Disunity and Tribalism in South Sudan

Disunity among South Sudanese makes outsiders think that South Sudan cannot stand as a nation and needs to remain in a united Sudan,” argues Brian Badi, USSP Deputy Leader. “I want to reiterate that this conclusion is false. South Sudan is capable of standing as a nation, given the right leadership.”
        “The main cause of disunity in South Sudan is tribalism. Tribalism catapults the wrong people to key positions where they mess up things for everybody. Opportunities become restricted to the members of the privileged tribe and their misbehaviour is not checked. That, obviously, causes resentment. Most people and the rest of the tribes begin to feel that the government does not belong to them. To make things worse, the government turns a “blind eye” and does nothing about it. By condoning tribalism, the government is, in fact, encouraging it.”

You may download the entire printable article [PDF] here ...

South Sudan and the Elusive Unity

“Can the badly needed unity among the South
Sudanese be brought about by mere talking?”

asks USSP Secretary–General Dr Justin Ramba


South Sudanese have in many cases complained of lack of unity within their ranks. However, not many have questioned why unity, that magic word, remains ever elusive to South Sudanese. Its achievement has remained one of the greatest challenges to South Sudanese. So, would it not be a wise thing to find out why people tend to live in disunity when it should have been better for them the other way round? It is high time we realised that unity does not just come about as mere human wish. It is one of those things that you actually have to work for as opposed to only talking about it and, may be, hoping one morning to wake up and find the people united. Many have so far used it no different to any of the many empty slogans raised by governments who feel immune to opposition-tabled reforms. Centuries have passed since man recognised the central fact that the unity of the people, in fact, simply lies in the confidence and trust they have amongst themselves. If so, it means that to build unity, we actually need first to build confidence and trust among ourselves before we ever expect to be a united people.

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Signed “action plan” on CPA significant but not enough

After Wednesday’s signing of an “action plan” by partners aimed at ensuring that key elements of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement were fully implemented, BBC’s Network Africa talked with USSP Deputy Leader, Brian Badi, in their London studios, asking him if he thought this action plan was a significant step forward for the CPA.

Mr Badi: “I think it is. It’s a big step because it puts a new impetus into the process. The Sudanese do need some kind of encouragement and I think this encourages them both—the North and the South. And not only that, but from our experience, Khartoum works better under pressure. And if there’s no pressure, they will actually not even implement these things.”

BBC: “So you feel reassured that through the action plan the elements of the CPA will be implemented.”

Mr Badi: “Well, that is not enough, but that is just the beginning. And I think that I would really call upon the international community to keep [up] this pressure. This is step one. Step two is that they must make sure that the people on the ground are able to function, to work well, especially when it comes to the time of elections. They must make sure that there is security for ... the politicians and all the parties that would like to talk freely in elections. Otherwise it’ll just be a farce.”

BBC: “You mention the elections, [and] there’s also the issue of the referendum. Of all the elements in the CPA, are there some that you think won’t be implemented?”

Mr Badi: “Well, the question of the North-South border has not been concluded yet, because we must know where the border of South Sudan is... and then that will help us towards the elections. First of all, you know that the question of census was disputed between the SPLM and the NCP. The South is saying that the eight million [population of South Sudan] is not true, in fact the census were not carried out correctly, so there’s a disagreement over that. Although very recently, the leader of the South Sudan Government was saying well they would maybe accept this. But as far as I’m concerned, if the South is to go [independent], whether there are eight million of us they want to say, or whether there are more than that, all of them saying ... if fifty percent of them say they want their South, they should go.”

BBC: “So a national plan has been signed. What would you like to see now in order to ensure peace in Sudan?”

Mr Badi: “One is security of all the people—of all the people in the South. Just last week one MP, one leader of the NCP in Yambio was assassinated in her own house, a single mum. Now how did that come [about]? It needs to be investigated. And if this is, as most Southerners seem to think that it might be a political assassination, then we wouldn’t want such things to happen during the elections, otherwise the elections will not be fair. And so we would want ... really we are asking the international community, not just the action plan today and they turn their backs and go away, we want them to be standing by, all the time, because otherwise without them things would not go very well.”

Here’s an audio clip from the BBC Network Africa Web site

[© BBC—accessed 2009-08-20]

Security Will Be USSP’s Top Priority

In the wake of insecurity in South Sudan perpetrated by elements such as the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), it is no wonder that “Insecurity has been a major problem in South Sudan since the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA)”, as USSP Deputy Leader, Brian Badi, writes. “Majority of law abiding citizens and civilians are living in fear. Many people get killed, harassed and intimidated by perpetrators who are never brought to justice. That encourages the atrocities to continue. Many people have had their land seized by force, very often, under gun-point. That is not what South Sudanese had expected to happen in their country after the civil war. They had expected to live in a country that would protect them and enable them to go about their lawful businesses without hindrance, a country that would treat them as equal citizens and offer them equal opportunities. This situation naturally alienates most citizens who feel the government does not belong to them. That is not a good feeling for people, who have a right to be in the country, to have. They feel betrayed, although they may not say anything because they are too scared to speak out. This is obviously a gross failure of the system instituted after the civil war.”

