Africa

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By Steve Paterno

In South Sudan, where just about everyone has access to guns (tons of them), and almost every ambitious politician is a potential warlord, any slight destabilization of the country provides an opportunity to lead straight to a nation run by pockets of small warlords. In such a case of slight destabilization of the country, those small warlords would be controlling their small enclaves, by the power of their guns.

This is exactly a scenario, which is being advocated by the much-hyped and dramatized mass demonstration by a group known as People Coalition for Civil Action (PCCA), in their miscalculated efforts in trying to overthrow the government. This particular group calls for non-military civil actions against the government, but yet, contradictorily, they brag that they get the backing of armed elements from the National Security Service (NSS), South Sudan People's Defense Force (SSPDF), and South Sudan Police Service (SSPS). In militarized South Sudan, the coalition knows that they need the backing of armed groups to secure the overthrow of the government. Therefore, there is no need for the coalition to emphasize much on civil actions, when in fact that they are banking on the armed elements, to secure them a victory.

In a practical sense, the way the coalition is laying out its strategy in taking over the government looks like this. Check it out: They will send the demonstrators, pouring on the streets, perhaps with some armed elements disguised in the middle of the demonstrators. This will automatically draw in the overzealous state's security forces, to disperse the demonstrators. In the process, deadly confrontations will ensue, leading to shootouts. In the chaotic scene of the shootouts, no one will be sure of who is shooting who, because both groups are armed. This potentially will spread the shootouts beyond the vicinity of the demonstration. Then, the opportunistic ambitious politicians would turn into their weapons, ostensibly, becoming small warlords in their small enclaves. And out of necessity, the rest would automatically pick up their weapons as well, in order, to protect themselves and their properties amidst the ensuing chaos.

In such a scenario, the coalition would at least achieve one thing, causing the destabilization of the government and country as a whole. Here, it would then depend on the capacity and strength of the government, whether it would succeed in pulling the country out of the chaos to restore peace and order, or else, the country would be left to be run by small warlords, perhaps perpetually. It is then that South Sudan will be Somalia on steroids, worse than it was.

At the current state of affairs, South Sudan does not need any slight destabilization, whereby it would be plunged into perpetual chaos of a country run by warlords. South Sudan needs a gradual transformation. Such transformation could best be ensured by a national armed security force. This national armed security force must be of a national character in ensuring the security of all citizens and safeguarding the country's territorial integrity. This will ultimately eliminate any room for the proliferation of warlords, who thrive in chaos.

This national armed security force oversees civil political democratization in the country that the citizens of South Sudan are yearning for.

As of now, there is no way democratic elections are feasible or could succeed in South Sudan. Even the much-awaited and talked about democratic elections at the end of the transitional period of the peace agreement is not feasible or practical. For one, you have armed groups masquerading as political parties, gearing to compete in elections. The practice is that in such undemocratic elections, a candidate is running with two options on the plate: (i) either wins and takes up the position in government or (ii) loses and then jumps to the bush, kills few people and causes some destruction, then, eventually negotiates away in government to pick up even a better position than the one he or she was competing for. Both options of winning and losing are attractive, with losing is an even more lucrative endeavour for the ambitious competing politicians who or also potential warlords. We have witnessed such with the likes of Gen Athor. Heck, even a mere civilian like David Yauyau could lose an election, pick up arms, kill, destroy, and then gain national prominence as a result.

So, let's go slowly, starting with the national armed security force as the first national institution to be firmly founded. The current relative stability in the country, with the exercise of possible screening of militias in forming unified national armed forces, provides the platform for establishing a strong and capable national armed security force.

August 18, 2021 (JUBA) - South Sudan's Investment minister has denied reports of his alleged involvement in holding private discussions with the United Nations mission in Abyei (UNISFA) over the status the existence of their base in his area.

Map showing the lcoation of the contested Abyei region in relation to Sudan and South Sudan

Minister Dhieu Mathok Diing Wol denied in a statement on Wednesday that he held private discussions with the leadership of the interim force for Abyei at which asked them to remain in the area despite public protest demanding the peacekeeping troops to pull out of the area with immediate effects.

“South Sudanese in general and Aweil communities in particular were well aware that I was in the frontline with the rest of compatriots, who came out in defense of 14 miles in 2012. I made my position clear before the African Union team of experts by presenting the circumstances behind the creation of 14 miles and why we think it was not a boundary”, Dhieu wrote in a statement obtained by Sudan Tribune.

He was reacting to a social media post accusing him of backtracking local demand protesting the continuous stay of the troops in the area.

