Monday, 09 July 2012

Written by The New Nation reporter

The conflict between the north and the south erupted one year before Sudan gained its independence in 1955.

The root causes which propelled the war included economic and political marginalisation of southerners, disputes over natural resources and the role of religion.

The first civil war ended with the signing of the Addis Ababa agreement in 1972, giving the South a degree of autonomy to manage its own affairs.

However, the Addis Ababa agreement collapsed in 1983 over plans by Khartoum to re-divide the south and reintroduce Sharia.

The south was also concerned about plans to construct a canal and oil pipelines leading to the north, as well as a refinery in the north, which it perceived as ways of taking away its natural resources – oil and water.

The immediate cause of the second civil war was a munity by southern soldiers in Bor who resisted being rotated to posts in the north.

John Garang, an officer in the Sudanese army, was sent there to control the situation. Instead, he joined the rebels and formed the Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA).

The second civil was different from the first in many ways. It was much more deadly, it had a greater impact on the civilian population and it engulfed a much larger territory.

Over two million people are estimated to have died in the second civil war, four million were internally displaced and 600,000 fled to neighbouring countries.

Hundred of thousands died of starvation as a result of constant aerial bombardments by the Sudanese army, forcing people to flee and disrupting food production.

Thousands also died in fighting among southerners. This was a result of Khartoum’s divide and rule policy, whereby the govenment armed southern tribes and militias to fight neighbouring tribes and the SPLA.

A major setback for the SPLA was the 1991 fall of the Mengistu regime in Ethiopia, which had been the support base of the rebels.

A second blow was an attempt by some commanders, led by Riek Machar and Lam Akol, to stage a coup within the movement, accusing Garang of dictatorial tendencies and human rights abuses.

It later appeared that the coup leaders collaborated with the Khartoum government.

The split took a tribal dimension – the Nuer against the Dinka – and led to the Bor massacre on November 15, 1991 in which an estimated 2,000 civilians were killed and several thousand more wounded.

One of those who joined the so-called Nasir faction later described the action to oust Garang a ‘disaster’.

“I took an active part in propagating the ideas that precipitated the coup until the hidden agenda of the Nasir leaders and their collaboration with the NIF regime became known,” wrote Peter Adwok Nyaba in his book ‘The Politics of Liberation in South Sudan’.

“It then became impossible to continue supporting it. It was difficult to believe that the noble slogans raised, which captured the imagination of so many Southern Sudanese, had a treacherous content.”

It took the SPLA many years to recover. Peace talks started in 2002 and lasted for three years. The SPLA and the government eventually signed the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) on January 9, 2005 in Nairobi.

The CPA provided for the right of self-determination for the south through a referendum after a six-year interim-period.

It also determined a formula for sharing oil revenues and provided for three armies, the SPLA, SAF and the Joint Integrated Units, in the interim-period.

Six months later, Garang was sworn in as vice-president of Sudan, following a ceremony in which he and Bashir signed a power-sharing constitution.

Garang’s tragic death in a helicopter crash on July 30, only three weeks after he was sworn in, was yet another blow for the southern liberation struggle.

The CPA risked to collapse at several occasions during the interim-period. in October 2007, the SPLM withdrew from the government of national unity, accusing the ruling National Congress Party of violating the terms of the CPA.

In particular, it accused the NCP of failing to withdraw over 15,000 troops from southern oilfields and to implement the Protocol on Abyei.

It rejoined the government two months later after a timetable was agreed for the withdrawal of the troops and funding was secured for a southern census, which was vital for the referendum.

Implementation of the CPA was further threatened by lack of transparency over oil revenues, of which the south was to receive a share, and delays in preparations for the referendum.

The referendum commission was only nominated in June 2010 and voter registration only kicked off in mid-November, two months before the actual referendum.

Salva Kiir warned that delaying the referendum would risk a “return to violence on a massive scale”. He announced that the south was prepared to declare independence through a referendum of its own if the vote did not go ahead as scheduled.

In response, Sudan’s president Omar al-Bashir warned of a “more dangerous war” if outstanding issues such as demarcating the border, sharing oil revenue and the waters of the Nile were not resolved before the vote.

He also said the vote would be invalidated because some leading southern politicians were campaigning for secession, noting that the CPA required all sides to make unity an attractive option for voters.

Meanwhile, vital negotiations on border demarcation and the issue of the contested oil-rich Abyei region stalled.

A referendum on Abyei was supposed to be held simultaneously with the main southern referendum, but the two sides failed to agree on who was eligible to vote.

The area is home to the Ngok Dinka who see themselves as southerners. But Khartoum insisted that the Misseriya, semi-nomadic Arabs who graze their cattle in Abyei during the dry season, should also be entitled to vote.

