Nuer White Army Calls Upon AU and UNMISS To Mediate Peace With South Sudan Government
For Immediate Release Nuer White Army, Jonglei, South Sudan Date: 31/12/'12 The Nuer Youth leadership is appealing to African Union (AU) and UNMISS to set up a committee that would mediate peace between President Salva Kiir's regime and the Nuer Youth under the command of Bor Doang and Prophet Dak Kueth. Since the SPLA launched disarmament campaigned last March, the relationship between the Nuer Youth under the command of Bor Doang and the regime in Juba has been characterized by bloody clashes and mistrust. The Nuer Youth clashed with the SPLA many times because the policy of disarmament was a unilateral action which didn't take into account the demands of the Nuer community for safety and protection. The concerns raised by Nuer Youth during the commencement of disarmament in Jonglei state are well-founded and are based on experience and the failures of the government to protect the communities disarmed in the past. In 2006, the SPLA conducted disarmament in Lou Nuer hoping to end insecurity, gun violence and crimes. However, the disarmament in the past didn't bring about peace because it failed to address the biggest cause of insecurity in Jonglei state, that is, cattle rustling among the tribal communities in the state. After Lou Nuer were disarmed in 2006, more people were killed by cattle rustlers afterwards more than before the time of disarmament because Murle cattle rustlers exploited the situation. Reliable organizations like International Crisis Group noted that 2006 disarmament did not bring about peace. It however exposed Lou Nuer to more insecurity and deaths. Based upon the statistics of massacres after the misguided disarmament of 2006, the concerns raised by Lou Nuer regarding disarmament in March this year cannot be dismissed by a responsible government without providing alternatives. Unfortunately, the regime of Salva Kiir was carried by emotions as a result of Nuer Youth reaction to the massacre of six hundred women and children in Uror County in August, 2011. When Nuer Youth under the command Bor Doang invaded Murleland to disarm the cattle rustlers who massacred the Nuer, the decision was taken as a result of the failure of the government in Juba to protect Lou Nuer from repeated Murle attacks after they were forcefully disarmed in 2006 without safeguards. The Nuer community repeatedly appealed to the government to deploy the SPLA forces to protect the disarmed communities in 2006 but to no avail. After the Nuer Youth decided to protect their communities after Uror massacre by taking the war to cattle rustlers, the regime in Juba reacted negatively by blaming the Nuer who were victims of repeated massacres. It was clear to us that the SPLA forces deployed in March in the name of disarmament were instructed to fight the Nuer Youth. There was no doubt in the minds of the Nuer community that the disarmament policy came about as a result of panic expressed by Governor Kuol Manyang, who harbors hidden agenda to see more insecurity and massacres in Nuerland. It was Kuol who armed the Murle Youth in June, 2011 in the name of fighting George Athor's rebels. The same weapons he distributed to Murle Youth were used to massacre the Nuer in Uror County. It is the belief of Nuer community that the policy that could bring peace in Jonglei state cannot be a unilateral action by a rogue governor who has hidden agenda. Disarmament must be a multi-lateral effort of all communities in conjunction with the government and the UNMISS. Any disarmament which doesn't take into account the failures of 2006 disarmament is poised to fail miserably. We have now witnessed that 2012 disarmament has failed to protect Dinka and Nuer communties from cattle rustling. Despite the disarmament carried out by the SPLA in Murleland, Murle cattle rustlers, who ran away to Ethiopia during disarmament campaign, have now come back to pose insecurity to Dinka and Nuer villages. Besides, Murle Youth have been rearmed by David Yau Yau and can attack any village in Jonglei without meeting any resistance because the SPLA forces are not stationed in every village of the state. It is in fact a tragedy that the regime of Salva Kiir could embark on disarming communities in Jonglei without convincing them how to protect their cattle from cattle rustlers. Salva Kiir has a duty to take into account the failure of 2006 disarmament which occured because the SPLA didn't have any plan to protect the disarmed communities after the disarmament. The primary concern of any human being in the world is security. No human would accept to be disarmed if it would lead to more insecurity and the loss of lives. In Jonglei, cattle is everything to the Nuer, Dinka and Murle and the owners cannot be disarmed without concrete plans to protect their cattle from outsiders. After the massacre of 2011 in Uror County, the Nuer Youth are convinced, based upon 2006 experience, that any disarmament which doesn't take the statistics into account would only expose Nuer community to more massacres. If the government in Juba is run by reasonable people, they would substantially agree with Nuer Youth because the misguided disarmament of 2006 did not bring peace but more deaths and insecurity. The position of Nuer Youth under the command of Bor Doang and spiritual leader Dak Kueth is that the AU and the UN must sponsor a peace conference in Addis Ababa to mediate a permanent peace with the regime in Juba that would address the concerns raised by the Nuer and Dinka communities. The Nuer youth are not against peace per se but are for peace that would adress the fundamental problem of Jonglei which is the failure of Kiir's regime to completely protect communties from criminals who evaded disarmament. The experience of 2006 disarmament consolidates the position of the Nuer Youth that a meaningful disarmament must ensure complete protection of the communities. It is our advice that the AU and the UNMISS must sponsor a peace conference in Addis Ababa between Nuer Youth commanded by Bor Doang and the regime in Juba. On December, 15, 2012, Bor Doang and Dak Kueth accepted to meet with the delegation of Kiir's government to discuss the modalities for peace. The Nuer Youth accepted the invitation thinking that the government was genuinely expressing the desire for peace. However, it became abundantly clear that the government was not interested to talk to Nuer Youth when SPLA forces laid ambush to assassinate the delegation of youth led by Bor Doang and Dak Kueth on December, 17, 2012 at the very location the two sides agreed to meet to discuss peace. After failing to achieve their objective, the SPLA army attacked the Nuer Youth on December, 18, 2012 and burned down several villages and killed dozens of women, children and elderly. As a result of the attempt to assassinate the Nuer Youth leaders, the leadership of the White Army is convinced that bilateral peace with the government in Juba is a waste of time. We therefore demand a peace process mediated by the AU and the UNMISS in a neutral location. Due to mistrust between the Nuer Youth and the regime in Juba, the intervention of the UN and AU to mediate peace is the only peace process that would achieve a genuine peace in Jonglei because such a process would culminate into a peace treaty that would address the failures of 2006 disarmament and the current failures of the SPLA to protect communities disarmed from Murle cattle rustlers who evaded disarmament this year. Signed by, 1. Bor Doang, Commander of Nuer Youth 2. Prophet Dak Kueth, Nuer spiritual leader For contact: Mr. Tut Deang Information Secretary Nuer White Army Akobo, Jonglei Email: [email protected] -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "South Sudan Info - The Kob" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