Public demonstrations have been held in recent days in the counties of Aweil North and East whose areas were included in the map at the insistence of the Government of Sudan (GoS) during the talks facilitated by the African union high-level implementation Panel. Sudan feared an exclusion of the area in the Safe Demilitarize Buffer Zone amounts to a concession of the territory to South Sudan.

The latter asserts ownership of the area and pledge to provide access to grazing and water points to areas Sudanese nomads from Darfur and in Kordofan regions at the border with neighboring South Sudan.

The fear held by the Sudanese government at the talks led to designation of the area as a demilitarized zone, monitored by a Joint Border Verification and Monitoring Mechanism (JBVMM), to be composed of international observers from UNISFA and representatives of both countries. Within this area, ‘join tribal mechanisms' are supposed to resolve disputes.

The area is mainly occupied by the Malual Dinka. The Rizeigat, one of the Sudanese nomads from Darfur annually accesses the area south of the Kiir River for grazing.

The local and national authorities say disputes over grazing in this area are not new. They stretch back to the 20th century. They cite clashes in 1918 which persuaded Patrick Munro, the British colonial governor of Darfur to create a new grazing boundary for the Rizeigat, some 40 miles south of the Kiir.

This decision sparked protest and vociferous complaints from the Malual Dinka, resulting in 1924 a compromise between Munro and Mervyn Wheatley, the governor of Bahr el Ghazal. The two British officials created a zone of Rizeigat grazing that extended to a line 14 miles south of the River Kiir. This line is known today as the Munro-Wheatley line, and the zone that it demarcates is referred to as the 14-Mile Are

(ST)

August 18, 2021 (KHARTOUM) - Sudanese doctors resigned from an autopsy committee to protest the burial of bodies of people killed during the protests without identification.

In a resignation letter seen by the Sudan Tribune sent to Prime Minister Abdallah Hamdok and Mohamed al-Faki a member of the Sovereign Council representing the civilian component, the four forensic doctors denounced the meddling of the general prosecution in their activities.

"We fear of not being able to perform our work impartially," said the resigned doctors from the autopsy committee.

We discovered, "change in the pins of the bodies in the mortuary, this means the possibility of replacing these bodies with missing persons to be buried outside the framework of the law," reads the letter handed over on Wednesday.

They went further to say that a committee appointed by the interim Attorney General had buried 23 bodies on July 11, "without performing the identification process," despite the recommendations of forensic reports not to bury that bodies.

The resignation letter said that Prosecutor Mohamed Abdallah who is appointed by the interim general attorney, "insisted on burying the 23 bodies before completing the identification."

"Also, he replaced the pin numbers of the bodies in a way that created mistrust, and led to questioning his intentions."

Families of the victims killed by the security forces accuse the military component of the Sovereign Council and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) militiamen of seeking to cover the crimes committed against the pro-democracy protesters since April 2019.

They are hostile to the interim general attorney appointed by the RSF Commander and Deputy Head of the Sovereign Council during al-Burhan's presence in Paris last to participate in a conference on Sudan.

The ruling coalition of Forces for Freedom and Change this week met with members of the Sovereign Council to urge the appointment of a new General Attorney.

(ST)

President Kiir speaks to the SPLM retreat in Lobonok on 6 December 2018 (ST Photo)

August 18, 2021 (JUBA) - South Sudan's President Salva Kiir has threatened to pull out of the Rome talks, accusing the holdout groups of carrying out what he described it as “terror attacks”.

He was reacting to an incident in which gunmen killed five people, including two nuns, on the Juba-Nimule highway on Monday this week.

The hold out group denied any involvement, citing recurring incidents on the same Juba-Nimule highway road as clear indicators of a failed state.

Kiir, in a statement issued on Wednesday, said his government's acceptance to engage in talks and sign several documents to end the fighting should not be taken as a sign of weakness, but rather an indication of commitment to resolve political issues through dialogue.

“The Government signed the Rome Declaration, the Recommitment to Cessation of Hostilities and the Declaration of Principles with the Holdout Groups with the goal of stopping the fighting and saving innocent lives,” said Kiir.

He added, “Now that the non-signatories to the Revitalized Peace Agreement continue to violate these commitments, the Government may reconsider its position on the ongoing Sant'Egidio led Rome Initiative. Our pursuit of an inclusive peace should never be taken for weakness and used as a window to kill the innocent.”

The South Sudanese leader wondered why criminals would target nuns from an event marking an important milestone of christianity in the country.

