STATEMENT BY SUDAN
ON
THE CURRENT
SITUATION IN JONGLEI
STATE
18TH JANUARY 2012
Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives.
Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid. (John 14:27)
The
Church has a mandate from Jesus Christ to bring his peace to the world. It is
indeed not “as the world gives”. Peace as the Church understands it is not
simply the absence of fighting, nor is it an uneasy short-term truce while the
underlying issues remain unresolved. Peace is not maintained by military force,
although all of these may provide a window of opportunity to pursue true peace.
Peace, true peace, the “my peace” of Jesus Christ, is based on the dignity and
equality of every human person made in the image and likeness of God, and
includes love, forgiveness, reconciliation and justice.
The
Church expresses its deep sorrow and regret that violence has broken out in
South Sudan so soon after Independence Independence
In
fulfilment of Christ's mandate, and at the request of the Government of South
Sudan, the Sudan Council of Churches spearheaded a peace initiative between the
Lou Nuer and Murle communities, also involving other communities in Jonglei State
SCC
would like to highlight some of the factors which contributed to the recent
fresh outbreak of violence.
- The Murle community is perceived by most of the
other communities in
- The Lou Nuer youth apparently feel that they are
justified in defending their community against Murle attacks, in the
absence of Government protection and action, but using armed force is
clearly not the way to do this, particularly in the middle of an ongoing
peace process.
- While commending the Government of South Sudan and
UNMISS for the eventual rapid deployment of forces, without which the
human tragedy might have been even greater, nevertheless it has to be said
that the deployment of SPLA was too little and too late. It is the
responsibility of the Government to provide security to all communities of
- The political leadership of both communities proved
to be out of touch with their people, particularly the armed youth, and
were unable significantly to influence events on the ground, nor even to
provide accurate information about the situation.
- The challenge of engaging with the armed youth was
keenly felt. There is a clear disconnect between the youth and both the
traditional and political leaders. The tradition of youth respecting and
listening to their elders has been lost. Without the youth's involvement,
and their sense of ownership of the peace process, any attempt at peace
will fail.
- The conflict has moved far beyond cattle-raiding,
abductions and revenge. The Lou Nuer expressed a deep-rooted hatred of the
Murle. Brutal actions were carried out against non-combatants. Ethnic
hatred was expressed verbally, in graffiti left by the attackers, and on
the internet, and this could be the precursor to larger-scale atrocities.
This dynamic has been growing for some time and is very worrying. It lends
a sense of urgency to peace efforts.
- Extremely young children are being “initiated” into
the hatred and killing, ensuring that it will continue into the next
generation.
- The two communities have moved away from
traditional cattle-raiding practices and are using more sophisticated and
destructive military tactics, with modern weapons and good
organisation, training,
intelligence and communications.
- Other communities in
- Rumours, incitement and inaccurate and
unsubstantiated information have contributed to the conflict. Through the
internet, the Diaspora have played a role.
- Right across
The peace process has not failed,
because peace cannot be allowed to fail. The process will continue. SCC
anticipates that there will now be two tracks.
The first track will be
spearheaded by the Government and political leadership and will be a
higher-level process. It will include the provision of security, humanitarian
relief to affected communities and support to addressing major long-standing
development challenges such as provision of roads to ensure the overall
strategy is a success, all as a means to allow a window of opportunity for the
peace process.
The second track will be
spearheaded by the Church and will be a grassroots peace process, using lessons
learned from the People to People Peace Process (Wunlit), and from Church-led
initiatives in other pastoralist conflicts in East Africa, as well as
reflection on the current situation. In particular it will try to involve the
armed youth, who are a force in their own right, not under the control of
either traditional or modern leadership structures. SCC will identify, train,
equip and support key individuals from within the communities (and particularly
from within the youth) who will act as peace mobilisers. The network formed by
these individuals, not only amongst the Lou Nuer and Murle but also other
communities in Jonglei State, will form the basis for future peace processes.
It is a model which can later be extended to other states.
The Church will seek to liaise
and collaborate with the high-level track, while devoting its own efforts to
the grassroots track.
The Church therefore commits
itself to a long and severe peace process which does not focus primarily on
“fire-fighting”, of dealing with the short-term symptoms of conflict, but
rather on the long-term changing of attitudes and value systems which will
eventually lead to a generation free of armed conflict. This change from a culture
of violence to a culture of peace will involve trauma healing, as well as
dealing with the roots of the conflicts between communities.
There have been many peace
processes, conferences, meetings, etc in Jonglei State Jonglei State
The Church, speaking in its
Prophetic role, makes the following urgent appeals:
To all the communities in Jonglei State
- To cease immediately all armed conflicts, whatever the perceived provocation, and to allow disputes to be resolved by peaceful means.
- To cooperate with the Government, UN and Church to return abductees and cattle.
- To step back from ethnic hatred.
- For the armed youth and its leaders to engage seriously with the Church peace process.
- For the youth and traditional leadership to reconnect, and to re-establish traditional relationships and values for resolving issues.
- Immediately to stop initiating children into the cycle of hatred.
To the Governments of South
Sudan and of Jonglei
State
- To provide adequate security to protect all
citizens and communities in
- To initiate a high level peace process including traditional and political leaders.
- To support all communities affected by conflict with humanitarian assistance equitably and without bias.
- To liaise and collaborate with the Church grassroots peace initiative.
- To provide public works (particularly roads) and to
encourage development in
- To handle disarmament issues sensitively and comprehensively, in a manner and at a time which will promote peace rather than exacerbate conflict, and provide adequate security for those communities which are disarmed.
- To implement a system of law and order in which there is accountability and justice for all.
To the UN, particularly
UNMISS:
- To continue to deploy armed peace-keepers in
- To continue to monitor the situation and provide information in a timely fashion to all stakeholders.
- To continue to support the Government in its responsibility to protect its citizens.
- To continue to support the SCC in its peace process, including logistics.
- To provide humanitarian relief and development in
To the NGOS and donors:
- To continue to support the SCC peace process.
- To provide immediate humanitarian relief in the aftermath of the recent fighting.
- To provide development assistance in
To the business community:
- To enhance communications in
To the Diaspora:
- To cease encouraging and supporting violent
solutions to perceived problems in South Sudan; rather to enlighten your
home communities with the values of law and order which you find in your
adopted homes in
- To refrain from using the armed youth in
To all citizens of the Republic of South Sudan
- Seek and pray for a lasting solution to the
conflict and press all actors to contribute to this.
- Rumours should not be taken at face value until
objective investigations are conducted for each incident. All citizens
must be critical of what they hear and read and also measure what they
say, as each word can help build or destroy the peace.
- South Sudanese must accept accountability for acts
they have committed which violate the rights of others and the laws of the
nation. Justice rather than
impunity must be a foundation for the future.
Do
not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid. (John 14:27)