The SPLM accused the Khartoum government of holding Abyei ‘hostage’ and offered a ‘ransom’ in terms of guaranteeing the Misseriya grazing rights and access to water resources, as well as giving the north a percentage of the oil extracted from Abyei. This, however, was rejected.

Under intense international pressure, the referendum eventually kicked off on January 9, 2011 but only in the south, not in Abyei.

The US had offered Sudan huge incentives if the vote was held peacefully and the results were upheld. These included agricultural investments, the normalisation of relations and dropping Sudan from its list of state sponsors of terrorism.

Almost 99% voted for secession. US president Barack Obama called the referendum an “inspiration to the world” and the UN envoy for Sudan lauded it as a “historic milestone”.

Monday, 09 July 2012

Written by Benjamin Majok Mon

RUMBEK – “I am hopping on crutches with happiness because we are enjoying freedom as South Sudanese people,” says Martin Malual-Buthokleec, a former SPLA soldier from Rumbek who got wounded in the liberation struggle.

The war wounded, whose leg was blown off by a machine gun in Torit, is even more proud that his home town, Rumbek, played a crucial role in the struggle.

“Our people were brave and loyal. Our soldiers never turned against the SPLA. Rumbek Secondary School groomed John Garang and many current leaders,” he says.

“This school, established by the British, has given our leaders a feeling of nationalism and motivated them to fight for the liberation of South Sudan.”

Rumbek town fell in the hands of the SPLA on May 1, 1997. Shortly afterwards, the SPLA organised a congress at Pacong Payam Forest, where it organised its ranks and forces to defeat the Sudan government.

“This was when Dr. Garang declared Rumbek the SPLA’s political headquarters, where its administration was based and its operations were planned. It is also where later the peace negotiations were discussed.”

Malual-Buthokleec is convinced that without the contribution of Rumbek’s people and leaders, Independence would not have been achieved.

“If the people of Lakes state had participated in the rebellion against the SPLA in 1991, our Independence would not have been achieved,” he says.

“In 2004, during the rift between Garang and his deputy, Salva Kiir, it was the people of Rumbek who persuaded both to reconcile and re-unite.”

A reconciliation conference between Garang and Salva Kiir was organised in Rumbek, after which the Comprehensive Peace Agreement was signed.

Up to today, Rumbek continues to play the role of mediator and peacemaker, says Malual-Buthokleec.

“There was another rift within the SPLM leadership in 2008. The SPLM National Convention to iron out the tribal differences, called by 68 members, was an initiative of the Rumbek people,” he says.

As the country celebrates one year Independence, he calls upon the nation to remember the millions who sacrificed their lives for this.

In Rumbek alone, over 8,000 SPLA soldiers and officers perished in the struggle while over 2,700 got wounded, according to Malual-Buthokleec.

“We were not paid to fight. It was about nationalism. We were ready to sacrifice our lives for other generations to be free from oppression,” he says.

The war wounded will proudly participate in the Independence celebrations on Monday.

“We are marching now on one leg but we are happy that we brought peace and stability for the people of South Sudan,” he says.

Monday, 09 July 2012

Written by Oscas Gama

TORIT: “Thank God for having liberated us from oppression. South Sudanese were slaves but God has answered the prayers of our people.”

This is how retired bishop Paride Taban commented on the independence of South Sudan one year ago.

Nobody is better placed to talk about the role of the Church in the liberation struggle than the Catholic Diocese of Torit. He was in the frontline.

“BBC was asking me: “Are you with the SPLA?” But I answered them: “They are with me,” Paride said.

The retired bishop said the Church served as a mother while the SPLA was the son and the daughter. “The Church looked at them (soldiers) as their children.”

The role of the Church has not been understood by many, he noted. “Everyone in this world, including soldiers, is a son of God.”

Although priests did not carry weapons, they contributed to the struggle in their own way, he explained.

“The Church did not have guns but we lobbied for humanitarian assistance from partners in Europe, US and other international friends. We also prayed for peace in Sudan,” he said.

Many people from outside listened to the voice of the Church because the SPLA did not kill prisoners of war, the bishop said.

Now that independence has been achieved, the Church should advocate for both Sudans to commit to peace and never go back to war, he appealed.

“Nimeiri said in 1967 that nobody can succeed in the war with southerners and he asked for peace as the only option” the bishop recollects.

Nimeiri, who ruled Sudan from 1969 to 1985, realised that the war with the south could not be won and opened negotiations, leading to the 1972 Addis Ababa Agreement which gave the south autonomy. 

Bishop Taban said that although the war is over, the Church is still under attack from fundamentalists. He gave an example of Khartoum, where churches and Christians were targeted.

He, however, stressed that the war between the north and the south was not a religious war.

“The war was not really religious. Otherwise they would have spared the lives of southern muslims,” he noted.

