the failure of the
guarantor of the agreement to pressure for a democratic transformation
in the country, South Sudan went to the referendum boxes still
imprisoned in the “Dinka” prescribed “Tribal-Luak (Kraal -style) in
both state governance and life-style. This is the same primitive and
narrow scoped governance regimen that earlier led to the dismantlement
of the Addis Ababa agreement in 1983.

Since 2005, this regime which continuously revitalizes itself in the
name of “Bahr Ghazal Jieng Supremacy”, has already had devastating
military confrontations with far reaching massacre of civilian
populations in the Shillukland, the Murleland, the Equatorias, among
the “Fertit” and even among the so-called Bahr Ghazal Dinka”
communities from where the rogue and pariah regime draws most of its
fighting forces.

As I write this piece, the “Bahr Al Ghazal” Dinka of Gogrial are busy
killing one another under a state sponsored civil unrest, labelled for
convenience sake as the “inter-clan war” between the Apuk and Aguok
both of the so-called Gogrial state, dictator Salva Kiir’s own
homeland.

Unless of course we want to cover up the burning fire in South Sudan
that primarily stem from the poor governance and intentionally created
chaos by the ruling elites and their power base in the ‘Jieng (Dinka)
Council of Elders’ (JCE).

Throwing dry grass over this fire, and it is exactly what those
benefiting from the status quo are doing, in an attempt to cover up,
arguably in the name of national sovereignty and the ‘JCE’s version of
National Unity, is only as good as following in the footsteps of those
tribal zealots who knowingly or otherwise, led to the dismemberment of
the Old Sudan.

But let’s keep it real even if only for fairness’s sake. Any talk of
national sovereignty or national unity, during the existing government
only serves to promote the ‘Jieng’ (Dinka) hegemony, expansionism and
their ill-advised ethnic supremacy.

The ongoing proliferation of violence, displacement, and food
insecurity the countrywide is there to stay and even get worse as time
goes, unless of course a radical settlement to the root causes of the
crisis clinical and preferably surgical intervention.

One is made to wonder more and more, as South Sudan finds its fate in
the bloodiest hands of the most incapable duo, dictator Salva Kiir
Mayardit and opportunist Taban Deng Gai.

Can anyone in their rightful mind really trust the so-called
unilaterally declared ceasefire by the regime in Juba, when the very
regime is simultaneously engaged in heavy military attacks against the
SPLA-IO HQs of Pagak?

Even the dump pro-government “ALL DINKA MILITIA” of Mathiang Anyoor,
themselves will testify that they are under strict orders not to spare
any villages and their inhabitants in the recent governments scorch
earth campaign in rural Equatoria, Western Bahr Ghazal and many parts
of Greater Upper Ile regions.

The current situation in the country renders any discussion of
elections in the foreseeable future as an unnecessary diversion from
the primary goals of achieving peace and reconciliation.

South Sudan’s leaders, neighbors, and regional and international
partners must first focus on achieving peace based on the realization
of a total new structure of governance in the country – democratic
Confederalism.

This and only this extreme form of FEDERALISM as represented by
CONFEDERALISM can bring about the end of the bloody struggle over who
or which ethnic group (s) rule and monopolize the power in a
centralized system governance, and thereafter create the conditions
needed to hold credible elections.

These are urgent goals, and to achieve them, there is an equally
urgent need to promptly revitalize of an inclusive and credible peace
process by African Union and the UN Security Council.

This shallow belief that a peace process for South Sudan must receive
financial and other resources from the West as represented by the
TROIKA and the European Union or even the USA, are at their best
representation of neo-colonialism and Imperialism.

The question that begs for an answer is, “If we the South Sudanese and
our neighbors are capable of sponsoring the ongoing dirty War, Mass
Killings, Rape, and Lawlessness”, why then it becomes an issue that
must necessarily require a EU and TROIKA to Bankroll a Peace Process,
if we really want peace and stability to reign in our midst!

