By John Adoor Deng, Australia

By Prof. Wani Tombe, Sudan Vision


In the nascent Republic of South Sudan (ROSS); the system of governance is Tribocracy instead of Democracy. Tribocracy is a rule by a tribe or groups of tribes who monopolise all institutions of governance in a country like the ROSS. There are some ministries in the ROSS which look and sound like tribal gathering venues; for some tribal rituals to be performed therein.
This author has written extensively on the evil of tribalism in the ROSS; and he has been vilified for doing so. Others accuse him of inciting revolt in the ROSS; and some think that he is against them as members of particular tribes that abuse leadership in the ROSS.
The fact of the matter is that; tribalism is as dangerous as racism. A tribalist will do all types of evil things to another human being that a racist does to another human person. A tribalist will discriminate against another human being because of his colour; tribal marks; language; culture; faith; and all those immutable characteristics that a human person is born with because he is human.
Tribalists in the ROSS take lives of other human persons just because these poor victims do not emanate from their tribes. In legal terms; this is an organised killing; and upon proper legal analyses; fits all legal requirements for the occurrence of the crime of genocide. Therefore; in fact; and at law; in the ROSS; there are genocides taking place almost every day! Consider the extermination of the Murelly tribe in the ROSS; and you have the crime of genocide staring you in the face. This is the work of tribalists.
The ROSS is proving ungovernable because; all formal institutions of governance in the ROSS have been transformed into informal institutions of Tribocracy. Modern governments are premised on the concept of meritocracy; however; Tribocracy and meritocracy cannot just go hand-in-hand. They are arch enemies; to the extent that; once Tribocracy has taken hold as in the ROSS; meritocracy must die a natural death, if not; a brutal death as is the case in the ROSS.
Tribocracy is very suited for the administration of subsistence modes of production; whereby; the economic anthropology of these modes of production; dictate that; decisions are taken on the basis of kinship affiliations; within this realm of economics of affection.
Governance based on Tribocracy lacks the capacity to identify; nurture; develop; and sustain formal talents, and comprehensive value systems, acquired via formal educational processes, and various graduations; for the creation of pools of technocrats; needed for the purposes of formal governments and governance; saturated in meritocracy, for national and sovereign interests.  
This lack of capacity within the remit of Tribocracy is due to the fact that; tribalism as a system of socio-economic and political mobilisation; inherently lacks the formal selection and recruitment mechanisms of formal institutions. Tribalism has different recruitment and selection criteria which put emphasis on different indices not akin to those found in formal institutions. Therefore; since Tribocracy is a function of tribalism; it is thus imbued with the same incapacity found in tribalism.
For example; in a Tribocracy; loyalty is to the tribe not to the nation or sovereignty unless if the sovereign and the nation coincide intimately with the interests of the tribe (s) controlling the state; run on the basis of Tribocracy as in the ROSS. The reason why the violation of human rights of the human person; in the ROSS is so commonplace; is due to the fact that; tribal militias, in the form of police; security personnel; and the army; have taken the law into their own hands for the protection of tribal interests within the crucible of Tribocracy. This means that; any person not agreeing with the acts and omissions of rulers in a Tribocracy is an enemy. He/she must thus be eliminated. The concept of prison for arch enemies is lacking in a Tribocracy. Enemies have to be eliminated forever.
In a Tribocracy; a thinking mind is dangerous. Tribal rulers detest active brains that want to contribute positively to the advancement of humanity. Tribal rulers only want to discover new methodologies of how to entrench their evil rule and how to further monopolise all institutions of governance in the state as in the ROSS.
In a Tribocracy; the wealth of the nation belongs to the controlling tribe (s). This is the tragedy that has befallen the ROSS. Close analyses of all the names and personalities accused by the President of the ROSS as having stolen four (4) billon dollars from the peoples of South Sudan (PoSS); indicate that; the majority of them come from almost one tribe. This is the tragedy for the PoSS. The PoSS must themselves stop this from getting out of control. This system of Tribocracy in the ROSS is not the future the PoSS have been promised by the rulers of the ROSS. This system of Tribocracy is leading the PoSS to their comprehensive doom.

In a Tribocracy; the concept of provision of goods and services to the populace is not in the vocabulary of the ruling elites.  For example; when the ruling elites in Juba pretended that they wanted to buy maize for the PoSS; the ministry of finance there released funds into the hands of those whom they knew were not actually going to provide the maize. The money ended up being looted.
In a Tribocracy; the concept of public procurement is missing. All procurement is private but using public funds. Ministers travel abroad in order to procure goods and services. This is almost unheard of internationally. The reason is due to the fact that; cultural norms are applied when dealing with formal government procurement decisions; and thus; issues get mixed up to the extent that; some of the elites in the ROSS fall back on their cultural anthropology to run the affairs of the state.
In a Tribocracy; smooth and peaceful transfer of power is almost impossible. Since loyalty is to the tribe; any attempt to change leadership is seen as a colossal threat to the very existence of the tribe hitherto controlling comprehensive power and wealth in the state like the RoSS. It does not matter whatever methods are proposed for the transfer of power including elections. It is always seen as a threat to the lives of the oligarchs controlling the Tribocracy. This means that; the PoSS have to decide once and for all; as to whether; they want to live under the yoke of tribal oligarchs or there must be a change for the better?
The choice of Tribocracy as the system of governance in the ROSS is extremely dangerous. The tribalisation of all institutions of governance is counterproductive; and smacks in the face of the claims of modernity vis-à-vis the nascent government of the ROSS. Making the PoSS to identify with the tribe as the source of comprehensive securities is dangerous. This undermines the nurturing of the values of nationalism in which; all the PoSS are supposed to identify with the nation.

The ROSS has very much started on the wrong foot. The worse is yet to be seen in terms of comprehensive instability and chaos consequential upon the entrenchment of Tribocracy as the system of governance in the ROSS. Various African countries are falling apart due to the promotion of tribal interests at the expense of national ones to the extent that; nations disappear and you are left with tribal groups murdering one another in a cutthroat struggle for the control of power and wealth.
This curse shall not just disappear in the ROSS. There must be positive steps and sincere intentions by all those who love human stability to fight the abuse of the concept of tribe and its misuse as a weapon of mass destruction; within the remit of modern political discourse and practice in the ROSS. Tribocracy is a ticking time bomb that cannot be anymore ignored. This venom ought to be neutralized before it destroys everybody in the ROSS.
Those who are bent on the promotion of Tribocracy ought to know that; the length of domination of others notwithstanding; there shall subsequently come the time when this evil effigy shall come crumbling down with disastrous consequences particularly for its beneficiaries. History is awash with examples of demises of tribes who basked and paraded in the glory of tribal might founded on misconceptions of greatness. It does not usually take years for such a system to collapse.
The general unity of other tribes against the supposed tyrannical tribe always see to it that; such anarchies masquerading as governments do not last forever. The PoSS ought to quickly put together a functional strategy as to how to liberate themselves from the evil of Tribocracy so that; they can then set about laying the foundation for a sound governance for the benefit of posterities. It is a crime to allow those few others to lord over the majority of the PoSS simply because; they control power and wealth; and translate these two values into security threats against the other PoSS. This must stop in one way or another. 

By Mac Madol Agorok

September 2, 2012, Guymon OK (Borglobe) - the way leaders have been taking laws on omission and impose collective punishments on civil populations is a continuation of the same wrongs in Jonglei. It used to happen during the post civil war that if a member of one's family hid to avoid a mandatory enlistment in the rebel army then his extended family stood liable to be punished, or had their livestock confiscated. Did it end there?  Absolutely not!

The same thing is happening now in Bor. Cattle rustlers stole cattle from Kothchar village of Murle.  After the report came to the Governor Kuol Manyang and Commissioner Maker Lual in Bor  main town. Throng of government soldiers  sent to get hold of lawbreakers. The culture of the cattle keepers remains the same that cattle can be bought or stolen. The SPLA soldiers encountered the culprits on their way back home. Two cattle rustlers riddled with multiple bullets, collected and rushed to the jail. It is the time they will know one can be found guilty of cattle rustling.

Few hours later the stolen cattle were to be returned to the Murle community in Pibor. A  source involved in the investigation said Murle owners claim more than 400 heads of cattle disappeared from Kothchar village. However the cattle are nowhere to be found. The argument is interesting between the SPLA soldiers and the culprits in custody. The cattle rustlers counted their number to be four individual persons. They also admitted to have taken about 80 heads of cows, but when they were caught up in a surprise attack under the SPLA soldiers. They dispersed among the trees, leaving SPLA soldiers with stolen cows.

 The SPLA soldiers disputed that the stolen cattle ran in random directions at that time while the fighting was in progress. Others said another gang of cattle rustlers attacked them and took the cattle. There was no report of injuries on their side. Although it is not clear whether or not the second group overwhelmed the national army so they made a strategic evacuation. Only the court should settle this argument.

 However Jonglei Government clings to old belief that a crime committed by an individual is considered to be perpetuated by the whole village to which that individual belongs. So government soldiers seized cattle belong to the villages where cattle rustlers originate. This  gubernatorial action causes an uproar in Anyidi, Makuach and Kolnyang. Because rural families without government services are innocently affected. They could not provide milk for their kids and elderly villagers after a forceful collection of 418 heads of cows.

The governor and the commissioner have taken the role of the court. Judges should make decisions regarding such cases. Let cattle rustlers go to court. So  the Murle cattle owners get fair compensations. Collective punishments infringe on individual property rights if we live under a bedrock of constitution in Jonglei State.

Mac Madol Agorok resides in North America, a contributor and member of The Bor Globe Network Team. He can be reached via email: macmadol2@gmail.com

Author: William Abur 2012
William.abur@live.vu.edu.au

By Philip Manyok

For a while, many South Sudanese have voiced their criticism about President Kiir indecisiveness in how he appoints candidates for public offices. This began when he appointed his first cabinet following his inauguration as president on July 9th, 2011. Some of the critics argued that he appointed some candidates to oversee ministries that they have don’t have the credentials and/or experiences that justified their appointments to such positions or ministries. Of course, I have my reservation like everybody else, but, who am I to question the president’s wisdom and/or judgment about who he sees fits to what office.

As I remembered, most of the people president Kiir appointed to serve on his cabinet were those who fought alongside with him during the old good and bad days of the liberation struggle.  There got to be something he saw in them that prompted him to appoint these men and women to his cabinet. Despite all previous criticism of the president on his cabinet appointees, it seems like his critics will have less or nothing to say about Dr. Francis Deng’s appointed as South Sudan Permanent Representative to the United Nations but praises. 

So, let me join in applauding president Kiir in his decision to appoint Dr. Francis Deng as a Permanent South Sudan Representative to the United Nations.  President Kiir by making this appointment has given South Sudan a voice at the United Nations.  He has chosen the right man for the right job and I hope people start seeing good intentions in president Kiir instead of constantly blaming.  First of all, he is a man who went to the bush twice beginning with Anya Nya I to SPLM/A.  He is a man who loves South Sudanese and spent his life fighting for it. Second, if he has made small mistakes here and there. Give him a slack. He is a human like everybody else.

You may blame him but never question his love of the country. He has already proved that by his sacrifice of which he tirelessly endured the hardship of the bush life like any other of his comrades.President Kiir’s love of South Sudan is what he again once shown by appointing a competent scholar with an extensive background to represent South Sudan at the United Nations.  Without doubt, this appointment is going to give South Sudan a chance to tell her story to the world. And who is better to tell that story than the only renowned scholar, Dr. Francis Deng. 

A man who held different high profiles positions in the old Sudan and has served in the best institutions in the world. For those who know little about Dr. Deng, he served as Sudan minister of the state for foreign affairs, ambassador to Canada, ambassador to the United States, Sudan representative to Scandinavian countries, served as Special Advisor to the United Nations Secretary General on Genocide prevention. More importantly, he has written extensively about Sudanese issues as well as on global issues. 

A fellow at the Brookings Institute and has taught in American’s prestigious universities including Yale University, Columbia university, and Georgetown university among others. His career list is endless but all pointed to one thing, competency and experience.How lucky we are as South Sudanese to have such experienced and knowledgeable competent scholar among us. Thank you president Kiir for having at last recognized the importance of the position of South Sudan’s Ambassador to the United Nations.  And thank you Dr. Francis Deng and now a South Sudan Ambassador to the United Nations for taking up the challenge. Your country has faith in you. Our president Kiir has trusted your stewardship to represent us at the United Nations to tell our story to the world. We wish you great luck. We are counting on you sir…..  -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Phillip Manyok holds Bachelor in Political Science, Bachelor in Metaphysical Humanist Science, Master in Metaphysical Humanistic Science,  Master International Relations and is a 4th year PhD student at Nova Southeastern University studying Conflict Analysis. He can be reached at pm3.kanago@yahoo.com

September 5, 2012

To Whom It May Concern,

More than sixty genocide scholars are calling on the Obama Administration to airlift aid to thousands of Sudanese facing starvation in the embattled Nuba Mountains. The experts believe the Sudanese regime is deliberately targeting the minority Nuba people, and they warn that as many as 300,000 internal refugees face imminent starvation.

In their letter to President Obama and other U.S. officials, the scholars cite multiple reports from reputable human rights groups, journalists and U.N. agencies, describing the killing of civilians by Sudanese armed forces. They warn that the regime's racist ideology is driving it to annihilate ethnic groups it suspects of supporting rebel militia, regardless of the civilians' true affiliations.

Satellite imagery has revealed mass graves, razed communities, and the indiscriminate low altitude aerial bombardment of civilian areas in South Kordofan state. Reliable eyewitnesses continue to report systematic government shelling and bombing of refugee evacuation routes, with helicopter gunships hunting civilians as they flee their homes and farmland to hide in caves, and a deliberate and widespread blockage of humanitarian aid into South Kordofan and Blue Nile states. Anecdotal evidence of perpetrators screaming racist slurs as civilians are killed and raped are familiar to anyone who knows what has been happening in Darfur since 2003.

Almost 200,000 people from South Kordofan and Blue Nile states have fled across the border into South Sudan to escape the violence which began 15 months ago. Humanitarian agencies warn they face starvation and disease in squalid and overcrowded camps, cut off by seasonal rains.

However, hundreds of thousands remain trapped in Sudan, sheltering in caves and living on grass and insects. The Sudanese government, based in Khartoum, refuses to allow aid groups access to those at risk. An African Union-brokered deal, signed at the beginning of August, may eventually allow the delivery of aid, but observers fear Khartoum will place conditions on access, determining where food goes. Naturally, the regime denies there is any humanitarian emergency in the region.

In their letter the scholars point out that the Sudanese government, led by indicted war criminal Omar Bashir, used the same tactics against the ethnic minority Nuba people in the 1990s. The 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement between Sudan and the rebel Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) in its southern states led to South Sudan's independence in 2011. However, Khartoum has violated the terms of the deal by refusing to allow the people in the contested Sudanese border states of Blue Nile, South Kordofan and Abyei to have a say in their future. Many in the region identify more with ethnic groups in South Sudan. Consequently, rebels in the SPLM-North have gained ground in the area, long marginalized both economically and politically by Khartoum.

The genocide scholars fear the Sudanese regime will continue to block or interfere with humanitarian access because it believes food aid will bolster the rebels. They call on the U.S. to act under the power given to it as one of the three guarantors of the CPA.

