Opinion: Open letter to the president of Initiative for Change on Angelina Teny

May 18, 2020 Opinions

Hon. Angelina Teny, South Sudan Minister of Defense and Veteran Affairs(Photo credit: supplied)

May 18, 2020 (SSNN) – Angelina Teny, has been the President of the Initiative of Change (IofC) South Sudan, since its official registration in the new nation in 2012. She is the current Defense and Veterans Affairs Minister, and wife of Dr. Riek Machar, Vice President of the Republic of South Sudan. The South Sudan IofC Constitution outlines the following challenges and plans to address them:

1 – Bringing reconciliation and healing where there is conflict;

2 – Tackling the root causes of corruption, poverty, and social exclusion; and

3 – Strengthening the moral and spiritual foundations of democracy.

On September 17th, 2013, South Sudan IofC held a five-days mini-forum in Juba, under the theme: Initiating Solidarity and Trust in South Sudan. In her remarks to youth Angelina stressed the importance of nation-building, peace, reconciliation, and peace mobilizers.

As soon as she became the Minister of Defence, Angelina turned against the South Sudan IofC Constitution and her own advice to the youth in 2013. Also, Angelina overlooked or ignored the January 2020 Rome Declaration On The Peace Process In South Sudan. Thus, under the auspices of the Community of Sant’Egidio in Rome, and witnessed by Intergovernmental Authority on Development(IGAD), the government of South Sudan, the South Sudan Opposition Movements Alliance (SSOMA) of NAS is a member, the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement/Army-in-Opposition (SPLM/A-IO), and National Democratic Movement (NDM) have signed a peace declaration in which they recommit to the cessation of Hostilities Agreement of December 2017 to avoid confrontation between the signatories and non-signatories parties of South Sudan peace agreement.

Unfortunately, Angelina ordered the government military to attack the National Salvation Army (NAS) bases in Central Equatoria State. At the same time, she ordered joint government and Sudan People’s Liberation Army-in Opposition (SPLA-IO) forces to attack NAS bases in Western Equatoria State. Instead of attacking NAS soldiers, the joint government and SPLA-IO military forces turned their military weapons on defenseless and innocent civilians, accusing them of supporting anti-government rebels and committing savage abuses, horrific violence, atrocities, war crimes, and crimes against humanity against the children, women, and men of South Sudan in Loka west, Yei, Wonduruba, Morobo, Sebi and other parts of Central Equatoria State (CES). The savage abuses include killing of civilians, raping of girls and women, burning and looting of civilian homes, and arbitrarily arresting and torturing of civilians in detention. Her role in terrorizing the innocents and defenseless civilians is immoral, irresponsible, and senseless and her action created mass displacement and humanitarian catastrophes at the time of strict nation-wide lockdown due to COVID-19.

South Sudan is culturally and ethnically diverse, and before 2013, has been undergoing ethnic, political and other forms of violence. It is appropriate; therefore, that to end or at least reduce those forms of violence, Angelina should have been using her knowledge of IofC International vision of Just, Peaceful and Sustainable World in which people act from a sense of global interdependence and responsibility, Creator of Peace, Reconciliation and Healing, Human Security, and Ethical Leadership. In short, as a leading and respected national political leader and member of IofC International, she has made no effort to act according to IofC ideals or principles. Instead her orders and directives are particularly immoral, irresponsible, and senseless war against South Sudanese civilians defies the principles humanity (I am my brother and sister keeper).

The international leadership of IofC has a moral dilemma. It has to deal with this and answer to the victims of Angelina’s actions. Otherwise it does damage to its own image as an international organization promoting justice, peace, reconciliation, healing, human security, and ethical leadership and provides security and voice for the voiceless, the vulnerable and defenseless children, girls, women, and men who are currently perishing in the bushes of South Sudan without protection.

Where is the principle of IofC that it preaches “change starts from within the individual member”? can IofC still believe that both Angelina and Riek are renewed & truly born again IofC followers? Unfortunately, some IofC members still believe that both couples are IofC mini gods. Angelina & Riek have taken IofC international & its financial support and resources for granted with rid.

Paradoxically, in 2016, Angelina and her husband were saved by the citizens of Central, Eastern & Western Equatoria States (Pöjulu, Kakwa, Azande, Avukaya, Baka, Moro, Keliko, Ma’adi, and Makaraka) from eminent death at the hands of government of South Sudan soldiers who are now brutalizing Equatorians as a consequence of her military orders. They helped Angelina & Riek escape government forces who were pursuing them, provided them with safe heaven within the CES & WES bushes, fed and carried them on their shoulders to Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and helped them airlifted to Khartoum for safety and treatment. Without CES, EES and WES men, women and children support and protection both Angelina & Riek would have been dead by now.

Now, Angelina and Riek have forgotten CES, EES & WES’s warm hospitality, protection, and safety they received during the difficult time of 2016 political crisis and taken Equatorians for granted and maintained their policy of marginalization & nepotism.

In addition to this, Maj. Gen. Clement Konga provided Angelina and Riek with support, Gen. Martin Kenyi, Eastern Bank Senior Officer, and others sacrificed their lives for Angelina and Riek to cross to Congo safely. On another hand, both couples never acknowledge the outstanding rescue operation of Equatorians under the leadership of Gen. John Kenyi Lo’buron (JKL) and his troops who played major role to protection Angelina and Riek and now the couples are fighting the every General that save their lives-what an irony and this is madness. Furthermore, Angelina and Riek failed to disclose to relatives, and the citizens of Greater Equatoria the circumstances of Gen. Kenyi and others, they are whereabout and whether they are alive or dead. It’s time for Angelina and Riek to come clean in this regard. Her irresponsible & senseless military orders and directives raise more questions than answers for IofC International to answer.

