Opinion: Kiir’s government is despotic, and forming a unity government would be a recipe for another massacre

Opinion,

By Gatwech Deng Wal
Melbourne, Australia

South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir Mayardit, briefing the South Sudan People’s Defense Forces after receiving Seven Medals-award for his outstanding, long and military services during the liberation period , and during and the CPA interim period( photo credit:supplied)

Nov 14th, 2019 (SSNN)-Salva Kiir Mayardit’s government is despotic; it has no checks, balances, laws and proper institutions in place. In truth, it is not good at anything else but killing, employing cruel treatment and causing a tremendous amount of suffering to innocent South Sudanese. Given that Salva Kiir Mayardit’s government is only good at orchestrating the killing of its citizens, the formation of a unity government on the 12th of November 2019, would mean another massacre and instability in South Sudan due to its improper provisions. To prevent another violence, massacre and instability from happening, there is a need not form a unity government as the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD’s) leaders have managed to advise Salva Kiir Mayardit not to go ahead with the formation of a unity government on the 12th of November 2019.

Building a sense of lasting peace in war-torn South Sudan is among the most daunting of challenges in East Africa region. It needs IGAD’s leaders to get off their dirty hands, make it a number one priority, and thus deal with it in a manner that would bring a proper peace in place. Besides, the international communities’ present and support are desperately needed for the peace implementation, especially across the broadest range of activities such as monitoring ceasefires, demobilising and reintegrating combatants, proper security arrangements plus many more.

Although Salva Kiir Mayardit’s behaviour means business to the IGAD and world leaders, there is a need to think of South Sudanese innocent life and region stability. Thus, time is now for the IGAD and world’s leaders to act and safe South Sudanese innocent souls that are already under havoc situation and threat of death. The IGAD and world leaders can save innocent South Sudanese souls by actively strengthening conflicts prevention and open friendly communications between the warring parties during the extension period of the formation of a unity government. Other mechanisms that can help the IGAD and world’s leaders save South Sudanese innocent souls during this extension period would, for example, be to:

1. strongly start advising and encouraging Salva Kiir Mayardit to fund the peace and establish cantonment areas across South Sudan;
2. strongly advise Salva Kiir Mayardit to drop 32 states to 10 states, create and mark clear boundaries between the states;
3. liaise with Salva Kiir Mayardit and all opposition leaders, advising them to give and take what can bring enjoyable peace in South Sudan;
4. advise the warring parties to properly arrange and train strong security forces before the formation of a unity government;
5. keep ceasefire agreements intact; And
6. prove national initiatives such as peacebuilding, reconciliation, transitional justice and mediation etc.

South Sudan’s meaningful peace would neither come into play through the formation of a unity government on the 12th of November 2019 nor through forceful mean. It would only come into play through peaceful means and when proper mechanisms such as the above-mentioned ones are considered and put in place by the IGAD, international communities and supported by the warring parties’ leaders. Failure to consider these mechanisms will jeopardise peace now, during and after the extension of the formation of a unity government, cause unstoppable chaos and put innocent South Sudanese and other East Africans’ life at risk.

The formation of a unity government on the 12th of November 2019 would thus mean nothing else but war and killing of innocent South Sudanese. And in truth, no formation of a unity government deal would be better than a deal where Salva Kiir Mayardit continues his religiously-based campaign of violence and terror that can kill and displace innocent South Sudanese. It is great that IGAD and both warring parties’ leaders agreed to push back the deadline of the formation of a unity government at tripartite talks hosted by the Ugandan president, Yoweri Museveni. As the IGAD and warring parties’ leaders agreed to extend and delay the formation of a unity government; there is hope that a meaningful and permanent peace will come into play in South Sudan.

 The author is a concerned citizen, he lives in Melbourne, Australia, and be reached by email his email at gatwechdeng@gmail.com

Editorial Team

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