"We strongly urge you to act now to stave off the starvation of an entire people," the scholars said in an open letter to U.S. President Barack Obama, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice and Advisor to the President and Director of the Atrocities Prevention Board Samantha Power.

"As world leaders you have the moral authority granted by the U.N.'s unanimous 2005 declaration of the Responsibility to Protect to demand delivery of aid to those inside Sudan," the letter continues.

The scholars go on to warn that Khartoum will continue to kill its own people, "if once again the United States declines to use the economic and diplomatic leverage to enforce the delivery of aid into South Kordofan and Blue Nile states under internationally acceptable terms."

While human rights groups and aid agencies have been pressing the Obama administration to act for more than a year, this is the first time experts from ten countries have called on the U.S. president to intervene.

But will he? If it chose to, the U.S. could apply 'soft power' pressure to the regime in the form of targeted economic sanctions against the architects of the Darfur genocide, measures already approved by the U.N. Security Council but never implemented. The White House could also offer incentives in the form of access to much needed financial support from the World Bank and International Monetary Fund. The U.S. could also remove Sudan from its list of state sponsors of terror, in exchange for the cessation of violence against ethnic minorities in Darfur and the contested border areas.

However, the White House has consistently underestimated its potential leverage, fearing President Bashir will jeopardize fledgling South Sudan's independence to an even greater extent. Obama is also under pressure from U.S. security and intelligence agencies to appease Khartoum in the unlikely event that Sudan's avowedly Islamist leaders will pass on information about its ideological bedfellows in al Qaeda. Given that Bashir counts Iran, Hamas and Hizbollah as his closest friends, it is doubtful he would hand any useful intelligence to Washington. Yet, hope continues to triumph over experience and common sense. And the civilians hiding in caves in the Nuba Mountains continue to pay the price.

September 5, 2012

To: President Barack Obama
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton
Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice
Special Assistant to the President Samantha Power.

From: The Undersigned Genocide Scholars

Subject: Humanitarian Catastrophe in South Kordofan and Blue Nile States of Sudan

Dear President Obama, Secretary of State  Clinton, Ambassador Rice and Special Assistant Power:

On June 6, 2011, the Sudanese regime, led by indicted war criminal Omar al-Bashir, unleashed a wave of targeted ethnic killings against the people of the Nuba Mountains in South Kordofan state, Sudan. Since then this state-sponsored violence has spread to engulf much of South Kordofan and Blue Nile states.

The continuing multiple atrocities amount to at least crimes against humanity. This, in and of itself, is alarming. According to the tenets of the Responsibility to Protect now is the time to protect the targeted population.

Satellite imagery has revealed mass graves, razed communities, and the indiscriminate low altitude aerial bombardment of civilian areas in South Kordofan state. Reliable eyewitnesses continue to report systematic government shelling and bombing of refugee evacuation routes, helicopter gunships hunting civilians as they flee their homes and farmland to hide in caves, and a deliberate and widespread blockage of humanitarian aid into South Kordofan and Blue Nile states. Anecdotal evidence of perpetrators screaming racist slurs as civilians are killed and raped are familiar to anyone who knows what has been happening in Darfur since 2003.

Sufficient evidence exists for us to believe the Sudanese regime is attempting to annihilate those whom the government suspects of supporting the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North’s (SPLM-N) aims. Hence many local people are automatically targeted regardless of their true political affiliations.

Hundreds of thousands of Sudanese remain trapped in South Kordofan, the victims of forced starvation, unable to farm their land. This critical situation largely mirrors what the same regime perpetrated in the 1990s, a case of genocide by attrition.

Meanwhile in Blue Nile state, a scorched earth campaign by government forces has forced the SPLM-N to retreat, leaving tens of thousands with no protection from the perpetrators.

As genocide scholars we have a solemn responsibility to educate the public about the horrors of the past in the hope of creating a future free of such crimes. We are the keepers of the chapters of human history that are difficult to confront, casting a dark shadow on all of humanity. We study the past to find ways to prevent such egregious actions in the future. We exist to remind the world of humanity’s capacity to commit genocide anywhere and against any group of people.
It is because of that responsibility that we write to you.  We call on  you to fulfill your responsibilities as global leaders when it comes to confronting mankind’s most terrifying of crimes.

Although we welcome your efforts to aid the refugees who have found their way to camps in South Sudan, we must point out that as world leaders you have the moral authority granted by the UN’s unanimous 2005 declaration of the Responsibility to Protect to demand delivery of aid to those inside Sudan. As guarantors of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement signed that same year, moreover, you have not fulfilled your legal and moral obligation to sanction violators of that agreement.

The Sudanese regime continues to slaughter its own civilians, while denying them access to aid and in defiance of various international treaties and conventions it has signed, not to mention the Sudanese constitution.

The Tripartite Agreement signed on 4 August 2012 in Addis Ababa, called upon the Government of Sudan to allow humanitarian access to all areas of the Nuba Mountains and the Blue Nile state dependent on certain conditions. Yet the Bashir regime’s track record leads us to fear it will interfere with aid delivery to those in most need. Seasonal inaccessibility also requires extraordinary and timely arrangements, such as airdrops.  Hence we beseech you to take the following steps immediately to ensure aid is delivered to South Kordofan and Blue Nile.

•      Establish a land and air humanitarian corridor through which aid can be delivered without interference or hindrance from Sudanese security, military or other forces or proxies.
•      Secure arrangements with the SPLM-N for the airlifting of these supplies directly into territory in their control.
•      Inform relevant Sudanese officials that, due to the urgency of the catastrophe created by their actions, the United States will deliver relief directly into the war-affected areas underneath SPLM-N control.
•      Invite relevant Sudanese officials to observe the cargo to be delivered so they can verify the contents.
•      Use the most effective means possible, including airlifts, to get supplies into affected areas in SPLM-N control.

•      Keep armed escort planes on standby for the protection of aid delivery planes if necessary.

It is therefore unwise to respond to the Khartoum regime’s various crimes with appeasement. By allowing the NCP to behave with impunity, the U.S. and the rest of the international community signals a weakness that only emboldens those who would flout its own international agreements.

Furthermore, it is unwise to assume, as the international community does, that Khartoum intends the best for its citizens. Therefore we call on your administration to end Khartoum’s effective blockade of aid to South Kordofan and Blue Nile. The regime will continue to kill their own people if once again the United States declines to use the economic and diplomatic leverage at its disposal to enforce the delivery of aid into South Kordofan and Blue Nile states under internationally acceptable terms.

We strongly urge you to act now to stave off the starvation of an entire people. Nothing would speak louder to the United States’ concern for the protection of international human rights than an immediate operation to deliver aid to the Nuba Mountains people while they are still alive and able to be helped.

If your administration chooses to stand with the victims of Sudan’s continuing campaign of ethnic cleansing, then history will accord you respect and honor. If you do not stand with the victims, history will be much harsher.

We very much look forward to hearing from each of you in regard to our letter and the suggestions therein.

In solidarity with the victims, and with respect,

Dr. Samuel Totten
Professor Emeritus, and author of Genocide by Attrition: Nuba Mountains, Sudan (2012)
University of Arkansas, Fayetteville
samstertotten@gmail.com

Dr. John Hubbel Weiss
Associate Professor, History
Cornell University

Mr. David Kilgour, J.D.
Former Canadian Secretary of State for Africa
Ottawa, Canada

Dr. Israel W. Charny (dual citizenship, U.S. & Israel)
Director, Genocide Prevention Network and Past President of the International Association of Genocide Studies, and Chief Editor, Encyclopedia of Genocide
Jerusalem, Israel

Dr. Helen Fein
Chair of the Board, Institute for the Study of Genocide, and author of Human Rights and Wrongs: Slavery, Terror and Genocide
New York, NY

Dr. Roger Smith
Professor Emeritus and Past President of the International Association of Genocide Studies, and editor of Genocide: Essays Toward Understanding, Early Warning Prevention
College of William and Mary, Williamsburg, VA

Dr. John Hagan
MacArthur Professor, and Co-Director, Center on Law & Globalizations, American Bar Foundation Co-author of Darfur and the Crime of Genocide (Cambridge University Press, 2008)
Northwestern University, Chicago, IL
Craig Etcheson
Author of After the Killing Fields: Lessons from the Cambodian Genocide.
Canton, IL

Dr. Ben Kiernan
Whitney Griswold Professor of History and Director of Genocide Studies Program (Yale University
Author of Blood and Soil: A World History of Genocide and Extermination from Sparta to Darfur
Yale University
New Haven, CT

Dr. Herb Hirsch
Professor, Department of Political Science and Co-Editor of Genocide Studies and Prevention: An International Journal and author of Anti-Genocide: Building An American Movement to Prevent Genocide (Praeger, 2002)
Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA

Dr. Hannibal Travis
Associate Professor of Law and author of Genocide in the Middle East: The Ottoman Empire, Iraq and Sudan (2010)
Florida International University College of Law

Professor Linda Melvern
Department of International Politics, and author of A People Betrayed: The Role of the West in Rwanda’s Genocide
University of Aberystwyth, Wales

Dr. Henry Theriault
Professor and Chair, Department of Philosophy, and Co-Editor of Genocide Studies and Prevention: An International Journal
Worcester State University, MA

Dr. Eric Weitz
Dean of Humanities and the Arts, and author of A Century of Genocide:  Utopias of Race and Nation
City College, City University of New York
New York, NY

Dr. Gregory Stanton
President, Genocide Watch
Research Professor in Genocide Studies and Prevention, School for Conflict Analysis and Resolution
George Mason University, Fairfax, VA

Dr. Rouben Adalian
Director, Armenian National Institute
Washington, D.C.

Dr. Susanne Jonas
Professor (retired), Latin American & Latino Studies, and author of The Battle for Guatemala: Rebels, Death Squads and U.S. Power
University of California, Santa Cruz

Dr. Robert Skloot
Professor Emeritus
University of Wisconsin-Madison

Nicolas A. Robins
Co-editor, Genocide Studies and Prevention: An International Journal, and author of Genocide by the Oppressed: Subaltern Genocide in Theory and Practice
Raleigh, North Carolina

Dr. John D. Ciorciari
Assistant Professor of Public Policy
Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor

Dr. George Kent
Professor, Department of Political Science
University of Hawaii, Honolulu

Dr. Elisa Von Joeden-Forgey
Visiting Scholar, Department of History
University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA

Dr. Peter Balakian
Donald M. and Constance H. Rebar Professor in Humanities, and author of The Burning Tigris: The Armenian Genocide and America’s Response
Colgate University, Hamilton, NY

Dr. Ernesto Verdeja
Assistant Professor of Political Science and Peace Studies
University of Notre Dame

Mr. Stephen D. Smith
Executive Director, USC Shoah Foundation, and Adjunct Professor of Religion
University of Southern California,
Los Angeles, California

Dr. Paul Slovic
Professor, Department of Psychology
University of Oregon, Eugene

Dr. Jason Ross Arnold
Assistant Professor of Political Science
L. Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs
Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA

Dr. Jason K. Levy, Associate Professor, Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness and Director, National Ho9meland Security Project, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA

Dr. Amanda Grzyb (Dual Citizen, U.S. and Canada)
Assistant Professor, Information and Media Studies, and editor of The World and Darfur: International Response to Crimes Against Humanity in Western Sudan
University of Western Ontario (Canada)

Dr. Alan L. Berger
Reddock Family Eminent Scholar in Holocaust Studies, and Director, Center for the Study of Values and Violence After Auschwitz
Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton

Dr. Douglas H. Johnson
International Expert, Abyei Boundaries Commission, 2005
Author of The Root Causes of Sudan’s Civil Wars
Haverford, PA and Oxford, UK

Dr. Gagik Aroutiunian
Associate Professor, Department of Art, Media & Design
DePaul University, Chicago, IL

Dr. Gerry Caplan
Independent Scholar and Author of Rwanda: The Preventable Genocide
Richmond Hill, Ontario, Canada

Dr. Dominik J. Schaller
Lecturer, History Department, and author of The Origins of Genocide: Raphael Lemkin as a Historian of Mass Violence
Ruprecht-Karls-Univeristy, Heidelberg, Germany

Dr. Philip J. Spencer
Director of the Helen Bamber Centre for the Study of Rights, Conflict and Mass Violence
Kingston University
 Surrey, England

Dr. Maureen S. Hiebert
Assistant Professor, Department of Political Science, University of Calgary, Alberta, Canada
University of Calgary (Canada)
Dr. Eric Reeves
Professor, and author of A Long Day’s Dying: Critical moments in the Darfur Genocide
Smith College, Northhampton, MA

Dr. Robert Hitchcock
Professor, Department of Geography, and co-editor of Genocide of Indigenous Peoples
Michigan State University, Lansing

Dr. James Waller
Cohen Professor of Holocaust and Genocide Studies, author of Becoming Evil: How Ordinary People Commit Genocide and Mass Killing
Keene State College, Keene, New Hampshire

Dr. Rubina Peroomian
Research Associate
University of California, Los Angeles

Dr. Colin Tatz
Visiting Fellow, Political and International Relations, and author of With Intent to Destroy: Reflecting on Genocide
Australian National University, Canberra

Dr. Kjell Anderson
Project Manager
The Hague Institute for Global Justice
The Hague, The Netherlands

Dr. Adam Jones
Associate Professor, Department of Political Science, and author of Genocide: A Comprehensive Introduction
University of British Columbia

Dr. Elihu D. Richter, MD MPH
Jerusalem Center for Genocide Prevention and Hebrew-University-Hadassah School of Public Health and Community Medicine
Jerusalem, Israel

Matthias Bjornlund
Historian/Lecturer
Danish Institute for the Study Abroad, Copenhagen, Denmark

José Carlos Moreira da Silva Filho
Professor, Criminal Law Post Graduate Department
Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul, Port Alegra RS - Brazil

Tamar Pileggi
Co-Founder, The Jerusalem Center for Genocide Prevention
Jerusalem, Israel

Dr. Uriel Levy
Director, Combat Genocide Association
Jerusalem, Israel

Dr. Penny Green
International State Crime Initiative
Kings College, London

Dr. Tony Ward
Professor of Law
University of Hull, UK

Ms. Amy Fagin
International Association of Genocide Scholars
New Salem, MA

Dr. Ann Weiss
Director, Eyes from the Ashes Educational Foundation, and author of The Last Album: Eyes from the Ashes of Auschwitz-Birkenau
Bryn Mawr, PA

Dr. Rick Halperin
Director, Embrey Human Rights Program
Southern Methodist University, Dallas, TX

Mr. Geoff Hill
Bureau Chief, The Washington Times,
Johannesburg, South Africa
South Africa

By William Abur 

The research question

•

Aims of the study:

•

• To inform the Australia government and other service providers of settlement related challenges facing refugees from an African background, particularly from South Sudan.

• To contribute to existing knowledge of literature in field of refugees and migrant studies.

• To be a voice for the South Sudanese refugees on settlement related discourses based on their experiences and knowledge of settlement related challenges.