BUT, if there is no political will from within our populace and
political elites in country and the IGAD countries to the realization
OF A PEACEFUL CO-EXISTENCE in South Sudan based on a new political
dispensation as clearly proposed above, then there will be very little
wonder if the fire were to consume both the green and the dry, in the
country and the region at large!

Believe me, the historical inability of South Sudanese to face up to
their inborn cultural differences and the political nurturing of
hatred can keep South Sudan burning indefinitely. A small leaf from
the rich political experience of South Sudan vis-à-vis North Sudan
over the have a century of atrocious coexistence between the two
sections of what was a one country, clearly underscores that all we
are witnessing are non-starters on a genuine peaceful settlement.

Starting with the declared ‘One sided’ and bogus “National Dialogues”,
fake and hypocritical “ceasefires”, basically meant to serve as
military ploys and the futile attempts at entrenching a “One Party
Rule” in the name of unification of the ruling party, as is the case
of the embattled SPLM now high on the agenda, all are futile attempts
at misleading the public opinion, but especially of course directed at
soliciting foreign financial supports to sustain both the civil war
and the dictators grip on power.

Again, another lesson learnt from the Old Sudan, clearly shows that
any attempt to merely change or replace those in the seats of power in
Juba, although likely to bring about a chance towards a conducive
atmosphere for a serious dialogue, however, carried out in isolation
of such well thought through programs is not in any way enough to
bring about an everlasting Peace and stability.

On the other hand, given the fact that the current dire situation in
the country is by all measure the outcome of a greedy and visionless
leadership, this chronically devastated part of the world, will never
have the opportunity for a genuine dialogue under the current regime,
which itself is part of the crisis and not a solution.

Peace can only be realized when the regime in Juba is uprooted
completely and replaced by one that will first seek the boldness to
reconstruct the governance structures, a new social contract between
the various nationalities if they would genuinely subscribe to the
very idea of staying together as one country and under what
arrangements yet to be agreed on and not imposed.

Radical as they may sound, but the author is optimistic that these
proposals are the only viable options if South Sudan is ever to live
in peace with itself. Maintain the status quo, is out of question and
neither the idea of unification of the SPLM with the hope of
surrendering every citizen’s hope for a better life to the regime’s
so-called “Unknown Gunmen” – who are now well known and can be traced
back to the doors of the J1 or the Republican Palace.

Author: Dr.Justin Ambago Ramba. A concerned South Sudanese and a Voice
for the Voiceless and marginalized Millions.
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2 Comments

False Millionnaire
July 30, 2017 at 8:13 am

Apart from the sarcastic heading,the centeral thèmes reflect the
genuine equatorian wishes that are consistant with reaction to the
alleged events that provoked Kokora one.But the grave mistake is,if it
was an equatorian conviction that SPLM/A under Garang was a jieng
movement,there shouldn’t have been any need for the equatorians to
join it than to opt for a seperate movement to fight Khartoum
seperately to achieve the outlined objectives as narrated by Dr Ramba.
The universality of the order of things obliges recognition of
every one’s rights and the need to fight for justice where it’s
denied.The equatorians under the thèmes as articulated by Dr Ramba
fall within the sphère of such context. But the only single disturbing
observation is the conclusion that Dr Ramba’s position stands in
contradiction to général TCS’ déclarations generalizing the struggle
to mean à fight for the rights of all RSS citizens suffering of
injustice under kiir’s misrule. Such contradiction under the
circumstances of farther armed developments of the movement would
hardly die down without grave conséquences to both equatorians on Dr
Ramba’s side on one hand and equatorians and other nationalities on
général TCS’ side on the other.Such context inspires the need for the
equatorians to harmonize their position right now before moving one
step further.
Reply
mading
August 1, 2017 at 7:12 pm

Justin Ambago. Why don’t you shut up, and enjoy yourself far a way
from the war in South Sudan. People like you are just hate preachers,
and nothing more. You are challenging everything peace loving leaders
like Salva Kiir and Taban Deng are doing for peace to come to our
country just because you hate them, not because you have something
good to offer to our people, shame on you Justin.