South Sudanese people: We’re not There Yet!

“ Get up, Stand up, Stand up for your rights, Get up, Stand up, Don’t give up the fight.” – Legendary Bob Marley.

By: Luk Kuth Dak

There is an old American saying: “ If you don’t like the weather, just wait; it will change.”

The same can be said about the tumultuous and malicious mannerism in which the government of Sudan, under the leadership of the National Congress Party (NCP) dishonors peace agreements and changes its mind, over and over again, particularly on matters of utmost importance to the unity of the country, or a peaceful co-existence between South and North.

Evidently, there are some of within South Sudan, who might be thinking, well, it’s only a matter of five months away for the conduction of the referendum and the subsequent secession from what seemed to be like a perpetual Northerners’ domination.

Unfortunately, that’s not exactly the case here. The hard truth is, we have not seen the end of South’s anguish, suffering and sacrifice. As it appears of late, it seems as though everything and everything that crosses the lips of elites of the NCP/NIF, illustrates clearly that we are not anywhere closer into getting out of the woods yet, especially as far as the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) and the referendum are concerned.

Most bluntly, at any time now, anything and everything can happen, and we shouldn’t be caught by surprise either in case the brutal regime of the fugitive Omer Al Basher turns the tables upside down to assassinate the CPA all at once.

Subsequently, Southern Sudanese shouldn’t expect anything less than “ Cats and dogs” fights with the NCP in the remaining moths to come. But don’t take it from me. All you really need to do is listen to the most provocative and most outrageous statements being disgorged by the NCP’s most influential bigots and haters of the South, and you will find out for yourself that the CPA, and yes the referendum, are standing on a broken leg, to say the least.

The well-orchestrated campaign kicked off last week with the former security chief, Salah Abdullah (Gush) quoted as saying: “ Without  the completion of the border demarcation, there will be no referendum.” “ The Abyie border ruling was unfair and unjust, because it didn’t solve the problem, therefore it must be repealed.”

Now, the question everybody is asking is, who- in the first place- was/is the impediment of the border demarcation for the past five years? The answer, of course, was and still is  Al Basher’s regime, and everybody in Sudan and indeed around the world knows that for a fact.

The NCP saga continues with the lowest blow yet to be dealt, ironically, by the man who is actually charged with the task of convincing the Southerners with the so-called “ Attractive unity,”  Ustaz Ali Osman Muhammad Taha, the Sudan’s Vice President: “ The South Sudan independence will cause conflicts and disintegration, not only in the Sudan, but in the whole of Africa.”

But that was not all. “The South- North separation cannot be allowed under any circumstances,” said the former oil revenues’ monster, industry minister and one of the closest allies to Al Basher and Taha, Dr. Award Ahmed Al Jazz.

Now, if that aggression is not a declaration of war, I don’t know what it is.

That being said, the question that imposes itself is, could those simultaneous statements be treated simply as some coincidences with announcement made by Lt. Gen. Salva Kiir Mayardit, the President of the Government of South Sudan (GOSS), in which he ruled out any declaration of a unilateral independence of South Sudan?

 You be the judge.

Surely, never have I ever felt more flabbergasted and disgusted towards those NCP’s Southern accomplices, who actually still believe in something called “ The unity of Sudan”  even as the aggression intensifies. But I can only say that am grateful, really, to have had abandoned the notion well before this craziness started. Thanks, in most cases, to the journalistic senses in me that allowed me- soon enough- to be able to detect these unfortunate unfolding events we are faced with today.

Having said that, if you carefully look at the big picture of the relations between South-North Sudan, it will become extremely clear to you that the NCP’s bullies are going to do exactly what they ever wanted to do, how they wanted to do it, and when they wanted to do it, of course, without regards to our feelings or those of their partners in the SPLM.

And so, the citizens of South Sudan, must do what they ever wanted to do for their best interest, and that is to fight and fight for their rights to the very end. After all, as Bob Marley puts it best: “ Freedom is taken, not given.

But if there are some Southerners ( like Dr. Toby Madut, Dr. Lam Akol, Pharmacist Reik Gai Kok, Purported Professor David De Chand, Mr. Ali Tamim Fartak and Professor Moses Macher, among others), who are willing to be slaves for the rest of their lives, then they might as well remain in the North. But our only request is, if they don’t have respect for themselves, they should- at least- have some respect for the over two million Southerners who perished at the hands of their “ god,” the NCP/NIF.

Finally, we must all commend our citizens, for their unconditional support to their sons and daughters in the SPLA. Because of their support, the SPLA is now the mighty force that everyone must think twice to face, especially the NCP/NIF demoralized army.

The author is a Sudanese Journalist and a former anchorman at Juba Radio. He can be reached at: [email protected].