Introduction

Refugee groups that come from Africa’s war torn countries like South Sudan are constantly struggling to resettle in western countries like Australia. The settlement period can be a very challenging and difficult time for newly arrived refugees, particularly for those coming from non-English speaking countries (Codrington et al, 2011). Settlement challenges include: language barriers, cultural shock or cultural differences, unemployment, social isolation, housing or getting securing accommodation for families and individuals, financial pressure, parenting children/child in new culture, family breakdown, intergenerational conflict, discrimination and racism. The confronting settlement related issues are impacting lots on welfare and psychological wellbeing of families and individuals. Settlement related challenges can have a huge impact on the health and psychological wellbeing of refugee families and individuals (Nicholl and Thompson 2004). Settlement challenges impact on the health of refugees and psychological wellbeing by decreasing their ability to survive and increasing their level of vulnerability. Good health and a sense of well-being lie at the heart of social inclusion as well as a feeling of security with a sense of belonging (Mungai, 2008).

The Australian Human Rights Commission in 2010 pointed out that healthy individuals and communities are those that make contributions to society through working and benefit from the social and economic life of the nation. African Australians are struggling with settlement issues that are undermining their physical health and mental health, as well as their capacity to access support services in mainstream society (Australia Human Right Commission, 2010).The South Sudanese refugee community in Australia comes from a difficult background of a long civil war that profoundly affected their ability to cope with pressing issues of settlement. Many families and young people are going through a recovery process from past negative experiences. Currently, it is estimated that more than 24,000 South

Sudanese are living in Australia and the majority of this population came between 2001 and 2006 (Atem, 2011). Adjusting to a new culture is one of the most pressing challenges facing many South Sudanese refugee settlers. The experience of a new culture, new system, and the lack of language acquisition are impeding on refugee families and individuals from achieving wellbeing in resettlement contexts (Renzaho and Vignjevic, 2011).

The South Sudanese community has experienced a high prevalence of disengaged young people and vulnerable families that are experiencing issues of family breakdown, social isolation, financial hardship, homelessness, poor health, drug and alcohol abuse, gambling problems and unemployment (Yarra Settlement Forum, 2012). There is a wide range of issues that need to be fully understood by investigating the impact of settlement related challenges on the health and psychological wellbeing of this community. There are a significant number of the South Sudanese refugees who are settling in Melbourne, and some of these refugees are experiencing significant settlement related challenges in areas of employment, housing, and parenting in a new culture, social isolation and discrimination.

Statement of significance

My research will add to the knowledge and understanding of the settlement issues facing refugee communities while settling into a new country, using the Sudanese community as a case study. Findings will inform policy makers in government agencies and non-profit organisations of the critical settlement related issues impacting on the health and psychological wellbeing of refugee communities. Findings will add a voice to refugees’ concerns in a wide variety of discourses. They will also support best practice models and refugee theories of effectively engaging refugee communities to settle in a non-discriminatory environment, thereby contributing effectively to Australian society in social and economic development.

Methodology

This research will utilise a qualitative method by conducting in-depth interviews and focus groups. First, I will be conducting pilot in-depth interviews of 20 to 30 families to capture settlement related stories from families and individuals. The second phase of research interview will be semi-structured interviews of 5 to 10 focus groups, with participants of 5 to 12 members of the South Sudanese group. General open-ended questions will be used to ensure richness in the data. Thirdly, I will use desktop research to collect secondary data from academic sources including journal articles, books, government and non-governmental organisations. Data will be analysed by focusing on the settlement challenges and social impact of settlement challenges on health and psychological wellbeing based on social determinants and their ability to cope with social problems.

Why qualitative research?

I believe this project is suitable for the qualitative method because my aim is capture families’ and individuals’ stories related to settlement based their experiences. The qualitative method involves conducting intensive individual interviews with a small number of respondents to explore their perspectives on a particular idea, program, or situation (Codrington et al. 2011). This method involves asking participants about a program they are involved in, concerning issues, experiences and expectations. Participants can share their experiences and thoughts about program operations, processes, outcomes and their concerns (Boyce and Neale 2006). Qualitative methods are very effective and they provide a relaxing atmosphere in which information can be collected easily through conversations. People feel

comfortable by having a conversation with a researcher about their programs rather than filling out survey forms (Cynthia Woodsong et al. 2005).

Refugee scholarship and theory

The Refugee Convention defined a "refugee" as a person that has left their country of their nationality with a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion; is outside the country of his/her nationality; and is unable, or owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail himself/herself of the protection of that country (Tipping, 2010). Refugees are people that have been forced to leave their homes without the time and opportunity to pack their belongings, or farewell loved ones. Most often, they leave their homes secretly for the fear of being found out by conflict groups. They are running away from their hometown and country without knowing if they will ever return. Most refugees will go to any country that offers them safety (Turner & Fozdar 2010).Unlike migrants who choose to move to a country for economic or personal reasons, refugees have no choice. Refugees also require a higher degree of care, counseling and medical services. The most important difference between a migrant and a refugee is that migrants can return home any time. The refugee, on the other hand, may never see home again or meet loved ones who were left behind (Harte et al, 2009).

About the Research Scholar

The research scholar is a social worker who has extensive experiences in working with marginalised youth and families from refugee communities. He is currently employed as a Settlement officer/youth Worker at Spectrum Migrant Resource Centre’s Sunshine Office, where he works with families and disengaged young people from African backgrounds. Prior to this role he had worked in a variety positions within the community sector with refugees including mental health and education. He also worked over seven years in overseas with refugees at Refugee Camp in Kenya. He has completed a Masters of International Community Development and wrote a minor research thesis titled "A study of the South Sudanese refugees’ perspectives of settlement in the western suburbs of Melbourne". He published an article without his thesis titled "The Settlement Challenges Facing South Sudanese Refugee Community in the Western Suburbs of Melbourne’’.

Related articles

•

• Abur, W, (2011) Settlement Experiences and Challenges after Five Years in Australia. Conference paper presented 17 September 2011 to Yarra Settlement Forum, Melbourne, unpublished.

• Abur, W, (2012) A study of the South Sudanese refugees’ perspectives of settlement in the western suburbs of Melbourne, Minor Thesis, Victoria University, Melbourne, Australia.

• Abur, W, (2012) The Settlement Challenges Facing South Sudanese Refugee Community in the Western Suburbs of Melbourne, Bor Globe, <http://www.borglobe.com/25.html?m7:post=the-settlement-challenges-facing-south-sudanese-refugee-community-in-the-western-suburbs-of-melbourne>

• Oakes, D and Cooke Dewi, (2007) Community's anger spills over, The Age, Melbourne <http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/communitys-anger-spills-over/2007/10/10/1191695993790.html>

William Abur 4

References

Atem, P, (2011)

Australian Human Rights Commission, (2010)

Boyce, C and Neale, P, (2006)

Codrington, R Iqbal, A and Segal, J (2011)

Harte, W., Childs, I., Hastings, P. (2009

Mungai, N, (2008),

Nicholl, C., Thompson, A. 2004.

Renzaho, A.M.N., Vignjevic, S. (2011)

Tipping, S. (2010)

Turner, M., Fozdar, F. (2010)

Yarra Settlement Forum, (2012)

By Phillip Manyok


First and foremost, let me be clear here, since the death of the late Dr. John Garang in2005, I have never had doubt about President Kiir ability to lead us through the darkest days and years following the death of Garang and I was right to begin with for good reason like any other true South Sudanese. In fact, I even wrote about my unwavering confident in President Kiir in one of my articles on April 20,2011, titled, “ General Salva Kiir X-Factor” in which I argued how Khartoum might have under estimated him and his ability to fill Garang big shoe. Unquestionably, he has led the people of the Southern Sudan into the Promised Land with care and resolve.  He was a great shepherd during the darkest nights in our journey to the Promised Land.  He made us a proud, free people on his shift, we for the first time called ourselves, South Sudanese under his watch.  

I hope people now have an idea about my stand on SPLM/A and its leadership. By any measure, don’t call me naïve or pessimist, for I believe that our sun is beginning to rise and it is morning in South Sudan. I still believe in the SPLM/A leadership-ability.  However, my optimism, respect, confidence and loyalty to and/or in SPLM/A under the leadership of President Kiir don’t take away my freedom of speech that we all dearly fought to achieve.  Consequentially, the recent developments starting with how Juba leadership dealt with Heglig fiasco got me nervous. Juba and its diplomatic corps did not explain it well to the rest of the world who never knew that Heglig was in fact, a South Sudan’s territory. 

But, I understood and so were the rest of the South Sudanese, our government is young and not immune to committing mistakes of which Heglig fiasco was one of them.That being said, we South Sudanese expect our government to learn from its past mistakes and grow wiser. I see mistakes as not obstacles, but, as a learning experience. However, this seems not to be the case with the Juba government. It is not learning from it mistakes. Instead, it is doubling down by committing more countless rookie mistakes of which this new development is mind boggling and which prompted me to write this opinion article.
Yes, I am mindful, not everyone would agree with me on this matter and/ or in substance of which I am writing.As was checking the news headlines at sudantribune.com, I came across a news headline that reads, “Sudan and South Sudan ends talks over four freedoms” (www. sudantribune.com).  Basically, the short of it is this, South Sudan and Sudan agreed on four principles both which I see don’t make sense to me given our past experiences with Khartoum under the old Republic and which one expects our government to know or at least able to explain its rationale to all South Sudanese to relieve any speculation like I am doing if I am at all.

For those who don’t get their news from sudantribune.com, let me regurgitate these four freedoms as they are called as well as giving you my account of why I think this Agreement and/or Agreement-In-Principle is a bad idea and one that I thought should haven’t been agreed to by our government. Here are the freedoms, “freedom of residence, freedom of movement, freedom to undertake economic activity and freedom to acquire and dispose property”. In a nutshell, these four freedoms called for both countries to allow their people to acquire permanent residence in each other territory, move freely, work, and establish property ownership each other territory. What?  You may ask? Yes, exactly that was my first reaction when I came across this news headline.

But the truth is nobody needs to be reminded of our past ugly encounter with Khartoum.  We all know that part of the reason we went to war starting with Anya Nya I was the fact that equally residence under old Sudan was not possible which makes me wonder what might have changed in the last seven in Khartoum that led Juba believes Khartoum this time would honor South Sudanese and allows them to have equally access to residence, to move freely, own property or dispose one and conduct business equally like everybody else in the Republic of Sudan. Something is not adding up. First, we all know that there is no way a South Sudanese who wants to run a beer, liquor business and/or brews any other locally alcohol under any circumstance would be allowed to operate in other part of Sudan not to mention Khartoum which has become a Sharia brewer for the rest of Sudan.

That is a history which we have lived and which I hope no free South Sudanese should relive it again. Yes, I have faith and confident in the South Sudanese people. I know they might allow Sudanese to live, work, move freely and own properties in South Sudan which in fact, are already guaranteed freedoms for some Sudanese who are now living in the Republic of South Sudan.  Unfortunately, we all know what is being done to our brothers and sisters who are stranded in Sudan. They are living in unbearable conditions that no human beings are supposed to be subjected to. Second, everything is still mucky between Juba and Khartoum. International borders not drawn, Abyei, Heglig, status of Southern Kordofan and Blue Nile are in limbo and each country is actively orchestrating a proxy war. These entire pending issues do not paved a way for a cozy relationship but workable relationship.
 
Instead, it is a time to tackle border issue and oil debacle first.  After that, the two countries can revisit auxiliary issues like these four freedoms and many other diplomatic issues once international borders between two countries are defined and settled.   Frankly, I may say, Khartoum has not yet overcome the bitter divorce that just happened. It evident in her actions and is working harder than never before to reunite the country which makes me wonder whether these four freedoms agreed upon are a pretext that Khartoum wants to exploit to further the reunification goal.  I wonder about what Juba’s rationality for entering into this kind of transaction? What if Khartoum sends her agents and or military personnel under the guise of civilians who wants to live, work and do business, but with the ultimate goal of spying, gathering intelligence, infiltrating civil society and/or launching another Islamization with the goal of reunifying the two Republics?  

And making the matter worse, South Sudan still don’t have strong immigration policies and tracking mechanisms to locate whereabouts of all the potential influx of Sudanese who I know will exodus  into South Sudan for one reason or the other if this agreement becomes enforced. How forgettable are we becoming? Don’t we remember that this is how Arabs came to Sudan in the first place? Or is everything else we read in Sudan history wrong? Don’t we read that they came as traders and merchants? And almost two hundred years later, we are still dealing with repressive and brutal Arab regime. With due respect to decent Arabs around the world, forgive my language here, I am referring to  a heartless regime in Khartoum that over the years has cared less than the rest of humanity in Sudan.
 
Phillip Manyok holds Bachelor in Political Science, Bachelor in Metaphysical Humanist Science, Master in Metaphysical Humanistic Science,  Master International Relations and is a 4th year PhD student at Nova Southeastern University studying Conflict Analysis. He can be reached at pm3.kanago@yahoo.com

“Garang, the son of my mother, have you come? Take over the command from here now. Chagai, my work is finished: give me something to drink and celebrate the start of the revolution. Chagai Atem, I said my work is finished here. Let the wise man, Garang of my mother, assumes the responsibility. Chagai, where is your Ak47? Garang will show us how to shoot the enemy.” –Major Kerubino Kuanyin Bol in Bor, May 17, 1983, upon seeing Dr. John Garang joining the National Revolutionary Movement—the SPLM/A[1].

By PaanLuel Wël, Juba, South Sudan.

The first military offensive after the formation of the SPLM/A was at Malual Gaoth[2], Upper Nile, on November 17, 1983. But the then newly minted National Revolutionary Movement was facing two major challenges: securing a sustainable military and logistic supports from international allies and finding a ready supply of new recruits and materials support from within [South] Sudan to sustain and strengthen itself. The first problem was temporarily solved when the Ethiopian Government under President Mengistu Haile Mariam and the Libyan Government under Brother Muammar Gadhafi agreed to supply weapons, ammunitions and military training to the SPLM/A. While the Ethiopian’s Dergue regime under Mengistu was waging a relentless civil war against the Khartoum-armed Eritrean separatist rebels and therefore had every reason to pay back Khartoum in its own currency, Muammar Khadhafi of Libya, on the other hand, had a personal grudge to settle with President Nimieri of Sudan—his former comrade with whom he had bitterly fallen out with. Pledging himself to supporting the SPLM/A, the Ethiopian leader, Mengistu Haile Mariam, declared “we will share with you whatever little Ethiopia can afford.”[3]

The SPLM/A, in a desperate, but a strategic, move to obtain arms and ammunitions from the Libyan government, played little dirty tricks too. “We explained to Al-Gadhafi that ‘central in SPLM/A’s ideology was the Third World Theory expounded in Al-Gadhafi’s Green Book.’ Al-Gadhafi was impressed. Once Al-Gadhafi was satisfied with the SPLM/A’s ideology, logistical support was pledged. The delegation came back to Addis Ababa to break the good news to the Movement’s leadership…the delegation members had studied Al-Gadhafi‘s Green Book on ‘Third World Theory’ and had used many quotations, which impressed the Libyan leader. Subsequently, arms and ammunitions were ferried daily to Bilpam and Bonga training camps. When the Libyan commitment to supply logistics became evidently clear, the SPLM/A adopted a strategy: to graduate one battalion every month and each time the head of the Popular Bureau (Libyan Ambassador) in Addis Ababa was invited to attend the passing out of the new recruits celebration. Each time a battalion was graduating, the Libyan office in Addis Ababa sent large quantities of arms and ammunitions equal in number to the new graduates. What the Libyans did not know or expected to know was that it was actually the same battalion that was graduating every month, just to secure more arms quickly…after a full year of this game, the SPLM/A had stockpiled enough to recruits and train a whole division to start a military campaigns,” explained Lual Diing Wuol, the then SPLM/A’s representative to Tripoli, Libya[4].