The sources of insecurity in South Sudan are clear and may be divided into five categories:

1. LRA (Lord’s Resistance Army) of Uganda
2. Ambororo/Janjaweed—armed Arabs on horseback from the North
3. Armed groups (militia)
4. Individuals possessing illegal weapons and/or firearms
5. Soldiers who take the law into their own hands and use official arms to commit crime because: (a) they do not clearly understand their own national role and obligation to citizens and the civilian population; and (b) they are not paid salaries.

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[Archive] BBC talks to USSP Leader on the LRA attacks

13 Aug 2009 (Yambio)

The notorious Lord’s Resistance Army have repeatedly been attacking areas of Western Equatoria State in South Sudan, bordering the Democratic Republic of Congo and Central African Republic, for the past few weeks. BBC Focus on Africa talked to USSP Leader, Clement Mbugoniwia, on the ground in the state capital Yambio, where he said only last week the LRA attacked and burned vehicles carrying medicines. And yesterday they carried out yet another surprise attack at about 5 p.m. in Ezo, a town only a few kilometres from Yambio, where about 200 of them attacked, burned houses and ransacked the Catholic Church where people had taken refuge. Several people are missing, including fifteen children still unaccounted for. Three people have been reported killed, including two civilians and an LRA soldier. Almost all nearby villagers have been displaced to the town.

Asked about the role of the security forces, why they haven’t managed to contain the situation, Mr Mbugoniwia said the LRA, who happen to target mainly civilians, seem to know much of Western Equatoria and use tactics to avoid the security forces, including Ugandan armed forces present in the area. This afternoon all NGOs, both international and local, have been evacuated. Human tragedy is anticipated, including the lack of food and medicines.

Listen to an audio clip [© BBC—accessed 2009-08-14] from the BBC Focus on Africa Web site.

[Archive] Referendum 2011

RReferendum is contingent on fulfilling conditions laid down by the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA). For example, the demarcation of the North-South border, election of a government in the South and census in the South, to mention, but a few. Everyone knows what happened over the census whose results the SPLM itself has disputed. So, unless those conditions are fulfilled, it will be futile to hope that referendum is going to happen automatically”, writes USSP’s Deputy Leader, Brian Badi.
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[Archive] SRS: “USSP Official Criticizes GOSS Security Policy”

5 August 2009 — (London)

The deputy leader of the United South Sudan Party, Brian Badi, is calling on the Government of Southern Sudan to contain insecurity and prepare southern Sudanese for the next elections and the referendum.

Speaking to Sudan Radio Service by phone from London on Wednesday, Badi described the situation as he saw it in southern Sudan.

[Brian Badi]: “As far as security is concerned, I think I would categorize the causes of insecurity in southern Sudan into five categories, A, is the LRA, the Ugandan rebels. B, is the Ambororo, the Janjaweed or people on horseback who come from the north. C, is the armed groups or militias in the south. D, I would say are the individuals possessing illegal arms or weapons, individuals roaming about in southern Sudan with illegal weapon[s] in their hands. E, is the soldiers who take the law into their own hands and use their guns to commit crimes. Because, one, they misunderstand their own national role and their obligation to the citizens and the civil population. Two, because they are not paid salaries and of course if you don’t pay people salaries, you don’t give them their dues, how do you expect them to live and how do [you] expect their families to survive? These make them take the law into their own hands and of course they go about robbing people in the villages, looting and raping etc.”

Badi said the Government of Southern Sudan should start asking itself what it has achieved in the last four years.

[Brian Badi]: “The Government of Southern Sudan has been in power for four years, four years is a long period. It is actually the full length of the government and if a government has not performed in four years then it can ask itself—or the citizens have a right to ask—what have they been doing? They have always been giving lame excuses that South Sudan has just come out of war. The war ended a long, long time ago and they have been in power for four years. That is a long enough period for them to have made substantial improvements.”

That was the deputy leader for the United South Sudan Party, Brian Badi, speaking to Sudan Radio Service in London on Wednesday.

Source:
http://www.sudanradio.org/viewArticle.php?id=2603 [accessed 2009-08-06]
Sudan Radio Service
PO BOX 4392-00100
Nairobi Kenya

[Archive] BBC Interviews USSP Deputy Leader on Violence in Akobo

Date: 04 Aug 2009

In the wake of the latest violence between the Murle and Luo Nuer ethnic groups in the Akobo area of South Sudan where at least 185 lives were lost, and given that Sudan is only months away from general elections and a referendum in 2011, BBC Network Africa asked USSP’s Deputy Leader Brian Badi in their London studios what this instability meant and whether he was surprised by the latest violence.

Mr Badi responded that one of the reasons for the violence was that arms were recklessly left “awash” in the land in the hands of unauthorised people, and uncollected by the authorities. (It’s unfortunate to note that there seem to be indications that these groups carrying illegal arms are apparently being heavily armed by elements within the same system that is supposed to disarm and protect them in the first place!)

The other reason was that some people felt that they were unfairly treated by the injustice inherent in the present “system“—i.e. both the Government of Southern Sudan and the Government of National Unity. Security in the South, in particular, hasn’t been taken seriously by the GOSS. There are groups that keep illegal arms and readily take the law into their own hands by victimising others.

Asked what he believed was the way forward, Mr Badi said what was needed was a very strong and fair government in the South—a government of the people by the people; a caring government that treats all South Sudanese as equals without preference.

Listen to an MP3 audio clip of the USSP portion of the interview.

You may also listen to the entire audio on the BBC’s Web site here [© BBC—accessed 2009-08-04], or BBC Network Africa.