There is need for the Government to build capacity and state structures, the bishop advised.

“We are in a modern world and in this modernity we cannot live in the way our ancestors lived,” he said.

He acknowledged the infrastructural developments achieved during one year of independence.

“Torit town today is not Torit before independence. You can take a look and acknowledge the little developments that have taken place, such as the road Juba -Nimule.”

Bishop Taban cautioned the South Sudanese against greed, saying it is destructive to a young nation.

“In religion we look at ourselves as suffering people. But if we are greedy, the world will not be enough for us,” he said.

On the churches that were destroyed during the war, the retired bishop said no one needs to tell the Government to rebuild them since the very people occupying government offices are Christians.

About his own role in the struggle that led to South Sudan’s independence, the bishop simply said: “I am just a servant of God.”

Monday, 09 July 2012

Written by Emmanuel Data, Pascal Ladu, Anthony Kamba, John Actually and Benjamin Majok

Juba/Wau/Bor/Rumbek - As South Sudan marks its first anniversary, there is little to celebrate in the country’s five public universities. They have been dogged by a litany of problems, leading to the closure of part or whole campuses.

These include lack of lecture rooms, staff houses, student hostels, laboratories, libraries, recreational facilities, manpower - both teaching and non-teaching staff, language barrier and tribalism.

There are five public universities in South Sudan. The oldest ones are the University of Juba, Upper Nile University and the Universtity of Bahr el Ghazal. They were established during the civil war.

Two others, the University of Rumbek and Dr. John Garang Memorial University of Science and Technology in Bor, were established after the signing of the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement.

The oldest and biggest of them all, the University of Juba, is closed since late March because of tribal clashes among students.

The University of Bahr el Ghazal and the Upper Nile University have had their colleges of medicine, health and veterinary sciences closed since early this year due to lack of lecturers.

All has not been well from the onset for the three older universities. The problems started when they were to relocate to the South just before Independence.

They had been moved to Khartoum during the civil war, where they were operating in rented premises and pre-fab structures.

Their relocation delayed. Staff and students were reluctant to move to South Sudan due to lack of facilities.

The facilities in the University of Juba, Upper Nile University and the University of Bahr el Ghazal were not ready due to lack of money.

"We cannot bring students to universities that are not ready and are without halls, accommodation or laboratories," the Undersecretary of the Ministry of Higher Education, Mou Athian, said at the time.  

The Government did not put in place plans for rehabilitating the dilapidated facilities like lecture halls, houses for staff and students, and libraries, confirms Andrew Athiha, the chairperson of the Juba University Lecturers Association.

Moreover, the facilities are not enough to accommodate the increased number of students and staff.

“The University of Juba before its transfer to Khartoum had a capacity of 800 students and 150 lecturers. But now it has over 14,000 students,” says Athiha.

During the interim-period, the Government of Southern Sudan offered students free education. But just before Independence, financial constraints escalated, leading to the universities remaining closed most of the year.

The newly established universities have their own share of problems, especially inadequate funding and accommodation.

At Dr. John Garang Memorial University, students sleep in tattered tents. And the Vice-Chancellor of Rumbek University says they cannot open because they have no money.

“How can this big institution be run when there is no budget?” Michael Mangony, the deputy Vice-Chancellor, wonders.

The leader of the South Sudan General Student Union, Emmanuel Lubari, observes that students in all five universities face food shortages, limited accommodation and few lecturers.

He also notes that students from secondary schools where they were taught in Arabic are disadvantaged because English is the medium of instruction at the universities.

All public universities have to deal with swelling numbers as a result of the recent repatriation of South Sudanese from Sudan, the influx of fresh students from secondary schools and students from the recently closed private universities.

“To make matters worse, the government austerity measures have affected funding for most programmes in these universities, such as students feeding programs, accommodation and welfare services,” Lubari says.

The austerity measures have also affected the Government’s plans to introduce three other public universities - in Torit, Yambio and Aweil, which would have eased the pressure on the existing institutions.

University of Juba

Lack of facilities for the growing number of students and lecturers is one of the main problems at the University of Juba.

There are even not enough office chairs, desks and tables are not enough for all the lecturers, says Athiha.

The university lacks running water and electricity, and the drainage system is poor. Running a generator day and night makes the operational cost unsustainable.

Another problem is low salaries for university lecturers as compared to government officials in other ministries. The highest paid lecturer gets SSP 3,000, about $600 in the black market.

Athiba argues that universities should be independent entities provided for under the Universities Act and not under the Ministry of Labour and Public Service, as is the case now.

University of Rumbek

The University of Rumbek, which was to reopen in April, has remained closed due to lack of operational funds and lecturers, and inadequate hostels.

“We do not have facilities to accommodate the huge number of students,” says deputy Vice-Chancellor Mangony.