The Socialist Blocks headed by the former USSR, however, refused to support the SPLM/A since none of its top leadership was recognized as a true communist by the Soviet Union. It was only junior officers such as Chol Deng Alaak, Amon Wantok and Prof. Barry Wanji that could have been described as communists. But that still was stretching the point since not everyone who had then lived in the West could have been paraded as a liberal democrat. Indeed, for the Socialist Blocks, the SPLM/A was only a Socialist Movement on paper! For the second dilemma—finding a ready supply of new recruits and materials support from within [South] Sudan to sustain and strengthen itself—the SPLM/A launched mobilization and recruitment campaigns by sending out well-known and respected officers to sensitize, to mobilize and to recruit civilians from their home areas. To achieve that feat, the SPLM/A dispatched Chagai Atem, Awet Akot, Kawac Makwei, Deng Alor Kuol, Pagan Amum, and Victor Bol Yol among others to Bor, Yirol, Abyei, Rumbek, Tonj, Aweil, Gogrial etc. With the sterling successes of the mobilization and recruitment exercises, at least amongst the Dinka and the Nuer communities, the SPLM/A started turning clueless and ideologically-poor peasants into a highly-indoctrinated professional army equipped to wage an effective revolutionary war.

Between 1983 and 1987, the SPLM/A trained and deployed five[5] divisions alone—Koryom, Mour-Mour, Kazuk and Zal-Zal. In 1983, for example, the SPLM/A trained and launched Battalions 104 and 105 under William Nyuon Bany and Jamus under Kerubino Kuanyin Bol. This was later followed with the deployment of Tiger under Salva Kiir and Timsah under Arok Thon Arok in 1984. With enough soldiers under its military wing, the SPLM/A launched military campaigns against the Nimeiri government.  The two battallions of Tiger led by Salva Kiir and Timsah led by Arok Thon launched coordinated attacks and captured Pochalla and Pibor before proceeding to Bentiu to liberate the oilfields. The real guerrilla war, however, started with the graduation of Koryom Division in 1984-1985. Koryom was made up of many battalions. The Southern Axis comprising of Zindia, Cobra and Raad battalions was under the command of Arok Thon Arok, deputized by Bona Bang, Benjamin Nyankot, Gatwec Dual, Peter Panhom Thanypiny and Benjamin Makur. The Southern Axis was sent to “Southern Upper Nile and areas adjacent to Equatoria”[6] where they wiped out two companies of government soldiers at Gemeiza and fought fierce battles at Lokiliri near Torit. The Southern Axis also destroyed an entire government battalion at Owiny-Kibul and unsuccessfully attacked Terekeka, just 50 miles from Juba.

The Second Axis of Koryom Division, the Central Command, was composed of Bilpam, Lion, Elephant, and Hippo Battalions under the direct command of the SPLM/A chairman, Dr. John Garang. He was assisted by Kerubino Kuanyin Bol, Kuol Manyang Juuk, James Jok Muon, Daniel Deng Alony, Afred Akuoch, John Lem, Francis Tago, Deng Alor Kuol, and Chol Deng Alaak. The Central Command attacked and captured Jekou Garrison on March 3, 1985, after deadly protracted battles in which the SPLM/A lost many combatants under Kerubino Kuanyin. The third section of Koryom Division, the Northern Axis, was under Lt. Colonel Francis Ngor. It was sent to Southern Blue Nile region where it attacked and captured Dago, Padigli and Maban. The fourth section of Koryom Division, the Eastern Axis, was composed of Agreb Battalion under the command of Commander Nyachigak Ng’achiluk, deputized by Joseph Kuol Amuom. The Eastern Axis captured the town of Boma.

Unfortunately, Commander Nyachigak—a young promising SPLM/A’s Major from the Murle tribe—was martyred in Riwoto near Kapoeta when government troops, with the help of Toposa Militias, stormed SPLM/A positions. Nyachigak Ng’achiluk was the first high-ranking SPLM/A commander to die in action besides Lt. Colonel Francis Ng’or. Lt. Colonel Martin Manyiel Ayuel took over the command after Nyachigak was killed. Finally, the fifth section of Koryom Division was the Rhino Battalion under the command of Lt. Colonel Martin Makur Aleiyou and Pagan Amum. It was sent to Bahr el Ghazal where it attacked and overran the towns of Yirol, Aluakluak and Tonj. It also disrupted the transport system in the entire province and succeeded to isolate and besieged Wau and Rumbek towns. Meanwhile, on the diplomatic front, Dr. Marial Benjamin and John Luke Jok, based in London, took up the propaganda war on the international stage. Whereas the Khartoum government had previously dismissed Anyanya Two Forces as “a mere marauding band of bandits without any political motives,”[7] the SPLM/A presented them with unprecedented sophistications and unparalleled bravery in the battlefields that prompted Nimeiri to declare a Jihad against the SPLM/A.

The Anti-SPLM/A and Anti-Dinka Hate Campaigns

But it was not only government troops that the SPLM/A was confronting: it had to deal with some sections of the Southern populace that were mobilized and incited against the SPLM/A in general and Dinka in particular. Khartoum flaunted SPLM/A in the eyes of Southerners as a Dinka’s Movement, founded to oppress and to dominate other tribes in the South. With Kokora ubiquitous in Equatoria region, it was very easy for the government to incite the uninformed locals to fight the “Dinka SPLM/A” formed to take away their benefits secured under Kokora system—the controversial redivision of the South into three major states by President Nimieri that was highly popular within Equatoria region, but was resentfully rejected in Upper Nile and Bahr el Ghazal regions. Thus, numerous tribal militias sprung up among the Mundari, Murle, Zande, Madi, Fertit, Toposa, Acholi, the Anyanya Two and the Misseriya/Murahalin Arabs.

The SPLM/A that was formed to fight the government of the Sudan soon found itself fighting on two fronts: the enemy from within and the enemy from without. So rampant was the anti-Dinka fervor that a new language was coined. For example, a German beer level DAB was taken as “Dinka Are Bad” and the label of J.B Whisky was understood to stand for “Jienge Bor” while the slogan of “the Dinka are Born to Rule” became some sort of a national anthem in some quarters of Southern Sudan. The Dinkas were puzzled for it was Equatorians that led both the historic 1955 Torit Mutiny and the highly successful Anyanya One Movement. Feeling under sieged and with herd mentality activated, the Dinka people, “sensing that it was a matter of life or death, left the country en masse to join the SPLM/A.”[8] This explains why most revolutionary songs are in Dinka language and why many among the top cadres were from Dinka.

In reality, when the SPLM/A was formed, the Nuer were the first to join en masse. Dr. John Garang assumed the leadership of the Movement with the support of the Nuer soldiers. The SPLM/A’s recruitment process among the Nuer was, however, greatly undermined by the war between the SPLM/A and the Anyanya Two Forces who were predominantly Nuer. Still, the Nuer were wholeheartedly participating in the SPLM/A, both among the infantries as well as within the top leadership. To counter the anti-Dinka and anti-SPLM/A sentiment in Equatoria where the Movement was initially generally perceived as a Dinka army formed to fight and reverse Kokora system, the SPLM/A started addressing the underrepresentation of the Equatorians within the highest echelon of the Movement—only the highly respected, elderly Joseph Oduho was an Equatorian among the founders of the SPLM/A. The SPLM/A also revised some of its derogatory and punitive policies meted on the local people in Equatoria region that largely fed into the Khartoum’s tactics of divide-and-rule policies. Between late 1983 and earlier 1984, young leaders like Wani Igga and Afred Lado Gore had joined the Movement. Moreover, Wani Igga and Galerio Modi Horinyang, two of whom hailed from the Equatoria region, were promoted as Alternate Members of the SPLM Politico-Military High Command.

March 1987—SPLM/A Military Campaigns

With Equatoria region appeased, the SPLM/A reorganized and launched new military command units. Galerio Modi took over the Eastern Equatoria command from Martin Manyiel Ayuel. Gaol/Wolf Battallion under the command of Dr. Riek Machar was deployed and sent to the oilfields of Bentiu—his hometown. With his headquarters in Leer, Commander Dr. Riek Machar soon brought all the oilfields under SPLM/A control. Confronting Dr. Riek Machar forces were government troops commanded by none other than the current president of the Sudan—Omar El Bashir. He was wounded in the battle when Dr. Riek Machar forces captured the town from him. Moreover, the Mosquito Battalion under the leadership of Yousif Kuwa Mekki was sent to Nuba Mountains where they successfully established military bases. Tuek-Tuek Battalion under Awet Akot; Abu-Shok Battalion under Major Daniel Deng Alony; Zaalan Battalion under Bona Bang Dhal, and Rhino Battalion under Martin Makur Aleiyou were graduated and deployed in Bahr El Ghazal and around Malakal. In 1987, the Eagle Battalion under the command of Kerubino Kuanyin besieged and captured Kurmuk town, technically placing the Southern Blue Nile region under SPLM/A control.

The SPLM/A’s leadership, in March 1987, convened a meeting in which it was agreed that new five Military Axes were to be created. It was also decided that new independent military commands in War Zones I (Southern Sudan) and II (Northern Sudan), plus Twelve Alternate Members of the High Command, were to be created. Consequently, in addition to the Five Permanent Members of the SPLM/A Politico-Military High Command—Dr. John Garang (Chairperson), Kerubino kuanyin Bol (Deputy Chairperson), William Nyuon Bany (Chief of General Staff), Salva Kiir (Security and Operations), and Arok Thon Arok (Logistics and Administration)—the SPLM/A created 12 Alternate Members of the High Command—James Wani Igga, Martin Manyiel Ayuel, Dr. Riek Machar Teny, Dr. Lam Akol Ajawin, Yousif Kuwo Mekki, Daniel Awet Akot, Kuol Manyang Juuk, Galerio Modi Horinyang, John Kulang Puot, Gordon Kong Chol, Lual Diing Wol, and Vincent Kuany respectively.

The Five Permanent Members of the Politico-Military High Command commanded the five new Military Axes. Dr. John Garang commanded Military Axis Number I, with the assistance of Alternate Commanders Martin Manyiel Ayuel, Kuol Manyang Juuk, and Lual Diing Wuol. It was assigned to Kapoeta, Torit, Bor, Juba and some parts of Western Equatoria. Kerubino Kuanyin Bol commanded Military Axis Number II, with the help of Alternate Commanders John Kulang Puot and Galerio Modi. It was dispatched to Southern Blue Nile to towns such as Kurmuk, Geissana and Damazin areas where hydroelectric power was being produced at Roseiris Dam. Military Axis Number III was headed by William Nyuon Bany Machar, with the assistance of Alternate Commanders Dr. Lam Akol and Gordon Koang Chol. It was given Northern and Eastern Upper Nile, especially the towns of Nasir, Maban, Melut, Renk, Kodok and Malakal. Military Axis Number IV was led by Salva Kiir Mayardit and was assigned to cover Southern Upper Nile region, particularly Pochalla, Pibor and some part of Bor. Finally; Arok Thon Arok was tasked with Military Axis Number V that was assigned to target Ayod, Waat, Akobo and Panjak in Upper Nile region.

Furthermore, the SPLM/A established five Independent Military Commands. These were (1) The Bentiu Independent Military Area under Zonal Commander Dr. Riek Machar who was to protect the oilfields by securing Bentiu, Mayom and Panrieng towns;  (2) The Bahr el Ghazal Independent Military Area under Zonal Commander Awet Akot, with the assistance of Commanders Deng Ajuong, Chol Ayuak Guiny and Bona Bang Dhol, that was to protect the civil populations from constant Murhaleen incursions, by capturing and securing the towns of Yirol, Rumbek, Tonj, Gogrial, Wau, Aweil, Raga and Abyei; (3) The Nuba Mountains Independent Military Area under Zonal Commander Yousif Kuwo Mekki, with the help of commander Abdel Aziz Adam elHellu, that was tasked with protecting the Nuba Mountains people from frequent harassment from the government and Arab militias, to recruit Nuba people to join the SPLM/A and to take the Revolutionary War to the doorstep of Khartoum ruling clique;  (4) The Darfur Independent Military Area under Zonal Commander Daud Bolad, assigned to take the Revolutionary War to Western Sudan, to mobilize and recruit the Darfur people into the SPLM/A and, like in the Nuba Mountains region, to unambiguously demonstrate that the SPLM/A was a national liberation army, not just a Southern-based separatist movement pre-occupied with the so-called ‘Southern Problem’; and lastly (5) The Red Sea (Hadendowa) Independent Military Area under Zonal Commander Mahmoud Bazarra, that was entrusted to take the war to the Red Sea Coastal Areas, to sensitize and recruit the locals and also to prove to the Khartoum ruling elites that the SPLM/A was a powerful force to reckon with, one that is unlike anything they had dealt with before.

The presence of the SPLM/A military posts in the Nuba Mountains, Darfur, Southern Blue Nile and the Red Sea Coastal Region was an SPLM/A psychological strategy of taking the war to the North (War Zone II) instead of waging it just in the South (War Zone I) as it had been the case with both Anyanya One and Anyanya Two Revolutionary Movements.  But the biggest military campaign ever envisaged and undertaken by the SPLM/A, one that was meant to break the backbone of Khartoum’s military defensive and free the entire war zone one—Southern Sudan, was the Bright Star Military Campaigns designed to encircle and to capture Juba—one of the few remaining major garrison towns by then in Southern Sudan. For that, check out the forthcoming Part 5 of these serializations of the evolutionary phases of the South Sudanese’ liberation struggle.

Supplementary Note

1. SPLM/A’S FOUNDING FATHERS

                       The Five Permanent Members of the SPLM/A’s Politico-Military High Command (The SPLM/A’s PMHC)

The 12 Alternate Members Of The SPLM/A’s Politico-Military High Command

2. SPLM/A’S DIVISIONS & BATTALIONS[9]

DIVISION ONE (Founding Battalions)

DIVISION TWO (KORYOM)

DIVISION THREE (MOUR-MOUR)

DIVISION FOUR (KAZUK)

DIVISION FIVE (ZAL-ZAL I & II)

DIVISION SIX (INFIJAR)

DIVISION SEVEN (INTIFADHA)

DIVISION EIGHT (INTISAR)—retraining of the founding battalions

Marcy Mendelson in Kenya

for National Geographic

Published September 21, 2013

The University of Texas at Austin

AUSTIN, Texas — The Harry Ransom Center presents “Eli Reed: The Lost Boys of Sudan,” an exhibition of photographs by Eli Reed (b. 1946), Magnum photographer and clinical professor of journalism at The University of Texas at Austin.The project documents the lives of some of the more than 20,000 Sudanese boys forced to flee after their families were massacred or enslaved during the Second Sudanese Civil War.

The exhibition contains a dozen photographs and runs from Oct. 22 to Dec. 8 in the north atrium of the Ransom Center, a humanities research library and museum at The University of Texas at Austin. Called the “Lost Boys” by aid workers, the Sudanese boys, some as young as 8 years old, wandered the equatorial wilderness between Sudan and Ethiopia for years on foot.

Those who survived starvation and disease eventually reached a refugee camp in Kakuma, Kenya, where more than 3,000 of them awaited resettlement through a United Nations partnership with the U.S. State Department. In 2001, Reed documented their journey as they left the camp, adjusted to life in the United States and acclimated to a starkly different culture full of formidable challenges.

