By Manas James Okony
Greater Jonglei communities have had history of peaceful co-existence despite small scaled on and off raids throughout years of the Struggles that gave birth to South Sudan.
Nonetheless, the spirit does not remain the same, as from 2005, following the signing of the comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) that ended the two decades of civil war between the Government of the Sudan and Sudan People’ s Liberation Movement/Army. Attacks and counter-attacks often resurface in unprecedented ways among communities in Greater Jonglei and become part and parcel of culture of these ethnic groups, viz., the Nuer, the Bor Dinka, and the Murle.
The surge in these politically motivated violent conflicts, disguised as ‘mere communal clashes’ are driven by presence of a wide array of weaponry—AK 47 assault rifles, twelve, and mortars, among others, in the hands of disenfranchised youths, who, politicians easily manipulate and use as tools for their selfish gains.
While the civil population in conflict spots continue to live in the created reality of insecurity, human rights abuses, and other calamities, an action should have been, and still should be taken to curb the aforementioned atrocious acts committed by the armed, with impunity.
Suffice to say, the youths, still armed and failed to respond to several disarmament exercises, are somehow correct in so thinking that they want to act in self-defense or retaliate as the government fails to execute its mandatory role of providing security to its citizen.
However, to think that being armed is the only option and solution to frequent tit-for-tat raids, is surely a misguided notion.
To mitigate or even cease the atrocities, it’s worth recommending a comprehensive arm registration and disarmament in Jonglei region and indeed the rest of South Sudan. With participation of representatives of various rival factions, all armaments must be registered and disarmed and a strong neutral force immediately deployed to create buffer in cross border areas.
The sustainability of disarmament exercises, however, would remain a concern as many attempts were seen to have failed in the past, over the use of excessive force, accompanied by commitment of atrocious acts by government troops.
One such instance worth recalling is the 2012 disarmament campaign in Jonglei that degenerated into simmering tensions and confrontations between locals and the government.
Here, however, if disbarment campaigns were to be effective, comes another 800-pound gorilla—the fate of collected firearms. The past experience reveals that collected firearms find their ways back in the hands of civilians. Therefore, it must be ensured that these collected arms don’t return to hands of the youths by putting in place punitive measures to deter powerful generals and politicians.
Lest such weapon registration and disarmament exercise would be marred by resistance as was seen in 2012, a holistic approach including disarming minds of politicians is paramount. What need to be done is to seek the consent of different factions that they will act peacefully in disarmament process. I think, with tensions at its peak among greater Jonglei communities, there is little if any doubt that disarmament will do more good than harms contrary to what lingers in the mind of most influenced youths.
When I penned these words eight years ago, December 2016 was a difficult month. Violence pitting armed youth from Jonglei State against their Murle neighbors had escalated. Dozens were killed and thousands of cattle raided. Today, tensions are building up in Jonglei State and the Greater Pibor Administrative Area (GPAA). A major escalation is imminent. The situation, a decade ago remaining unchecked in 2024, is a testament to government’s reluctance amidst precarious security situation, effectively rendering Jonglei as a neglected crisis.
The author, Manas James Okony, is a South Sudanese journalist.
This piece was originally published on December 28, 2016 on the Facebook page of Jonglei Institute for Peace, Democracy and Development (JIPDD).