It is time for IofC international to come clean also, provides information its dealings and relationship with Angelina, president of South Sudan IofC & Dr. Machar and whether it supports Angelina’s position of waging senseless war against defenseless and vulnerable civilians or not.

Angelina is not only defying the principles of IofC, but also, the call from the United Nations Secretary General (UNSG) and the UN children’s Fund (UNICEF) urging warring parties to stop fighting as the COVID-19 pandemic spreads. The current UN humanitarians’ investigators in the region should recommend to the UNSC to refer SSPDF’s butchery of civilians in Lasu, Morobo, Loka, Loka west, Mukayia, Bereka, Kopera, Lainya, Yei, Wonduraba and Maridi road to the International Criminal Court (ICC) for indictments, for war crimes, genocide, and crimes against humanity on the legal ground of the reports from the UN Human Rights Commission and the findings of the UN Experts for South Sudan. Jan 12th, 2020, Rome Declaration on the Peace Process in South Sudan in which her government is party to it and the declaration bound the government to reinstate the cessation of hostilities agreement of December 2017 as well.

The IofC teaching, values and ethics never have impact on personal behaviors of Angelina and Riek and specially after Pope Francis kissed the feet of (Kiir, Riek, Taban & Rebecca) and commanded them to be agents of peace, justice, reconciliation, healing, and not war, tribal conflicts, and nepotism, but they did the opposite and disrespected Pope Francis prayers of humility which brings creators or agents of peace closer to God. Pope Francis knelt, kissed the feet of South Sudanese leaders and his prayers of supplications for peaceful South Sudan have gone in vain and supposedly agents of peace carried joint military offenses of the South Sudan defense forces and Sudan’s People’s Liberation movement in Opposition (SPLM-IO) against defenseless & innocent children, women, men displaced from their homes, villages, and cities and now perishing in bushes of South Sudan without shelters, food, water, personal protection gears (PPG) in time of killer Corona COVID-19, and are most vulnerable to all kind of other diseases as well as Angelina-made-hunger. This is very calculated genocide policy by Angelina president (IofC) South Sudan and defense minister to depopulate Greater Equatoria States.

In all respects, the Initiative of Change (IofC) South Sudan is longing for a new leader who will “act from a sense of global interdependence and responsibility, Creator of Peace, Reconciliation and Healing, Human Security, and Ethical Leadership”. Indeed, it is globally well known that the people of South Sudan are desperate for “Peace, Reconciliation and Healing, Human Security, and Ethical Leadership,” but not under Angelina and Riek shame leadership.

In nutshell, for IofC international to be credible, impartial future mediator and peace partner in South Sudan, IofC international should reassess its relationship & dealings with both Angelina & Dr. Machar in the light of the current joint military offences by the SSPDF under Kiir and the SPLA-IO under Dr. Machar. She and her husband cannot deny the reality on ground. They have authorities to recall the Chief of Staffs and SSPDF from CES areas and suspend military operations but failed to do so. She cannot claim that “I am still acquainting myself with the ministry,” only an incompetent & unqualified minister would say so. As appointed minister from day one she is supposed to be fully in charge, responsible and accountable for the actions of her subordinates before the Parliament and must resign with immediate effect for immoral, irresponsible, senseless, and unlawful war crimes against citizens of Greater Equatoria. “The tongue cannot claim to be ignorant of what the teeth are doing.”

Therefore, I strongly urge the IofC international to establish a policy that prohibits IofC International and its regional offices from engaging with Angelina president of South Sudan IofC & Minister of Defense and Dr. Machar Vice President of the Republic of South Sudan.

Sincerely,

Hüstin Läkü, Sr.

Global Concerned Citizen

Cc: His Grace Pope Francis

Cc: The Very Rev. Justin Welby, Archbishop of Canterbury

Cc: H.E. Abiy Ahmed Ali, Prime Minister Ethiopia

Cc: H.E. Cyril Ramaphosa Chairperson of the African Union

Cc: Secretary General of the Community of Sant ‘Egidio

Cc: H.E. António Guterres, the United Nations Secretary General

Cc: The UN Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan

Cc: Members of the UN Panel of Experts for South Sudan

Cc: Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights United Nations Office at Geneva

Cc: Secretary General of World Council of Churches

Cc: Secretary General of All Africa Conference of Churches

Cc: The Sudan Catholic Bishops’ Conference (SCBC)

Cc: Most Reverend Oscar Cantú, Chair, Bishop of Las Cruces, Committee on International Justice and Peace

Cc: Secretary General of South Sudan Council of Churches

Cc: Dr. Sinead Walsh, Head of the Delegation of European Union Ambassadors to South Sudan

Cc: Thomas Hushek, U.S. Ambassador to South Sudan

Cc: U.S. Members of Foreign Relations

Cc: Michael R. Pompeo, U.S. Secretary of State

Cc: E.U. Parliament’s foreign policy Committee

Cc: Enough Project, D.C.

Cc: Secretary General of Amnesty International

Cc: Amina Dikedi, IofC international

Cc: Rajmohan Gandhi, IofC International

Cc: Mike Brown, IofC International

Cc: Media outlets

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