The exhibition is organized by curators Jessica S. McDonald and Roy L. Flukinger. During the week of the exhibition’s opening, the Ransom Center hosts the symposium “Magnum Photos into the Digital Age,” October 25-27, which brings together photographers, curators and historians to discuss the evolution of Magnum since the agency’s founding in 1947.

Additional photographs by Reed from his 1995 series “Rwandan Refugees in Tanzania” will be on view in the Ransom Center Galleries as part of the larger exhibition “Radical Transformation: Magnum Photos into the Digital Age,” opening Sept. 10 and featuring more than 400 photographs, books, magazines, films and videos.

Reed joined the faculty of the University in January 2005. He has been associated with the Magnum Photos agency since 1983 and became a full member in 1988. His early projects focus on political upheaval and social justice in El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti and Panama, and in 1982 he was a Nieman Fellow at Harvard University, where he studied political science, urban affairs and the prospects for peace in Central America. He has since photographed around the world while persistently addressing political, social and racial issues in the United States. Reed is the author of the acclaimed books “Beirut: City of Regrets” (1988) and “Black in America” (1997). In 2009 he delivered a four-part lecture and multimedia presentation at the Nobel Peace Center in Oslo, Norway, for the opening night of the exhibition "Fra King til Obama."

“Eli Reed: The Lost Boys of Sudan” will be on view in the Ransom Center’s north atrium on Monday through Friday between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m., with extended Thursday hours until 7 p.m. On Saturdays and Sundays the Center is open from noon to 5 p.m.

High-resolution press images from the exhibition are available.

For more information, contact: Alicia Dietrich, Harry Huntt Ransom Humanities Research Center, 512 232 3667;  Jennifer Tisdale, Harry Huntt Ransom Humanities Research Center, 512-471-8949.

By Biel Boutros Biel, Special to CNN

Editor’s note: Biel Boutros Biel is co-chair of the National Human Rights Forum and executive director of the South Sudan Human Rights Society for Advocacy. He is also a visiting scholar at the Institute for the Study of Human Rights, Columbia University, in New York. The views expressed are his own.

After decades of armed struggle, South Sudan became the world’s newest country on July 9, 2011. As people gathered at Freedom Square in Juba, a huge group of women surrounded the John Garang statue, tears wetting their faces. Instead of taking their pictures, I was overtaken by emotion and found myself in tears, too. “Garang my brother, thank you, though you died, finally independence has come,” one woman said.

I remembered relatives and friends who died, and how I carried a gun as a child soldier and joined in the liberation. It was a time of joy and sorrow, the independence that finally came to us through bullets, blood and ballots.

Now barely two years-old, South Sudan is one of the candidates for Africa’s open seats on the U.N. Human Rights Council. This is the first opportunity for South Sudan to become part of such an international body. And, although our governance systems are still flawed, I believe that South Sudanese can be good stewards of human rights across the globe.

During the long North-South civil war, South Sudanese fought for the most basic rights – freedom of expression and association, freedom from persecution, and freedom from being treated as second-class citizens by the government in Khartoum. Many sacrificed their lives.

But since independence, numerous human rights issues have emerged, problems the government hasn’t properly addressed them. As a South Sudanese human rights defender, I often hear from officials that South Sudan is too young and that our government structures are too new to be judged by international human rights standards.

It is true that many of South Sudan’s problems are the results of years of war and underdevelopment, and correcting these problems and creating a government strong enough to tackle them will take us all years. But many problems we are seeing are not due to a lack of trained civil servants or money or services. We are also seeing a lack of political will to end abuses and hold wrongdoers to account. Politicians who do not want to see justice done should not be allowed the excuse that South Sudan is a young country.

In the town of Wau last December, security forces gunned down peaceful protesters.  That same month, Isaiah Abraham, a well-known political commentator, was assassinated in Juba. The government announced in January that they had arrested suspects, but that it hasn’t identified the suspects or sent them for trial.

Meanwhile, there is growing harassment and detention of journalists, leading to self-censorship. And in Jonglei state in recent months, soldiers fighting a rebel group have been torturing and killing civilians they accuse of being allied with the rebels, forcing thousands into hiding in the bush.

So before taking up a position at the Human Rights Council the government should put its own house in order. It needs to investigate the killings of civilians and unlawful arrests by security forces, and harassment of journalists and outspoken members of civil society and bring to justice the assassins of Isaiah Abraham.

The government also needs to make clear that it supports human rights, that it will protect them and not abuse them. It needs to strengthen its laws, but also make clear to security forces that they need to protect civilians, not attack them.  The laws governing the national security service should be discussed openly in the public, not behind closed doors.

Moreover, we need an NGO law that does not curtail the freedom of civil society organizations to operate in South Sudan, and the government should fund fully the National Constitutional Review Commission, which works on the new constitution   that is the heart of the nation.

Winning a seat on the Human Rights Council on November 12 would put South Sudan’s approach to human rights in the spotlight, and that could be a good thing. South Sudan should therefore take the opportunity of its candidacy to show that it is ready to help protect human rights around the world – and at home.

By Machar Dau Yuang

I would like to write about the surprising, huge and tragic death toll recorded of people who lost their lives in the attack of both villages of Paliau and Maar in the area of Twic East County from Jonglei State.

We the Nation mourn together and we condemn these events and hope that they do not occur again. We require the South Sudan Government to strongly stand behind these areas to help, support and protect the lives of civilians. We want to stay safe at all times without being subjected to such invasions.

We require the Government to perform its duty of care and to care about its people. These events were happening when I was in Malou suburb in Jonglei state. It was very sad, surprising and shocking to hear that this invasion was happening in my area.  What I would like to say is the following: I say that the State Government and Federal Government must provide adequate security to protect those areas.

Twic East County in particular, is at risk of insecurity. The population of this area are constantly being subjected to violence by the Leader of Rebels, David YauYau, the man who fought the war without vision and had caused the loss of lives of innocent civilians. These are the people who made him the leader. Without these people he could not have been leader and this invasion that devastated the areas and burned both villages and shelter, including a church
that was burned to ash, would not have happened.

The citizens of this area were evacuated, and after that they faced the hardship of being confronted at gun point and this caused a lot of grief and  the death of many innocent people. The people were starved due to rations running short. We, the Twic youth from  Victoria Australia , our blame goes directly
to the elders of Twic East County and their administration work, including that
done by an MP from this area, for provoking the Government of South Sudan to start  disarmament in our area and the personal equipment of civilians were removal and they remain with nothing to defend themselves with.

This is a breach of Safety Regulations and human rights have been violated. There is no government intervention to support the local population. I know Twic East have been lectured by our good pretender, try to present a good
image to the president and seek employment through lecturing about us to the
president  saying that we are doing wrong against the president and leadership of South Sudan. This allegation has been spread around and the rights of many people is not being well represented in the parliament.

After this they reserved so many seats in the parliament by having huge numbers of their people representing them, while we the Twic community feel
isolated from any formation of Government. No one has been appointed to
represented us in the National Government. We don’t feel surprise about this
step taken by the Kiir Administration.  We do encourage him and give him the green light to go ahead. We are not against Kiir’s leadership and the roles. If you hear these allegations, don’t listen to them. We like the peaceful community of South Sudan.

We always organized ourselves to act honest in the peaceful environment and let everybody stay positive without verbal threat to anyone among us. We are passionate about South Sudan. Our neighbors are always against us. This has become a natural behavior to them but we don’t copy this act as the Twic always ignored the propaganda. We would like this stable government of
The Republic of South Sudan to work for all of us without isolating one
community among Southerners. All our ideas together can bring change and build a better South Sudan.

We encourage fusion together and unity we always supported so that we can overcome any external barrier against our nation. We still remember that our Referendum was determined that we were cast our vote for segregated South Sudan from North that we bring freedom here to South by voting for independent of South Sudan. It was not achieved through Military force. It is our struggling for ballot paper to cast it into boxes that separated South
Sudan from slavery of Arabilization.

We like to govern ourselves and show the rest of the world our social responsibility that should be respected and our rights are considered by the international community to tabled the break through via their commitment to bring peace to the table between North and South to end the civil war in the torn zone of the Sudan.

My campaign today is attempting to highlight the important ideas to help and support our Government. When we stand together in unity and listen to each other without undermining each other we can do something good in the
future. Some of our members are thinking positive. Below will show you and
convince you to work hard for all of us.

We need Government to have a strong strategy for the creation of more job opportunities, to engage this innovation juvenile away from domestic violence, more chance to bring good infrastructure to the new Nation. If the huge numbers of people are educated there will more elimination of the hazard war of tribalism among ethnic community of the South Sudan.

We must desire every community to make sure that they are well represented by their elected minister and MPs. We also want Government to employ many
psychologists and experts to provide good services to the people of South Sudan because the war became indulged in peoples minds after 21 years of struggling.

We need our oil resources income to develop our younger Nation so that we catch up for redevelopment compared to the rest of our neighboring countries. I proudly appreciate your energetic heart and your handling of the conflict for 21 years of civil war without defection from your colleagues the founder of the ruling South Sudan SPLM Party, Dr. Garang, and you stayed positive without making the surprising trip to Khartoum during this revolution. There is no leader like you but I want you to equalize every community, treating everybody equal and I encourage a quality system in South Sudan to remove any errors.

This is a time for you to govern this Nation in respect of energetic man and be your reward for wonderful strong at heart through your intelligence and hard work signing the CPA documents.

In conclusion, I discourage conflict of interest among communities from South Sudan and the thought of division. This is bad politics and can bring war and slide South Sudan back into tribalism and war. Telling the citizens to avoided bad politics from their diverse and mixed society to the Government and assassinations that subjected outstanding writers to the list of victim of crime is not good there should be freedom of expression and freedom for citizens to publish their ideas, both in that print and on the internet.

The challenge to the Government is to encourage Government to do something tangible for developing the country and we would like your responsible care for your civilians. We don’t want huge numbers of deaths of innocent people to be recorded again. The attacks launched by David YauYau are the responsibility of the Government.

We don’t want to have to stress anymore about invasion and fear for the loss of
the lives of innocent citizens. I am among those District Safety Work Groups
working with Brimbank City Council in Melbourne, Victoria,  Australia. Also I represent The Twic Youth Association of Victoria Inc. as the Deputy to the Chairperson of this nonprofit organization. I like a peaceful community without war because war is not the answer and will never produce a good outcome for the citizens of South Sudan.

1. Rt. Rev. Ezekiel Diing Ajang
2. Rt. Rev. Joseph Maker Atot
3. Rt. Rev. Moses Deng Bol
4. Rt. Rev. Abraham Yel Nhial
5. Rev. Stephen Mayuen Mou
6. Ven. Simon Thon Jok
7. Rev. James Bol Chol
8. Ven. David Chol Deng
9. Ven. Peter Garang Deng
10. Ven. Antipas Mayen Biar
11. Mr. Dominic Deng Majok
12. Mr. James Magok Chilim Chok
13. Mr. Simon Yak Deng
14. Evang. Daniel Yor Deng
15. Mr. Deng Yak Duot

By Philip Roessler

The Washington Post

This is a guest post by College of William and Mary political scientist Philip Roessler.  His research focuses on political violence, and he has conducted extensive fieldwork in Sudan and South Sudan.

As a poor, landlocked, oil-dependent state with a long history of violent conflict and a belligerent neighbor to the north, South Sudan’s post-independence challenges were always going to be immense. But there was much hope that with wise leadership, prudent policy-making, an inclusive government and generous foreign assistance, South Sudan could leapfrog some of the post-independence crises that plagued other African countries.

Tragically, as evidenced by the violent events that have transpired over the past 10 days (for a useful backgrounder see this post by Max Fisher), South Sudan has fallen prey to one of the most pernicious sources of state failure in post-colonial Africa: the coup-civil war trap. This trap leads rulers to pursue ethnic political exclusion as a “coup-proofing” strategy but at the cost of engulfing their countries in violence.

The coup-civil war trap arises when political institutions are weak and ethnic groups are strong. Violence is dispersed among powerful Big Men who are embedded in and supported by different ethnic groups. And economic benefits are primarily derived from controlling the central government. Under such conditions, peace is often contingent upon power-sharing, in which the ruler strikes alliances with rival Big Men. These alliances allow the ruler to mobilize support and collect information from outside his own ethnic group, which in turn helps to secure peace and prevent civil war.

But the potential danger is that in sharing real power with ethnic rivals, the ruler leaves himself vulnerable to a coup d’état. And there’s the rub: the policy solution to civil war in these weak states increases a rival group’s capabilities to win power in a coup. In more technical terms, ethnic power-sharing in the shadow of the coup d’état gives rise to a commitment problem, in which the ruler fears that rivals are supporting him only to better position themselves to take power in the future.

This commitment problem is a key source of bargaining failure and conflict in weak states because it prevents rulers from fully committing to peaceful power-sharing. Reluctant to strengthen their rivals, rulers don’t share enough power.  Fundamentally mistrustful, they pursue defensive safeguards, such as stacking the military and security organs with members of their ethnic group and other loyalists, in a bid to neutralize their rivals’ coup-making capabilities. But this only undermines confidence in the ruler. Regime partners question the ruler’s commitment to power-sharing and, even worse, fear that, having used his comrades to get to power, he is ready to dispose of them by purge or execution.

In response, rivals counter-mobilize. Anticipating the worst, they prepare to launch preemptive strikes to defend themselves and their share of power. As the sides become locked into an internal security dilemma, eliminating the other side from power is seen as the only way out. Even though the ruler knows that purging ethnic rivals increases the risk of future conflict and forfeits the regime’s control over key societal groups and territory, he prefers the risk of a possible civil war tomorrow to the clear and present danger of a coup d’état today.

Broadly, this is what has transpired in South Sudan throughout the past year.  Salva Kiir, South Sudan’s president, sensed a growing threat from a number of his comrades in the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement, especially his vice president, Riek Machar, who made no pretenses about his ambitions for power. Kiir sought to emasculate Machar’s influence and power by first stripping Machar of his authority and then removing him as vice president (along with the entire cabinet). When violence broke out between rival factions in the presidential guard on Dec. 15 (in what Kiir publicly declared was a thwarted coup d’état), Kiir made a bid to eliminate the internal threat posed by Machar once and for all by arresting or killing him along with others opposed to the president, such as secretary general of the SPLM, Pagan Amum.

Having narrowly escaped Kiir’s purge and fled the capital, Juba, Machar is now seeking to mobilize his network of supporters, especially among his Nuer co-ethnics in his home region of Unity State, to try to reclaim power in an armed rebellion. Having forfeited any societal and territorial support among the Nuer, Kiir, leaning heavily on his Dinka co-ethnics, will find it difficult to fight a selective counterinsurgency campaign and will most likely resort to indiscriminate violence. For their part, the rebels will target perceived loyalists to the Kiir regime, using ethnicity as a heuristic device.

This path to regime breakdown and potential civil war is not unique to South Sudan; in fact the sequence of events is nearly identical those that led to the Chadian civil war between Hissène Habré and an insurgency led by his former chief of staff Idriss Déby in 1989; the Liberian civil war between Samuel Doe and Thomas Quiwonkpa’s deputies that also broke out in 1989; and Africa’s Great War in the Democratic Republic of Congo between Laurent Kabila’s regime and his former allies from eastern Congo and Rwanda that began in 1998.

