Museveni advises Juba to ensure justice in deal with Khartoum
JUBA - President Yoweri Museveni of Uganda has advised the leaders of South Sudan to make sure that any deal they enter into in the current crisis with Khartoum should be based on justice.
“For these problems you are having now you should stand firm and make sure that justice is done,” he advised.
Museveni was speaking as Chief Guest at the celebrations to mark the first anniversary of South Sudan independence.
“If you make a deal which is not based on justice, that deal will create more problems in the future,” he added.
Museveni argued that it was wrong for people to say that it was not important to find out the wrong and right party in a conflict like that between Juba and Khartoum.
“My question is who is right and who is wrong. But some people don’t want to hear about that. They say it doesn’t matter who is right and who is wrong but we should just make a deal,” Museveni observed.
He also advised his hosts to strengthen themselves saying “the world likes strong people, it doesn’t like weak people.”
Museveni called on the people of South Sudan to be firm and not to be like the Biblical children of Israel who were felt like back-tracking to Egypt when faced with challenges in the desert.
“When the children of Israel came out of slavery in Egypt and they got problems in the desert, they said, “We wish we were back in Egypt because in Egypt we were at least eating pumpkin,” Museveni counseled.
Giving the example of the struggle for independence by South Sudan that took a very long time, Museveni blamed the rest of the world for not listening to the voices of the black people.
“In the world, the voice of the black people is not heard very much; otherwise the suffering of the black people of South Sudan should never have gone so long because the issues were very clear,” he stated.
He added that the issues of South Sudan were clear and easy to understand.
“These are black people, and they want to enjoy their culture which was given to them by God not by anybody,” Museveni told the cheering crowd at Dr. Garang Mausoleum in Juba.
Museveni however blamed the Black people for being responsible for some of their woes.
“It is partly a default of black people themselves because they are easy to divide, they are easy to confuse, and they like to be slaves. So it is partly our fault,” he said.
Museveni paid tribute to the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) for leading the fight for independence.
“This situation took so many years but the SPLM mobilized you and in the end you got your victory and I congratulate you,” he said.
Some of the dignitaries at the ceremony were the Deputy Prime Minister of Ethiopia Hailemerian Desalegn, Chairperson of AU Commission Jean Ping, the Minister of State for Public Service of Kenya Dalmas Ayango and the UN Secretary General’s Special Representative in South Sudan, Hilde Johnson.