“The responsibility for their death lies squarely on the Holdout Groups, and the Revitalized Transitional Government of National Unity condemns this act of terror with the strongest terms possible,” he stressed.

No armed opposition group has so far come out to claim any responsibility, though Kiir and members of his administration insist the attack was carried out by holdout groups.

The National Salvation Front (NAS), one of the holdout groups active in the area denied any responsibility, citing lack of presence in the area.

“First of all, the press statement of President Kiir has no meaning and I think he is just trying to avoid blame. There is nothing called SSPDF which provides security in the country. The country has collapsed,” NAS spokesperson, Suba Samuel Manase said in a statement on Wednesday.

“The areas of Jebelein and Nesitu are controlled by the SSPDF and there are no rebels in these places, there is no NAS, and this is not the first-time ambushes have taken place there. It is only that the nuns are well-known people, otherwise, common people are killed there all the time. It is the SSPDF who are robbing and killing people in those places.”

The opposition spokesman wondered how his troops could be involved in the attack when president Kiir and James Wani Igga, one of his five deputies in the coalition government had a heavy deployment of the forces along the road following a visit to the Nimule area.

“How can another group carry out an attack on the road with all that deployment? It is rubbish. Several times, SSPDF elements have been arrested by the National Security and police for robbing and kidnapping people on the road. They are always displayed on national television. These are the same people who did this. Even the Tiger (presidential guards are thieves and have been arrested several times in Juba for robbery,” Suba said.

He said the South Sudanese leader was free to walk out, pointing to several previous peace agreements whose terms he failed to honour.

“On withdrawing from the Sant'Egidio Rome talks, he is free to do it after all he has abrogated many agreements. ARCSS 2015, he abrogated it, this one 2018 (R-ARCSS) he is failing it and has abrogated it. So, what is special with Sant'Egidio? He can walk out,” stressed Suba.

SSOMA CONDEMNS ATTACKS ON CIVILIANS

Separately, South Sudan Opposition Movement Alliance (SSOMA), denounced and condemned the attack and subsequent killing of innocent civilians and the nuns, putting the blame on the government and called on the international community to carry out an independent investigation into the cause and circumstances of the attacks.

“SSOMA denounces and condemns in the strongest terms possible this heinous killing of innocent civilians and members of the clergy. We hold the regime of Salva Kiir responsible for the ongoing attacks along roads, ethnic fights in the villages, and disappearances inside the towns of South Sudan,” partly noted a statement SSOMA issued on Wednesday.

The opposition alliance said the recurring attacks on civilians and breakdown in rule of law and order is indicative of a failed state and called on the international community and relevant organizations to institute investigations.

“Alas, these recurring ambushes, attacks, and killings of innocent people along the major roads and towns in South Sudan is a clear major undeniable proof of the total breakdown of law and order and a complete lack of security protection that is indicative of the failed regime of Salva Kiir,” SSOMA statement said.

The opposition umbrella group called on the international community and relevant organizations to investigate these barbaric killings as there is an alarming rate of attacks on Church personnel and innocent civilians across South Sudan.”

(ST)

Peter Lam Both (Photo credit: Eye Radio)

August 19, 2021 (JUBA) - South Sudan's President Salva Kiir has appointed Peter Lam Both, a former state governor as acting Secretary General of the ruling Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM), ending tenuous lobbying amongst several party aspirants.

Both, the state-owned television (SSTV) announced on Wednesday, replaces Jemma Nunu Kumba who is the speaker of the Transitional National Legislative Assembly (TNLA).

The acting SPLM Secretary General had previously served as the deputy relief and rehabilitation commission at the national level and as a state minister of information in Upper Nile state before the country was split into 32 states in 2015 and 2016.

He later became the governor of Latjor state when more states were created through presidential establishment order.

Both contested for the seat with senior members of the party, notably the senior presidential adviser, Kuol Manyang Juuk, Eastern Equatoria state governor Louis Lobong Lajore and former Upper Nile state Governor Simon Kun Puoc. Kuol was depicted as a potential candidate for the position.

It is, however, not clear what transpired during lobbying in which Kiir decided to appoint a junior official at the expense of other high-ranking members in the structure.

Political analysts and commentators have been quick to attribute the cause to regional and ethnic balance in the hierarchical structure of the party.

Many believe the Secretary General of the ruling party should not go to an ethnic Dinka since the party's chairman hails from Bahr el Ghazal and his deputy comes from Equatoria. The position of the Secretary General should then go to Upper Nile.

(ST)

When Djamel Ben Ismail went to fight forest fires in Algeria, his life was cut short by a raging mob.