The shadow of history is also very important in the South Sudan case. In 1991, Machar launched a failed bid to overthrow the then-leader of the Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA), John Garang. The failed coup triggered an intra-SPLA civil war and large-scale violence along ethnic lines. Machar was prominently involved, mobilizing support from his co-ethnics and targeting Dinka co-ethnics of John Garang, including in the notorious Bor Massacre in November 1991, in which it is estimated at least 2,000 perished. Over the next decade, Machar would ally with the central government in Khartoum and continue to fight against the SPLA until he reconciled with Garang and rejoined the SPLM in 2002. The reunification of the SPLA was integral to the rebels’ ability to win the right to independence.

All civil wars are tragic. But this new armed conflict in South Sudan is especially so. Not only because so many South Sudanese who had hoped and prayed that independence would usher in peace and development are now once again fearfully fleeing their homes, like they did countless times in the past.  Not only because the mechanics of the conflict were utterly predictable, given how this pattern of state failure has played out time and time again in South Sudan and other African countries. But also because there was a potential path out of the coup-civil war trap that was not realized — namely the institutionalization of power competition through the ruling political party, the SPLM.

A growing body of scholarship points to the stabilizing effect of political parties and other political institutions in non-democratic regimes.  In investing in the party to allocate power, the ruler is credibly signaling his commitment to power sharing but also protecting himself from the coup d’état. The downside in delegating authority to the party, of course, is the ruler not only constrains his rivals but also constrains himself — which is exactly the point. This generates a new dilemma for the ruler, however: he does not want to strengthen the party only to see it abandon him and back someone else.

This was the dilemma that confronted Salva Kiir. The SPLM was supposed to hold its general convention in 2013 to elect a chairman and the party’s presidential nominee for the 2015 election. The holding of the convention would help to regulate the competition for power that was building among top regime elites. If it were to reaffirm Kiir’s chairmanship of the party, it could also go a long way toward consolidating Kiir’s power vis-à-vis his rivals.

But Kiir increasingly feared the possibility that the party might not reelect him as party chairman and would instead swing its support to Machar or Amum, the secretary general. In the face of such a possibility, Kiir maneuvered to undermine the party’s institutions. For example, he refused to call to order party organs in which he might be outvoted, such as the SPLM’s political bureau. He also tried to manipulate the convention rules to prohibit the secret ballot. Finally, he dismantled party structures and postponed the convention indefinitely.

In short, Kiir rejected party rule for personal rule. In doing so, he managed to maintain his position as head of the SPLM, at the cost of leaving the power struggle at the apex of the regime unresolved and intensifying his own strategic uncertainty. The cost is that he has now brought South Sudan to the brink of civil war.

By Maker Lual Kuol

1. The first intentional destruction was on 19^th May 1965 when Khartoum forces indiscriminately went on a shooting spree killing many innocent civilians and displacing many others. By that time, Bor Town was a small town dwelt by less than 10,000 people. The rural population had not migrated to Bor Town as it is the situation now.
2. The second intentional destruction was on 16^th May 1983 when battalion 105 rebelled against Khartoum government. Though Khartoum retaliated with heavy hand, the cause was a noble one and was taken lightly.
    
3. The third was the invasion of the whole land of greater Bor by the Lou Nuer under the instructions of  Riek Machar Teny who had just split from the main stream of SPLM/A and formed his own faction known as the Nasir Faction. Over ten thousand were massacred, thousands wounded, others abducted, the whole livestock of the area was driven off to Lou Nuer land. More than 80% of the population was displaced to eastern, western Equatoria and the neighboring countries of Kenya and Uganda. The massacre was genocide of which no one talked about.
4. The fourth was the one carried out by the loyal forces of Riek Machar on Bor Town on the 17^th December 2013 when one major General Gadiet, the divisional commander of Division 8 rebelled and led an attack on Bor Town. The attack resulted into death of many people and flashing out of the whole population of Bor Town estimated at over 150,000 people. The worst in the episode was that the majority displaced were those vulnerable civil populations that migrated to Bor Town two years earlier when Murles intensified their attacks on the rural population.

During the implementation of The Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA), Riek sometimes during official and private occasions hinted or expressed his sorrow for the 1991 invasion of Greater Bor of which his apology during an occasion in the house of Rebecca Nyandeng Chol in Juba, wife of late Dr. John Garang de Mabior could be recalled. Earlier in 2011 in a meeting in South Sudan Hotel in Bor, former governor Kuol Manyang convinced the people that there was no need to keep the grudges and called for forgiveness and to corroborate his good intensions, he called forward Dr. Riek and embraced him in front of the meeting amid applause of the gathering as a sign of forgiveness and recociliation. Kuol by doing so was representing both the aggrieved
citizens of Greater Bor and Jonglei State. He displayed to all that past was a bygone.

Unfortunately without elapsing of a year or more, Riek repeated the same massacre and may be worse than the one of 1991. That embracing of selves with Kuol was shedding of crocodile tears by Riek Machar. The last incidence was well planned as his lieutenants headed by Peter Gadeit studied all routes connecting the Payams and Bomas of Bor County by pretending to be inspecting the area under his command on the 15^th of December. He deluded his colleagues in Division 8 that he was going to deploy SPLA defensive forces in all strategic places where the enemy may penetrate and encroach into Bor Town.  The following night at Panpandiar, the headquarters of Division 8, which lies 22 kilometers south of Bor Town, Gadet invited his deputy Major General Ajak Yen to a meeting and there ordered his men to shoot him. Major General Ajak is one of the revered SPLA army officers for his courage, bravery and discipline who since joining the SPLA in 1983 never departed his forces till his murder. Then after finishing with Ajak, Gadet moved towards Bor Town with a number of mounted vehicles.

That was the time the population of Bor Town realized that there was an imminent attack on Bor Town and therefore started fleeing the town. Auxiliary police whom majority hailed from Nuer tribe disarmed the rest of their colleagues from Dinka tribe and defiantly disobeyed their commander who was a Dinka by tribe. The rest of the organized forces followed suit. This move within the forces made the Nuers to outnumber all the other ethnic groups put together. In actual fact over 80% of SPLA army hails from Nuer tribe. This big proportion was due to the continuous integration of militia groups into SPLA forces in order to bring about peace and stability into the nascent state of South Sudan.  

The death toll reported in the whole of South is put at over 1,000 but for Bor alone, the death toll could be ranging between 1000 and 2000.  Many who perished in the bushes or drowned in the river and marshes will not be accounted for. The Town and the whole market was ransacked and looted and many buildings either erased to the ground or destroyed. The human tragedy mounted when citizens left their homes in disarray. Many children and elderly went missing. Hunger stroke heavily on the fleeing population that carried along nothing beside dear lives. Deputy Governor Hussein Mar Nyot and the Minister of Law Enforcement, Gabriel Duop Lam in the government of Jonglei State rebelled openly. The two were the confidents of the former governor Kuol Manyang Juuk.

Many political and administrative decisions in the state were taken with advice and consultations of Hussein. Gabriel Duop was favored most among the ministers
when he joined John Garang University of Science and Technology. For the last three years, Duop paid little attention to his work and Kuol turned a blind eye to his not frequently paying attention to his duties as a minister of one of the most important and sensitive ministries as his interest (Kuol) was to develop the youth the likes of Duop that missed education during the long struggle.

Duop in order to thank Kuol for his support and sponsorship ordered the shooting of captain Chaw Mayol Juuk, a cousin to governor Kuol. The story of Chaw death happened when Chaw saluted his Minister and instead of responding to his subordinate solute, he, the minister derisively told him that he was not in a position to accept a salute from a Dinka. That was indirectly an order for his murder by another colleague from the Nuer tribe to shoot Chaw. Both Hussein and Duop have many assets in Bor ranging from plots of lands to houses and business places but the two allowed their tribesmen to destroy the assets of others.

During the four days of destruction in Bor, Riek Machar, Hussein and other allies of theirs shuttled between the UNMSS compound in Bor and the military bases at Malual Chat and Panpandiar and to surprisingly disappeared into the thin air through the assistance of UNMISS to appear at Lou Nuer area and from there to his home area of Bentiu where he was shown by Aljazeera Television addressing a press conference.

While the displaced were moving aimlessly around Bor Town, news reached that the White Army was moving towards Bor. This sent the whole county population panicking as the invasion and massacres of 1991 were still fresh in the minds of the population. As such the people thought otherwise and the option was to cross to the western bank of the river. Struggle of the population to enter the motor boats was one of the most painful sceneries as each wanted to have the first chance of getting into the boat. The saddest was that the fare for crossing was 50 South Sudanese Pounds which most did not have. Still despite the congestion many were able to cross to the western bank.
Thank the Almighty God that no accidents occurred during the crossing. It is
very fortunate that there were many motor boats despite the fact that the rebels forcefully confiscated some of them. The community headed by Dr. Agot Alier, Bor County Commissioner availed petrol for the evacuation of the stranded civil population on the eastern bank of the river. Now the evacuated population are scattered along the west bank of the river. Guolyar in Awerial Countyis currently hosting over 100,000 displaced people from Bor. Others crossed to Gutthom and many others sought refuge in the high grounds and marshes.

Still the invaders did not spare them but shot randomly into the papyrus, reeds and
any other aquatic plants that can cover and harbor the escapes. At Magok cattle
camp on the western bank of the river opposite to Malek village, two people were shot dead and two others wounded. On the 6^th of January, a contingent composed of the White army and rebels allied to Riek Machar followed some citizens who crossed the gullies (Wak) west of Baidit Town in order to hide. The poor who ran away with their lives were shot at and 12 people died instantly and others wounded. Over five hundred heads of cattle were robbed.
One of the victims of that attack is one lady by the name of Bol Mayen, wife of
Mordchai Maketh Duk, a career teacher and a veteran of Anyanya one war. Bol was
shot at the leg and the arm two weeks ago by the white Army at Baidit and as a
result was evacuated to the marshy land for recuperation. Unfortunately the determined killers when and finished her. In the same incident, her nephew Maker Gai Duk was killed. Maker was the son of her brother in law Gai Duk. Gai Duk himself was killed by Nuer during the 1991. These are some of the sad incidences which are overtaking the innocent people of Bor County.

As a result several people are reported killed or injured at different locations. Real
stories will come related when the situation returns to normal if ever it will happen. Many are dying of diseases such as diarrhea among the children and the elderly.  In less than one day alone at Guolyar, nearly 20 children died of diarrhea.

The route studied by Gadet before his onslaught on Bor people; that is the 38 kilometer road stretching from Cueikeer to Makol Cuei was used by the invaders to burn down the villages of Mathiang, Baidit, Makol Cuei, Werkok, Kapat, Konbek, Makuac, Mareng, Thianwei, Anyidi Kolnyang and other villages on the way. Not only setting the villages ablaze but used the route to flank the SPLA forces at Malou and Bangashorot.

This is a little account that could be related till present moment about the magnitude and the extent the destruction has taken on the innocent people of Bor. Nobody knows in how long the people of Bor will take before recovering from this killing! The real figures of the fatalities and destruction will be exposed when things go back to normal but when! The Almighty God knows.

Why were the people of Bor targeted?  

No one could exactly say why the people of Bor are targets of the current political wrangling in South Sudan. If the target was the SPLA forces, nothing would have involved the White Army composed mainly of Lou and Gaweer Nuers. If the intention is to control the oil fields, there is no oil field in Bor. There is only expected one oil well at Akeer between Duk and Ayod Counties. Moreover, the drilling at that oil field is at the initial stages of discovery and exploitation. If because Kuol Manyang and Michael Makuei Lueth are ministers in the National Government, Greater Lou Nuer alone has three ministers in the national government and four in the Jonglei State Government namely Dr. Riek Gai Kok, Dr. Barnaba Marial Benjamin and Racheal Nyadak Paul and Hussein Mar Nyot, Nyang Lul, Manawa Peter Gatkwoth and Gabriel Gai Riem in the national and state governments respectively.

If Riek Machar wanted to control the whole of Greater Upper Nile such that he uses it as a trumping card in any negotiations with the government of South Sudan, he should have not involved civilians in his war. Had Bor people being applying any discriminatory treatment on other ethnic groups in the state? Absolutely no and categorically no. If because Bor had witnessed some economical and infrastructural
development during the few years of CPA and independence, it was through the
efforts of all the citizens of the state and Nuer inclusive. Then why involving the innocent civilians and especially the Lou Nuer youth? If the Lou are under the influence of their Kujurs why did they not spare the lives of the South Sudanese during the long struggle waged against the North? Or are the Kujurs specialized in raiding and killing of the Bor Dinkas? Will the Kujur raise those killed among the White Army from death? Or will the Kujur take care of the families of the lost young Lou Nuer in war? Many questions could be posed why is Riek and Nuer particular  targeting
the Bor people?  Definitely no one can provide a convincing answer.

If all the reasons why Lou Nuer invaded Bor are exhausted without answers, then the only remaining answer is that Nuers have to rule South Sudan whether the South Sudanese like it or not and the way to achieve that goal is to wipe out the whole community of Bor County. If ruling of a country should be according to the size of the population, Joseph Lagu, Gismalla Abdalla Rasas, James Joseph Tambura ruled South Sudan during the Addis Ababa Agreement. Lwiji Adwok was the only Southerner during the long history of Sudan who flew the national flag for a month when head of the Council of the State when the chairmanship was rotational.

The mentioned South Sudanese leaders had their chances of leading Southerners despite hailing from minority tribes in South Sudan. For the Nuers, Riek Machar and Riek Gai were chairmen of the Coordinating Council for the South. Late Peter Gatkwoth was an interim president of the High Executive Council when Gen. Numiery dismissed the government of Gen. Joseph Lagu in 1979. Still the question hangs why is the Lou Nuer used against Bor Dinka? When the Lou Nuer Yuoth moved against the Murle in 2011, Riek Machar rushed to persuade them not to attack the Murles. But when the targeted were Bor Dinka, Riek turned a blind eye. In actual fact, Riek ordered and instigated the Lou Nuer and Gawer to smash the Bor Dinka.

Then, what is the problem between both the Lou Nuer and Gawer on one hand and Bor Dinka on the other?

• Lou and Gawer Nuers have no common borders with Bor Dinka. They are separated by Hol, Nyarweng and Twic communities. 
• There are no areas of contacts where the three communities meet especially during the dry season whereby pastoralists communities usually compete for the scarce resources of water and grazing.
• There are no historical problems or grudges between these communities that can buoyed at any time. It is in 1928 that the Lou Nuer raided the Dinka Land but the invasion was repulsed at Palep and Rem in Bor County. By that time, there were no educated people who could advise the communities to restrain from attacking each other.
• During the Regional Rule in the South, Lou Nuer and Dinkas were political allies and those who happened to attend that period could recall how Abel Alier, Peter Gatkwoth and Michael Wal Duany were very close allies.

Some African politicians are now facing trials in front of the International Criminal Court (The ICC) in the Hague for human rights violations in their countries. But the International community applied different standards in the case of the over 10,000 people killed in Bor in1991. We do not know how many butchered this time in the second invasion of Lou Nuer and Gawer to Bor? The International community is silently watching the genocide of Bor People without concern. May be Bor People are not included in the laws of humanity and human rights that are applied on those affected or aggrieved.

