In response to an article written by Jwothab Wanh Othow, a valiant Southern Sudanese living in the USA, I would like to tell the world including Othow who seemed to have been overtaken by emotion according to his presentation that he is actually right as dictated by literal information he had gotten back home. Yes, atrocities are being done on the peaceful Shilluk community by elements of SPLA soldiers under the pretext of disarmament but Othow needs to know that disarmament is a national project which deserves full execution by all means to pave way for development.
Remember underdevelopment was one of the reasons why Southerners opted for death.
Mr. Othow, be rest assured that Padang Dinka and Shilluk in Southern Sudan lived and shared a cordial relationship more than any other communities in Southern Sudan, something which is older than contemporary history itself, and if there is anyone closer to either Shilluk or Padang Dinka, it is the two communities. Padang Dinka is closer to Shilluk than other Dinka communities in the South, likewise Shilluk.
What is happening in between Padang Dinka and Shilluk today never is an isolated event but part of policies of SPLM/A, though the perpetrators involved in these crimes are seen as Padang Dinka elements within SPLM. SPLA never uses the arms search in the Shilluk Kingdom as a pretext to humiliate the Shilluk people as you have described it.
Well, somewhat you can be seen as right especially if the reader is unfamiliar with the whole saga but reality of matter is that your ideas are deeply swayed by emotions and partisanship.
I agree with you that crimes committed in Shilluk homestead and areas adjacent to indeed amount to gross violation of basic fundamental human rights, punishable by law if justice is to rival consistently with peace but what do we do as people aggressed by this unfortunate calculation?
We need to substitute tribal attires with national dresses so that a unanimous solution is found.
“Evidently President Salva Kiir has proven to be tribalist leader who is only concerned with Dinka domination of other tribes in South Sudan,” holding you accountable by your own words are quoted above, indeed Salva Kiir is a Dinka by birth but where did you expect him to have come from apart from being from a certain tribe in the South.
Well, you talked of his behaviors as a Dinka instead of a national leader but I think Mr. Kiir is fair this way because he has marginalized the Padang Dinka more than even Shilluk, so where you got those powerful Padang Dinka elements in the SPLA or if not SPLM to capitalize on division within Chollo remains unknown.
You are right here that those who labeled Chollo as SPLM-DC are wronged likewise those who labeled Salva Kiir as Dinka president are because is a member of the Dinka community to favor them.
If Salva Kiir was to make this government for Dinka as a whole, we would have shouldered the blames as Dinkas collectively.
The writer borders Chollo in the west and I doubt if there is anything wrong in between Panaruu and Shilluk apart from circumstances of normal neighborhoods even within Shilluk alone they exist. So Salva Kiir can’t be behind Padang Dinka to occupy Shilluk lands when we ourselves are suspect within the leadership of the SPLM because of Georg Athor Deng who felt unconvinced by the results of the election in Jonglei.
Young men are languishing in between their houses and bush in Parieng trying to escape arrest because of that unfortunate Jongeli incident.
For the case where you talked of Salva being misguided as quoted above “He, President Kiir, has allowed himself to be misguided by opportunists people like Luka Biong, Deng Alor, and Gier Chuang Aluong, just to name a few”.
Indeed, it is what we are saying, he is not only being misguided to destroy Shilluk but to destroy our political set of Padang Dinka as a community. Sincerely speaking they are for themselves not for Padang, so it would be upon us the aggressed to find means of resuming usual normalcy.
Six years ago before his death, the Padang Dinka wrote a letter to the late Dr. John Garang claiming ownership of Malakal town and many Shilluk areas as their place. Late Dr. John Garang rejected their request because it is known and well documented that those places belong to the Shilluk people.
While reacting to your above sentences, yes there were elements from East Ngok Dinka of rural Baliet Council who wrote to Dr. Garang. I like to tell you that those didn’t write as Padang Dinka members but people with the named locality in italic sharing having border dispute with you.
Remember that Padang Dinka runs from Abyei, Parieng, and Biemnom in Unity state up to Renk and Melut and rest, and the said letter was written by only one section without consulting the rest knowing that those not informed don’t have involvement.
Please learn to give Caesar what is his and God what belongs to him. So call those the East Ngok Dinka to exclude me. Besides that East Dinka was wronged because Dr. John Garang was never chairman of the Land Commission but SPLM hence, he could not annex somebody's property (Malakal) to others using his powers likewise Salva is not in charge of the Lands Commission to do the same.
The only body entrusted with such is the border committees who normally use historical evidence with the help of experts to pass such a crucial judgment, so Late Dr. Garang was also wrong if he had ruled out Malakal as for Chollo without following due procedures.
“The idea to take Shilluk land is to unify all these Padang Dinka sections into one Padang Dinka state which extends from Abyei to Renk as compensation for the loss of their dream home in Southern Kordofan.”
But one thing Padang Dinka should know is that Shilluk would rather have Padang Dinka take their ancestral land on their dead bodies, Said Dr. Adwok Nyaba.
Dr. Nyaba who is a renowned professor might have overstepped his professorship duties by writing like any other ordinary obsessed Chollo in the village, so those writings never deserved quote because there is nothing wise about it, however, Dr. Nyaba remains respected for his personal abilities that have benefitted Southerners.
Or for the case of the Shilluk Kingdom as the only survived amongst other kingdoms that were in the Sudan, isn’t much problem because those extinct Kingdoms were not destroyed by Dinka or Padang Dinka nor did Dinka or Padang Dinka ever had one before but the fact is that the Chollo Kingdom survived in awkward circumstances.
It is a historical fact that Shilluk made it survive yes. It is never a source to threaten those never gifted and privileged by nature to have such a political setup.
Besides those, all your writing is good however; much is still needed to incorporate your ideas into national healing, and cohesion through distance should either be a misleading factor which diluted your writing. Otherwise, those that you articulated are of national concern. If I had ever known you before, I would have told you what I normally tell those whom I know.
No comments:
Post a Comment