I welcome you to South Sudan on behalf of the downtrodden South Sudanese, and I hope that our country will change its current trajectory following your coming. We expect that your coming will be a blessing to our country, and it is our hope as South Sudanese that the respect that you are being accorded by the South Sudanese leaders will change their minds and rejuvenate the spirit of peace in our country.
I am writing this statement to voice the serious concern that we have over the ongoing peace negotiations in Rome regarding South Sudan. Even while we are thankful for the efforts that the Sant’Egidio Community has made in order to facilitate the discussions, we are worried that the process may be confined to a small number of leaders and may not be genuinely reflective of the varied views that exist throughout our country.
To be more specific, I am referring to Pa’gan Amum, General Thomas Cirillo, and General Paul Malong’s participation in the peace negotiations. They have gained control of the table, and other South Sudanese have been excluded. While Pa’gan and Thomas are advancing a tribal agenda and battling repressively out of hatred for other South Sudanese communities in the name of their respective nuclear clans, the Shilluk and the Bari, respectively, General Paul Malong is a conformist for the sake of his political survival.
The signs suggestive of tribal hatred are apparent in their camps, as seen in the tribally homogenous political organisations they are leading. All their actions are typical precipitants of tribal hatred. I can say without fear that the Rome Process has been rendered trivial because those that occupy the central stage are tribally inclined and the agenda has shifted from national to communal. You know that tribal hatred can manifest in various ways, including through discriminatory attitudes, acts of violence, and political conflict based on ethnic or cultural differences. To recognize tribal hatred, one may observe signs of prejudice, hostility, or exclusion based on a person’s tribe or ethnicity. This has dominated Rome as Bari’s hatred for others remains a priority.
The people in question cannot provide any political solutions beyond rhetoric because their sentiments are either tribal or personal. Like the government of South Sudan, they are more interested in the gains of persistent guerilla warfare as they stage war and then mine gold for self-enrichment, and they are all in foreign countries leading a lavish life. Their statements and actions do not benefit any citizens, including those that they claim to be their constituencies. They promote hatred in the name of politics against certain tribes, like the Dinka and the Nuer, and those tribes are about to lose their patience, which would be a terrible thing. Watch how cows were being shot dead by tribally charged youth on the instruction of the said leaders. Don’t cows like other animals have rights? Any killer of a cow is like a bank robber.
Even though these people may have held important positions in our country, their objectives have always been driven by tribalism, and they do little to solve the genuine problems that face our society. This one-sided approach to negotiating peace runs the risk of rekindling the old wars that have plagued our nation for far too long.
I sincerely request that you make use of your influence to persuade the Sant’Egidio Community to expand the scope of the peace discussions so as to include a larger variety of views and viewpoints on the topic. This includes representatives from other political groups in opposition, civil society, women’s groups, and youth organizations.
These listed segments of society can bring a new perspective to the table and help ensure that the peace process is truly representative of the needs and aspirations of all South Sudanese. Lies that opposition parties are under one umbrella and are rooting for South Sudanese are defective. The three individuals mentioned above were involved in the 2013 conflict; they had engaged in widespread corruption in the country and were never cleaner than their SPLM counterparts. With their talk about how bad the Roundtable Conference is, they are making an already bad situation in the country even worse. Therefore, they must be rebuked with words, actions, and spiritually.
Your Holiness, Pope Francis, Most Reverend Justin Welby, the Archbishop of Canterbury, and Rt. Rev. Dr. Iain Greenshields, the South Sudanese have faith that the peace process in South Sudan may be steered in the direction of a conclusion that is more inclusive and representative with your presence and leadership there. Your message of peace and reconciliation has the potential to motivate all parties involved to put their disagreements aside and collaborate on achieving our nation’s shared objective of peace and stability.
In conclusion, I implore you to utilize your authority to ensure that the peace negotiations in Rome are really reflective of the different perspectives in South Sudan and that they address the core causes of the war in an all-encompassing way. I am pleading with you to do this. Let the charade not continue.
I pray that the Lord blesses you and protects you constantly.
Sincerely,
Mr. Fidel Deng
On behalf of affected citizens of South Sudan
Spokesperson SSUF-P