The answer for the massacre that took place between the 16^th December 2013 and January 2014 has no even the simplest reason and motive except mere jealousy, envy and hatred. Riek would like to reign over skulls, bones and graves of the people of Bor. Daniel .K. Mathews, the former Governor of Upper in the 90s of the last century said (He could administer Upper Nile without Bor). DK was kinder and humane to Bor people than Riek Machar as he(DK) did not like to represent them in his government but Riek Machar does not want the people of Bor to live on the surface of the earth.

Why is Riek Machar more influential on Lou and Gawer Nuers than the two communities elites and political leaders?

Riek Machar is from Bentiu or a Jiekeny Nuer for that matter but leisurely he uses Lou and Gawer Nuer to implement his desires and programs without objection or resistance from anyone. His programs are deadly but the equal giants and elites of Riek Machar caliber among the communities of Lou and Gawer watch him dragging their communities to death and destruction. Lou Nuer has the kind of Dr. Riek Gai, Justice John Luk, Barnaba Marial, Gen. Peter Bol Koang, Gen. Johnson Gony, Manawa Peter Gatkwoth, Gabriel Yol, ambassador Majok Guondong and many others who played a great role in the struggle and history of South Sudan.

On the other hand, Gawer is full of giants the kind of James Kok, Joseph Duer, Michael Mario, Timothy Tot Chol, John Koang Nyuon and many others that this page cannot take. Unless these leaders considered Riek Machar to have taken these communities to a dancing party where participants are expected to return happy and peaceful! The conclusion from the Lou and Gawer leaders’ indifference is that, either they do not command the respect of their communities or maybe they are sympathizing with Riek Machar under the surface.  What so ever the bravery of their kin and kin, all the mentioned political giants will one day mourn one or more of their relatives after returning from the touring picnic to Bor. 

How will the people of Jonglei State peacefully co- exist
after the second massacre by the Lou Nuer on the people of Bor?

Former late South African President Nelson Mandela during the peace and reconciliation process in South Africa, said the people were to forgive but not to forget. Exactly people of Bor forgave and even forgot the atrocities inflicted on them when Riek Machar ordered the wiping out of Bor Dinka from the map of South Sudan in 1991. Unfortunately Riek did not learn from his mistakes and for the second time ordered the finishing of those who remained in the 1991 massacre. Still with the second massacre and destruction, Almighty God will save some lives to wait for the third Riek expedition of wiping out the remnants of December 2013/2014 genocide. And till that time when the immortal Riek Machar repeats the action on the weak and innocent people of Bor, the stand of Bor people may be as follows:

During the implementation of CPA and after attainment of independence, some South Sudanese continued to educate their children in the neighboring countries of Kenya, Uganda, South Africa, Europe, America and Australia. The rest of the children of the poor were left to undergo the poor quality of education. So when any insecurity happens, their children are in safe havens. I know majority of the squabbling politicians on seats of power acquired their education in Sudan but the very ones who got educated and trained in Sudan currently are despising the education offered in South Sudan.
These highly positioned South Sudanese think by offering quality education to
their children such that they will automatically catapult their children to the leadership of the children of the rest of the poor and vulnerable.

An awkward situation that revealed itself during the last incidents in South Sudan is that when some people felt insecure, they rushed to UNMISS Compound and produced their other nationality certificates of the countries they sought resettlement during the liberation struggle. That is, they were to be evacuated as foreign nationals. A minister, a director, a member of parliament to deny his people when things are tense leaving his kin and kin to suffer the harshest conditions of insecurity and displacement! Then when these people with dual nationalities get themselves on the safe grounds in the countries of resettlement or refuge, they start to incite the people at home to discipline their kin and kin from the other communities.

Of course their children are eating good food, sleeping comfortably, attending their
education regularly and getting good health services. The poor who escaped the
fighting in Malakal, Bor, Bentiu and Juba are now moving aimlessly in the bushes and marshes of South Sudan leave those who got killed, maimed or missed during the aimless movement. To lose 18 children in one day through the effect of diarrhea in one location is a great lost to South Sudan. How many months do mothers take to bear these children during pregnancy and how many months or years they take to care for them? Then for one’s ambition we lose these South Sudanese in one day vaccinating them with bullets, hunger and diseases. Even if one does not expect these children to vote for him in the near future, they are likely to vote for their groomed children for future leadership (if leadership is automatic.)

Till writing of this report, the onslaught on the innocent of Bor County is still continuing.

Thanks to the entire community of Awerial County headed by the County Commissioner for their hospitality and reception of the displaced people from Bor.

Maker Lual Kuol

Displaced citizen at Guolyar/ Awerial County/Lake State

8^th January 2014

Mobile: +211956525130/+211977183317

By Dhieu

On 16 Dec 2013, I heard of fights in the Capital of South Sudan from my colleague Chol Wech, he told me of everything that conspired in Juba in the previous night. He said that the presidential guards divided themselves and fought based on their tribal lines, we did not work that day though we pledged to open later in the day. I tried to verify the news from my relatives and friends but their numbers could not go through because of poor network.
 
Gen Salva Kiir appeared on SSTV in military uniform that day after I went to Canal Hotel, He talked of security situation in Juba calmed by his administration and said that what had just happened was an attempted coup by the former Vice President Riek Machar, he promised the citizens of South Sudan that, everything will return to normal and the people behind the atrocities will be brought to justice.
 
That day the situation in Bortown was calm but fears of horrible memories of 1991 Bor Massacre never faded in the minds of Bor community residents at large. I went to bed that evening praying that everything will be ok come the next day, on 17 Dec 2013 I was woken up by a Big Bang on my doorstep by a neighbor at 4:00 am in the morning, I was not shocked at all because I knew something would happen sooner or later, I rushed to put on my trouser since I've heard of stories of people who had escaped from the attack and run to the bush just to realize they were naked or in underwear.
 
When I opened my door I found people running and the neighbor told me that the Nuer attacked the military barrack of Panpandiar at 1:00 am, and added that they first run away at 1:00 am and later returned, I then analyzed the situation and decided to stay till morning because you don't know what can happen in the dark, one perhaps could ran into other harms apart from what he was running away from.
 
In the morning I woke up early enough to see the attackers, when I reached the road, everyone was in rush to get connected to their beloved ones in case anything happens, that was exactly what I was doing, as I trekked for some distance fortunately I got a lift from a friend, the fuel was not enough in the bike so we headed towards the harbor of River Nile which was the only place gas was likely to be found because of the scarcity of fuel in the town following the attack in the previous night at the military base, Deng who was riding with me told me that Gatdet seized Panpandiar and that is why everyone is in panic since the barrack is near Bortown, one never know whether he can attack the civilians here in Bor.
 
First , I said to myself, could this be a repetition of history?. I came home to see my mom, she was very worried about everything, it wasn't hers alone in fact everyone was worried because there is no where to ran to since Bortown is located along the river, on Facebook it was the agenda, relatives and friends were calling every now and then, I felt relieved that afternoon because no sound of gunshot was being heard from Juba or in Bortown and the governor of the state had just arrived that morning so everything seemed under control, John Koang is from Nuer, I thought they would listen to him and stop any sketches of attacks, but no I thought wrong. Nuer had bigger picture than what John stands for, they don't want mere governors, they want the post of the president.

That day Bortown commissioner Agot Alier wanted to talk to a group of Nuer in Chinuerben estate, without surprise his car was shot at by Nuer, but managed to escape. Thank God he did, he was lucky not unlucky like two brothers from Kongor and one person from Makuach Payam who were confirmed dead by the mayor Nhial Majak Nhial as a result of attack in the previous night in block 4 by Nuer.
 
Seconds dragged into minutes and minutes mutated into hours, it was at 5 pm that day when I realized the situation might not be good, my instinct told me to take some cash through the ATM, So I headed to the bank, unfortunately it wasn't working, I asked our armed guard for the keys to the generator and surrendered them unconditionally, after I turned it on , it took less then five minutes to finish the transaction. When I was done, I turned it off and handed the keys to our guard Manyok. And cautioned him to flee should anything threaten his life, those were the last minute messages anyway. When I stepped out of the bank and took a walk for a minute, gunshots were everywhere like showers of rain and everyone was heading to River Nile, I kept my head down for safety, though I was confused I knew where I was going to, I could hear gunshots from that direction but I said to myself, I must go to church compound that is the place where my treasures belong, my mom an auntie!. I could not run away without them.
 
When I reached the compound, the velocity and sound of gunshots increased, after a couple of hour there was no sound of gunshots heard, I then logged on Facebook and updated my status, "there is no fight as we speak, we don't know who is in control of the town ,fate awaits us." and "tomorrow gonna be a better day". Everyone was anxious about the whole thing. Those things happened on 18 Dec 2013, I wanted to close my eyes and take it for a dream, but no!, everything was happening before me and I had to face the truth, decisions deserted me and faith was a thing of the religion at that time. I decided to sleep in the church and never mind of what tomorrow holds for me, in the middle of the night I was woken up and told that everyone has left the church due to fear that Nuer would take vengeance on us since there are rumors that some of them were killed while seeking refuge in their church when the fight broke out in Juba.
 
It took me some time to wrap my brain around it and took a big decision of my life, I wanted to refuse to accept the facts but I later consent. Muscles begins to vibrate more and the brain was on its highest intellect. We decided to move out at 12:20 am on 19 Dec 2013 instead of being found in the morning by blood thirty Nuer, when we stepped out, my heart did not even jerk a bit because I knew no one was moving at night. I lead the crew to the River and moved along it as we move, my cousin Mabior Gai Deng called and wished me good luck. We trudged for 3 hours till we reached Areck, while on the way, we would get lost and later recovered our route. When we reached Areck I tried to response to some comments on Facebook since we found a multitude of people who fled before us and were now taking rest before their big journeys. I told the crew to rest too. I did not have a wink after that because it was cold plus mosquitoes were giving us hell.
 
The morning seemed bright on the same date 19 and people were optimistic about the situation, while everyone was praying and hoping for the best, the unthinkable happened. The armed group which was later confirmed loyal to the former Vice President Riek Machar shot at the civilians, we did not wait for the bullets to reach where we were, I told the crew not to overreact and move slowly to prevent other harms from other feign sources, we walked in fear with other group of civilians, we again trudged to another safer place called Pagook in Buong boma, when we reached after 4 hours. We headed to "tooch" swampy area along River Nile. To reach a dry ground, you must first tramp through muddy waters, that was exactly what we did not to hesitate to do. On the dehydrated grounds there stood some small bushes, we clear thorns under them and took rest. Food was history leave alone basic, the top agenda was drinking water, it was fetched using some crooked containers but after all who cares for the container, all that was important was the content.
 
We slept that day in the bushes and waited for news from Maraya FM radio next morning on 20 Dec 2013.  The news bulletin mentioned that the Town of Bor was under Riek Machar forces adding that, the government army were dislodged from the city and an attack at the military base in Bentiu. It wasn't a shock at all because we witnessed the attack, more rumors of hope and of despair flew in from different people, I knew that there was a plan by the government to retake the town. optimism is what I believe in and my favorite song as well. We would chat with Uncle Gai Deng Majak about our state of affairs, I learnt from him a lot , he would start from the beginning of Anyanya One, SPLM/A and everything that happened during the struggle until the present moment, he told me that, the life of a human being is like a moving waters, it goes up and down till death finds you on the way. He added that no condition is permanent hence I should not lose hope, his message was true and it made gain enthusiasm for the next day in the jungle, 21 Dec 2013 passed like any other beautiful day, it's only that there were rumors of the rebel group moments towards where we had sought refuge. It became a serious threat to our lives, therefore, we moved deeper inside tooch to rest assured we were safe, at that time we got hooked up in the news, we found information as our new weapon to fight anxiety and rejuvenate our hope since it was the only asset we possessed. 22 Dec 2013 went without any word of hope from the SPLA spoke person Philip Aguer Panyang, but within the news was the reports of forces loyal to Riek Machar being under full control of Bentiu. After the tidings we felt discouraged and hopeless.
 
On 23 Dec 2013 we heard of news that, the SPLA army is on the way towards Bortown, Aguer verified the same and added that, "it is definite that SPLA will take control of Bortown anytime". The jungle was becoming unbearable to everyone especially to toddlers who were delivered on the way. Lamentations were on everyone's lips, we would blame Riek first and later return to Kiir for the problems we faced, the thorns that pierced through our feet, we would hear sounds of all kind, hippopotamus could just be heard near our bushes at night plus hyena. We were far away from home therefore I became flexible enough to get acquainted to our new home. Pagook became enjoyable because of River Nile, I would swim, wash the only clothes i run away with and drink anytime I like.
 
As Christmas was approaching, it caught the civil population in Bortown bushes by surprise, besides who doesn't get prepared for Christmas?. Though you've got prepared or not, bush was the only place fit to celebrate and commemorate the birth of Christ Jesus. Riek planned it that way for the citizens of Bor. to us Riek Machar was the definition of Lucifer.
 
In the evening we listened to news, Aguer Panyang announced that they had retaken Bor from the rebel group. we confirmed the same from Mading Ngor who reports for the BBC, we were glad to hear the news. To me it was a victorious sign of hope to return home and prepare to usher in a new year with resolutions, first. To forget what had just happened or take it for sweet dream of a beautiful nightmare. On 26 Dec 2013, I waited to hear from those who went to witness everything. They reported that the place wasn't cleaned and that corpses were everywhere. We let that day pass and visited the next day, what was reported was true, there was also rampant looting which I saw going on in the market. That was 27 Dec 2013, we returned to the bushes and later resolved to return to the town 'cause life was horrible in the jungle. There is no place like home!. On 28 Dec 2013 I slept in my room comfortably and forced myself to believe that it would be my last time to go for exile again.
 
On the 29 Dec 2013, there was fear that the "white army" was on the way to retake Bor from the government forces. We were given too much pressure to leave the town for safety, and that was the time we hired a boat to Lake State in a place near the River Bank called Guolyar in Awerial county, We stayed there from 30 Dec 2013 to 10 Jan, 2014 with a wildest dream of returning home should government forces retake Bor from the "white Army". But all was in vain, we became hopeless and left. I'm now in Juba with my relatives. Life there wasn't good but we lived it anyway, in this scenario I learned that what doesn't kill you makes you stronger............to be continued!