The university administration, in consultation with the national Ministry of Education, already decided to cut the 2013 admissions by half.

“We admitted over 600 students in 2010 but we cut it down to 300 students. With the austerity measures, we will cut it further to 200 students to match our capacity,” he says.

The administration also decided not to have the third year students back to avoid creating a gap with the second and first year students.

“We can wait to open for first year students until things improve. Meanwhile, we shall not continue with the third year students because that will create a gap,” Mangony explains.

Lack of lecturers is another reason for the closure. Most lecturers were from Sudan and did not return after the announcement of Independence.

“Half of the teaching staff of the University of Rumbek was from Sudan. Now we are left with only a few lecturers,” he says. 

In addition, the Ministry of Higher Education owes the university SSP125,000 in tuition fees and another SSP281,000 for operational cost, according to Mangony.

“We need the ministry to first send the students tuition fees for 2012 in order to open for new classes,” he says.

If that money is released, it would help them construct more lecture halls and hostels, he notes.

However, student representatives have called upon the university to at least open for third year students.

“It is better to open for the third year in order for us to complete our studies than delaying us for no reasons,” says Abraham Riing, the chairman of the students union.

Dr John Garang Memorial University

Dr. John Garang Memorial University of Science and Technology in Bor suffers from lack of accommodation, administrative buildings, lecture halls, laboratories and teaching resources.

The university operates in tin-built structures, constructed by Moldovan Company in 2007.

“We have no money to build modern structures,” says Dr. Jok Gai, the dean of the Faculty of Environmental Studies.

Students’ accommodation is deplorable - students sleep in torn tents, pitched behind the university premises.

“How do you expect students who sleep in torn tents to perform well?” Dr. Gai wonders.

The students complain that they are threatened by snakes and that the tents flood when it rains.

They also complain of poor sanitation, caused by poor drainage and uncontrolled dumping of rubbish.

Jok, however, is grateful that the Jonglei state government has provided accommodation for lecturers.

He explains that the university is short of qualified lecturers and technical staff, and relies on lecturers from the University of Juba and other public universities.

The university managed to get one fisheries lecturer from the Texas University of Agriculture through USAID.

Bahr el Ghazal

In Wau, the two colleges of Medicine and Veterinary Sciences, which were closed in March due to shortage of teaching staff and facilities, will not open soon.

According to the Academic Secretary, Dr. Kuol Pal, the institution has not yet been able to secure enough lecturers.

The College of Medicine has 16 teaching staff, only five of whom are lecturers.

He is, however, optimistic that the Ministry of Higher Education, with assistance from IGAD, might secure 22 lecturers for them.

“If the promise by IGAD is fulfilled, we may call back the students at the College of Medicine”, he says.

The university had planned to send teaching assistants for further studies, but it was let down by the Ministry of Higher Education, which did not send the funds.

In addition, library facilities at the university are inadequate. The students are now looking for alternative ways to complete their studies.

“It is difficult to rely on this Government in terms of higher education. I am on my way to find a university in Uganda,” says Julius James, a medical student.

Way forward

With the recent passing of the Higher Education Act and the inauguration of the National Council of Higher Education, policy makers are hoping that the situation will improve.

The chairperson of the Education Committee in Parliament, Samson Ezekiel, believes it needs a collaborative effort by the Government, parents and students to solve the problems of public universities.

During war time, students were displaced and had no money so the Government intervened to pay their tuition fees, he explains.

“If we are advocating for free education at primary and basic level, then higher education should be taken care of by the parents and students,” he says.

“Free university education should only consider special cases of orphans, children of war heroes and veterans.”

He calls upon employed parents to foot the tuition of their children. He also encourages the administrations of the various universities to provide Arabic students with English crash courses.

The Minister of Higher Education, Peter Nyaba, told The New Nation that higher education is an expensive business and the burden should be shouldered by all the stakeholders.

“The reality is that students have to pay. Even now, with austerity measures in place, how will you run universities without money?” he asked.

Professor Abate of the University of Juba says that since the problems differ from one university to another, solutions should also differ.

“The best way to answer the problems is to say: each university should in the short term devise its own methodology to overcome the challenges,” he notes.

The Principal of the University of Juba, Dr. Wani Sule, says the university should no longer be responsible for students’ welfare.

As for the lack of lecturers, he says the university is trying to engage qualified officials in the Government and from neighbouring countries.

“The university is trying to contract part-time lecturers from the ministries and from neighbouring countries like Uganda, Tanzania and Sudan,” says Sule.

Student leader Lubari also suggests that the teaching of English in secondary schools be improved to give students a good foundation.

 “As we prepare to improve the universities, we should first consider improving English language at secondary school level so that students who enter university will not experience language problems,” he says.