Sent from my iPad

My name is Abraham Jongroor. Recently I returned from South Sudan where I witnessed the unfolding humanitarian catastrophe that is happening there. I saw the human suffering which is occurring, because I became caught up in the events that were taking place.  I personally became one of the escapees from Bor, on the 18th of December, in a crisis situation that I had no power to alter or avert. I want to tell my story to enlighten our community in Australia about what has been happening in South Sudan, especially about the humanitarian crisis that has arisen in December 2013 and January 2014. 
I left Australia with my son Kuol, my cousin Peter and my Nephew Chol on the 2nd of December, 2013, for South Sudan.  My sister Mary had left Australia two days ahead of us, on the 30th of November, with her four sons and nephew-in-law.  She had no inkling that something dangerous lay ahead, on that momentous visit to our mum and brothers. 
Our travel to South Sudan was intended to accomplish several purposes, mainly to do with family affairs. My son Kuol had previously met none of my family members who are still residing in South Sudan and calling it home, especially my mum, my two brothers and their families, in addition to a number of cousins, nephews, nieces and extended families. I have nine uncles (my dad’s brothers); taken together some have more than 30 children.   This makes my family a large family in our community. As a consequence it is very important for us to take our children to the country we call home especially those were not born to meet our extended family.
Let me return to what happened on the 15th of December and subsequently, because it is the beginning of all the troubles that followed. Four of us (Peter, Chol, Kuol and I) arrived in Juba, the capital of South Sudan, on the 3rdof December.  We devoted our first two weeks there to celebrating Peter’s marriage.  Then three of us (Chol, Kuol and I) plus my brother Akau, who joined us in Juba, left for Boron the 15th in the morning.  At 10pm fighting broke out in Juba. 
What happened in Juba on the 15thwas something I expected, and I believe many people who watched or listened to the President’s speech on the 14th would definitely agree with my view. President Salva Kiir was very insulting and provocative towards one person in particular, Dr Riek Machar the Vice President, at one time considered a traitor, who had also been responsible for oil drilling in favour of Arab north during 1990s. I asked my cousins, including Reserve Lt General, why our President attacked his deputy directly like that? Because at the time my heart started to tremble about the future of that country for the fact I known Riek’s tribal behaviour, and I know how Kiir’s community thinks. I told myself that something bad would definitely happen.  It was not long before many voices in the ruling party were not pleased with the direction in which the party was channeling its affairs. And I told them (my cousins) that, had it been me, I would not have chosen to use the term/language or tone that the President was now using.
That speech was on Saturday at the opening of the National Liberation Council (NLC) conference, on the 14th of December in Juba. My fear was that either Riek would rebel against the government led by President Salva, or Salva would challenge Riek on the pretext that he intended to betray the South Sudanese people again (as he put it in his speech),or that he would over throw the government by force. I am not quite sure what really happened on that day (the 15th) or how it happened, but I am pretty sure one of my fears did come true.
Back to what happened in Boron the 18th: it was the same destabilising affairs occurred in Juba. After the so-called failed coup attempt on the 15th in Juba surfaced, the killing of the Nuer civilian population in Juba was rumoured to have occurred. Bortown, the town which latter overran by Division 8 headquarter led by Major General Peter Gadet who hails from Unity State (Nuer).  In the course of his career he had changed sides some18 times between the Sudan People’s Liberation Army/Movement (SPLA/M) and Khartoum during the liberation struggle (1983 -2011). The easy overrun of Bor by this group occurred because many of the Nuer militia, who had been changing side were observed to be in the South Sudan army after the 2005 peace agreement between the SPLM and Khartoum and some after independence in 2011 were stationed there which was completely wrong. The down side of it is that the majority of them were based in Bor and all over Jonglei state, including part of Upper Nile and Juba itself. Those militiamen lack discipline and lack an understanding of the role of the army; they just know their tribe. According to information I got, the Tiger unit (presidential guard) was mainly composed of Nuer. In the unit there were 42 generals and among these generals only two are from different tribes while 40 are from Nuer community.
Maj. Gen. Peter Gadet was the first to express his discontent with the government, after being accused himself of massive human right abuses committed under his command against Murle civilians in Jonglei state during an operation against David YauYau the rebel earlier in 2013. Gadet was called to report to the military headquarter in Juba, but refused and barricaded himself in his own headquarters at Panpandiar (Bor Division 8 headquarters). After several consultations and assurances that he was not going to be arrested, he went to Juba.

At headquarters I don’t know what happened.  He was then ordered to go back to Bor.  One of his conditions he put to the leadership was that he was not to go back unless 5 of his generals who happen to be from Bor were removed from Division 8 which he commands. That condition was affirmed by the President and by the head of the military (Central Command).  That was when my cousin Brig. General Abraham Jongroor, Maj. General Ajak Yen and Major General Tour Alier were deployed to join him (Abraham and Ajak both killed).
The reason why I know most of Gadet’s problems, many people may question credibility of my story, on 5/12/13 I had a conversation meeting with one of 5 Generals and I asked him the reason behind their transfer from the Division 8. He told me, I quote “If Gadet is going to live in peace, then we have no problem…, my concern as a person is that Gadet is not going to stay there and I afraid he will leave Bor peacefully”. He further added “I think government is transferring us just to please Gadet which I believe won’t work”. What this General who I don’t want to mention his name told me was later confirmed to me by General Abraham before he headed to Bor with General Ajak on 6/12/13.
On the 16th the fighting intensified in Juba between government forces and rebels. Bor residents felt the heat from the very fact that the whole army in Jonglei state is dominated by one tribe (Nuer); however, there was nothing those in authority nor in the Bor could community possibly do to cool down the situation. There was also no way for civilians to leave Bor, because Juba is the only way out of the country from Bor. The military barracks of Malual Chaat, Panpandiar and Pariak lie on the route to Juba, and two of those barracks were controlled by the mutineering army. About 4pm on the afternoon of the 16th,about 200 metres away from where I was living, one person was shot dead and another one was wounded by Nuer gangs (the police); they were on their motor bike, and both were from Bor county. 
The situation reached the boiling point on the morning of the 17th in Bortown: two brothers who had decided to stay behind to protect their properties in the block where the shooting had occurred on the afternoon of the 16th were found dead. By that time all adjacent blocks had been deserted by people who did not hail from the Nuer community. Both young men were killed in execution style; their gullets had been cut with a knife while their heads had been hacked with a machete.
This killing happened after the authorities and the people of the Bor community had tried everything they could to avert this foreseeable human catastrophe. All of their efforts in the end achieved no tangible result; they were not able to save lives or to calm down the situation.
The killing terrified the whole of the town’spopulation; people began leavingthe town for the bush in panic from 2pm onthe 17th. Some people, including myself and my family, chose to ignore the panic and stay in place. As darkness unfolded, many houses were looted. The exodus continued throughout the night before the actual military mutiny occurred in both of the military barracks of Panpandiar and Malual Chaat, at 12am and 2am respectively on the 18th.
When shooting started at Panpandiar at 12am on the 18th, Brig. General Abraham Jongroor, Captain Madul and retired Sergeant major Garang called me and urged me to leave the area immediately with anybody of our family still in the block. All of these cousins were calling from Juba and were monitoring Bor’s situation from in Juba, because Maj Gen Gadet was well known to be on the edge of rebellion. General Abraham was fourth in command of Division 8 at his recent deployment (Dec. 2013), and Captain Madul was one of the officers in the Panyier military training centre in Bor. It was a sleepless night I tell you. I came out to observe what was happening in the air (bullets were flying).  While I was still outside monitoring the situation, fighting erupted at the Malual Chaat barrack. I could even feel the vibration under my feet.  The time was 2am.
As the situation deteriorated, everyone agreed to leave accept my mother. She became ill from the stress of the situation that she was not expecting.  Her daughter Mary with four children and the three of us (my son, my younger brother and I) had just arrived from Australia. Two brothers with their families had come from a refugee camp in Uganda and a cattle camp in Western Equatoria to meet us. It was a good family reunion; I haven’t seen some of my family members for over 30 years, while my brother had not seen our mum for 26 years (1987 – 2013), let alone the rest of our family members. My brother Machar had spent only 4 days in town, and my son, nephew and I had just been in the town for 3 days restlessly.
Leaving Bortown and Bor area
It was a chaotic scene from 2 am until 11am in all four directions (West to river Nile, North to Athooch, East to Juorkoch& Pale and South to Juorhol) at the outskirts of the town. The exodus of animals (cows, goats, and sheep) and humans from the town was unprecedented, most chaotic seen, what I could possibly compare with it would be May 1991 when we were fleeing Ethiopia. The thought that came to my mind was where they would go after this. It was an incomprehensible situation to me and those who were with me. Children were running without parents, and there was no food or water even if they could camp nearby.  You think only of personal belongs that you are able to pick up on your way out of the house. Many people were totally lost, especially those who had not been in Bor since the 1980s. Foreign nationals were particularly confused (Ethiopians, Kenyans, Ugandans, Somalis, etc.).

At around 6:30 am (18/12/13) before my phone run out of power, Rachel my wife rung from Australia after several failed attempts to get in touch with us. She was in tears and I told her that we are all together except my sister Mary and we are in communication with her. Mary location was the bad one and worries us a lot; she was closer to Malual Chaat military barrack beside town with one younger son and daughter while her three sons were on the other side of Malual Chaat military barrack which were impossible to connect with. We called her to come to us so that we plan escape route together, unfortunately she was holding all passports of other kids. Then she decided to send to us the young son who happened to be with her at the time because it was still safe for him to come to where we were.
In my talk with Rachel what came to my mine was how we can help this helpless people so I told her to inform NGOs especially Red Cross whether in Juba or in Australia to at least inform them about the exodus of population, because I was out of ideas. Then think of how they can supply them with water and food for the day. Thanks to Rachel, she tried many channels which I couldn’t even think of. It was about 2 pm Eastern Australia time (6am East Africa time). Rachel did a fantastic job for us; she registered us with department of foreign affairs and trade (DAFT). 
At 9am my older brother decided to call for a boat from Guolyar on the other side of River Nile; this later became the main route to escape the killing. People from Guolyar responded positively and sent a boat for us and that was the time Majak and his brother Chol joined us because they were in communication with Machar (my younger brother).The boat cost us dearly, according to those who came after us, we were better off. At about 11:45am we boarded the boat and headed for Guolyar, which took us about 3 hours to get to the far shore of the river. On that day many boats followed suit. Guolyar on that very day established itself as a displaced persons camp for the people of Bor.
At Guolyar camp there was no building to accommodate Internal Displaced Persons (IDPs), not even newly born babies (meaning those born between the 15th and 18th of December).  
People had to fight to get a tree to provide them and their family with shade from the heat of the blistering sun (the temperature was in between 30’s and 40’s).You can imagine a population of between 70,000 and 100,000 gathering in an area lacking large trees.
Escaping the fighting was one of the dangers; hunger and disease were the other unescapably threat for the people of Bor in Guolyar. Many children reportedly died within two weeks of arriving in the camp. Diarrhea struck the camp according to a report by a former commissioner of Bor County, and at less 20 children died.
Our escape route was not a safe one at all. We were gambling with our lives because there was no other choice but to seek a way out. My particular sadness was that my son and two nephews had been in South Sudan less than a month, and these were the tragic and all- encompassing memories that they would have of my home country for the rest of their lives.
I am appealing to you all to imagine yourself in the same situation that we and many others endured. Please help the people of South Sudan by donating to any humanitarian organisation whose purpose is to collect donations for the displaced people of South Sudan, especially those who are camping at Guolyar and Awerial, Lakes State.
Their lives is totally chattered, they lost family members and home too.
I wonder if Lou and Gaweer Nuers should again willingly come back to Bor and live side by side with people of Bor in Bortown with that high degree of maiming innocent civilians in 17 days of occupation. What would they come back for! It is up to you to judge how the town will be look like after this unbearable destruction of lives and properties. 
How will Borians differentiate bad ones from good ones? For me there are no good ones. Tell me if you know any good one just a single and I can tell you the reason why I said that. During 1994 Rwanda genocide, moderate Hutus died along side their Tutsi in their home. Don’t tell the army, that is a different story. Did anyone discover a body of Nuer man or a woman dead beside Borian in Bortown? Take a photo and send it to me by email.
 

abraham.jongroor@gmail.com

By George Clooney and John Prendergast
USA TODAY

Renewed warfare creating a new generation of child soldiers. U.S. has a role to play.

The only activity in the hospital compound in Bor, South Sudan, these days is the dozens of vultures circling overhead. In mid-January, rebel forces swept into the Bor hospital, killing everyone that could not escape. Underscoring its crime, the group collected and burned the bodies of its victims. All that remains are bloodstained shoes, charred medicine vials, and overturned wheelchairs. Scorched patches of earth show where people were set on fire. When local residents are asked who was responsible, the answer is always the same: child soldiers of a militia called the White Army.

In the 1980s and 1990s, tens of thousands of boys from the southern part of Sudan were driven from their homes and forced to trek hundreds of miles in search of sanctuary. Many were press-ganged into military service. They crossed two international borders, faced surreal life-threatening challenges, and eventually given asylum by the U.S. government, landing them in places like Phoenix, Atlanta, and D.C. They came to be known as the Lost Boys.

Today, renewed warfare in South Sudan is creating a new generation of Lost Boys. Two and a half years since winning its independence by way of a bloody, decades-long struggle strongly supported by the United States, rebel and government forces with their allied militias are recruiting young boys into their ranks. Merely two months into this new war, and at the direction of their "leaders," these boys have committed numerous atrocities. They have also borne witness to monumental crimes that will only deepen cycles of vengeance and child soldier recruitment.

Since we witnessed South Sudan's 2011 independence referendum, the children of the world's newest country have received no peace dividend. There are few social services provided by the state. In fact, some of the better educational opportunities -- few and far between -- have come from original Lost Boys who left careers in the U.S. to return to their beloved homeland and finance their own schools. One such school we visited was started by Valentino Deng Ajak, the inspiration for the main character of Dave Eggers' novel What is the What.

The state's failure to provide infrastructure, education, or a stable investment climate has meant that young South Sudanese have few opportunities. Especially in the oilfields of the Greater Upper Nile region, where massive wealth from under the soil is exported out of the area with no discernible benefits to the communities, a huge reservoir of uneducated teenage boys has been easy recruiting fodder for rebel commanders and opportunistic politicians who use them to further their own ambitions. The largest concentration of child soldiers is from the loose collection of militias known as the White Army of the oilfield region, where thousands upon thousands of boys and young men from the Nuer ethnic group have been mobilized to join in South Sudan's new rebellion. Local militia recruiters utilize ethnically charged messaging that polarizes the two dominant ethnic groups in the country, the Dinka and Nuer, which will necessitate decades of reconciliation efforts to heal.

Revenge has helped mobilize the child soldiers. During the conflict's first few days, Dinka soldiers of the army's presidential guard deliberately targeted Nuer civilians in Juba, lighting an ethnic match that has now engulfed parts of South Sudan. The United Nations is providing sanctuary for over 43,000 Nuer residents of Juba (over 900,000 have been displaced nationally in the last two months), who tell harrowing stories of being hunted by government soldiers targeting people of their ethnic group. Our Satellite Sentinel Project has captured imagery of subsequent destruction by both government and rebel forces and their militias.

A peace agenda must deal squarely with the burgeoning numbers of new Lost Boys and the broader crisis facing youth. To begin with, youth leaders must be part of a much more inclusive peace process in Addis Ababa. South Sudan and international donors should undertake a major investment in education, livelihood opportunities, demobilization activities, and psycho-social support for boys and girls throughout the country, particularly in areas where militia recruitment has distorted and militarized the aspirations of countless teenage boys. Credible accountability mechanisms need to be constructed to prosecute those that orchestrate atrocities and child soldier recruitment. The U.S. can play a crucial role in the success of these initiatives.

Meaningful future opportunities and an inclusive peace process will reduce recruitment and interrupt the cycle of conflict, child soldierdom, and ethnic division that has plagued this region for decades. The mass killing in the Bor hospital could symbolize another escalation in an expanding atrocity-fueled war, or provide a wake-up call that feuding politicians cannot be allowed to use hope-starved boys so cynically in pursuit of their ambitions. The answer will determine the fate of millions of South Sudanese children.

George Clooney, co-founder of Not On Our Watch, and John Prendergast, co-founder of the Enough Project, together created the Satellite Sentinel Project.

In addition to its own editorials, USA TODAY publishes diverse opinions from outside writers, including our Board of Contributors.