If the evil is coming, shut the door...

18 The Niles | Disarmament
The guns
beneath
the beds
by Akim Mugisa
Across South Sudan guns remain stashed away in homesteads
and cattle camps – despite an official push to encourage
people to hand over their weapons.
“I felt frightened … There was somebody pointing a gun at
my head telling me not to look at him,” she said. “If I had something
do to somewhere else, I would leave Juba.”
The woman described how the two soldiers planned to rape her
but she was saved by another soldier who appeared to be in charge
of the group and who criticised his colleagues’ behaviour.
She added that the disarmament exercise was a waste of time
because many guns remain hidden until the soldiers leave again.
Her downbeat assessment of the campaign was echoed by
Geoffrey Duke, an official at the South Sudan Action Network
on Small Arms. He said it remains unclear how many illegal guns
were recovered during Juba’s disarmament, adding: “We have not
seen a clear reduction of crimes because arms flow easily and
re-armament is easy.”
Information on forthcoming disarmaments is reportedly leaked
to civilians by relatives within the forces carrying out the disarmament,
giving locals ample time to hide any illegal firearms.
Duke added that the nation’s weak security institutions fail to
protect people, motivating them to acquire weapons to protect themselves.
Soldiers’ delayed salary payments, combined with their easy
access to arms stockpiles, encouraged many to sell guns to civilians
for a profit, he said, adding that he saw no swift conclusion to South
Sudan’s negative cycle of small arms and light weapons proliferation.
Visualising
(de-)militarisation
I. Completed demobilisation
and reintegration in Sudan
Source: UNDP DDR, March 2013
*Khartoum, North Kordofan, Sennar, and White Nile
4346
Demobilised
1096
5442
Reintegrated
3635
4641
1006
BLUE NILE
Over the past two years, voluntary and forceful disarmament
campaigns have been rolled out in Unity, Lakes, Jonglei and Central
Equatoria states, but with little success.
In 2012, former Jonglei State governor and current Minister
for Defence Kuol Manyang Juuk handed over his weapon to officials,
kick-starting the disarmament campaign in the capital Bor.
That campaign amassed over 10,000 guns, according to the Sudan
People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) leadership. However, this accomplishment
was marred by reports of human rights abuses including
rape and torture by soldiers.
Other hurdles have delayed the governments bid to recover small
arms and light weapons from civilians who often obtained them
during the civil war. Eye witnesses say, for example, that many people
only handed over one or two guns, keeping hold of others they own.
Disarmament campaigns in South Sudan have also been hampered
by travel difficulties, especially during rainy seasons when many roads
are impassable.
Under the radar
For this reason, the removal of illegal arms has been largely carried
out in the dry season, a period characterised by cattle raiding and
revenge attacks. This background of aggression and risk made it less
likely for civilians to willingly handover arms.
Communities denounced the initiative in Lakes and Unity states,
accusing the government of disarming rival communities at different
times, meaning that those who retained their weapons for longer were
able to terrorize “defenceless” groups.
There have also been reports of externally supplied arms being
used to fight proxy wars, for example, with politicians re-arming their
communities behind the back of governments.
These acts have been blamed for fuelling armed rebellions,
inter-communal violence and a spate of cattle raids frequently
killing and injuring scores of people, as well as depriving many
of their scant possessions.
Linguistics Professor Patrick Otsudi blames illegal arms for
undermining social, economic and political progress in the country.
Security is compromised, he says, as criminal activities such as cattle
raiding, revenge killings and armed robberies take centre stage,
preventing people from moving freely and also discouraging muchneeded
investment in the young country. “If I told you to go to Jonglei
or Bentiu now, you will say it is not safe but if I tell you London,
you will quickly ask me when the air ticket will be ready,” he says.
He also warns against disarming the civil population while the
respective national, state, and local governments are divided and sections
of the national army are loyal to individuals, for instance, during
the current crisis which has pitted soldiers loyal to rebel Riek Machar
against those who support President Salva Kiir.
Disarmament for only some
Recurring rebellions and the emergence of militia groups in
several parts of the country have also derailed disarmament efforts,
not least because they continue to supply arms to some communities.
Juba, the national capital, witnessed door to door and roadblock
searches for illegal guns over the last months. Although there has not
been the extent of human rights abuses inflicted on citizens elsewhere,
especially in Jonglei, neither locals nor analysts see the disarmament
campaign as a success. One Juba resident, who declined to be identified,
is haunted by one night in late March when she was robbed of 500
South Sudanese Pounds (about US$ 165) and a cellular phone. Her
attackers, she says, were the same soldiers who had searched her
neighbour’s house for guns two days earlier.
Solving
conflict, the
old fashioned
way
by Joseph Nashion
South Sudanese community elders believe that traditional
mediation could bridge divisions between groups and end the
current fighting.
Alfonse Lolinga Michael, an elder who heads the Acholi community,
described how conflicts are traditionally solved by gathering chiefs
from conflict areas, who sit together to pin down the causes of fighting.
They would then forge a solution to the dispute – ending death
and displacement.
“In past conflicts between Madi and Acholi, tribal chiefs would
summon elders and chiefs and hear from both sides what can be done
so that peace prevails,” the 58-year-old from Yambio says.
This technique resolved many conflicts, he remarks, adding that
the solution had to be in the interest of both sides. To seal the deal,
the two parties always shake hands before going home.
If problems arise after the agreement both sides are asked to
prepare food and a local drink (known as Kpate). Then everyone
eats together and meets for a traditional dance, including peace
songs. People from the two communities hug one another. “If
anybody wanted to marry, this would be the right time to choose
a woman of your choice,” Lolinga says, a move that tightens links
between various groups. “The woman chosen at such a time is like
an agreement paper, meaning the two sides never break the deal
they agreed on.”
He added that traditional mediation could ease the current
“madness”, referring to the widespread fighting, often between Dinkas
and Nuers, that has killed thousands since December 15, last year.
“Even if we continue to fight for a hundred years, we are not going
to gain anything,” warns Lolinga, who works as Finance Administrator
at the State Ministry of Health.
According to Lolinga the government should act solely as a
facilitator, giving the two parties an open space to discuss their conflicts.
This approach, he says, should be used to end the ongoing crisis. “Let
the chiefs get together to share their concerns, let them be the ones
to compromise... We can’t continue to kill ourselves.”
20,229
30,276
5701
4080
24,309
14,759
799
II. Reintegration options in South Sudan
Source: The Republic of South Sudan DDR Commission (RSSDDRC)
Vocational Training 10%
Agriculture 29%
12,359
631
6500
4365
5975
3734
2400
4037
36,251
23,765
19,728
Male Female
Male Female
Livestock 6%
Education 1%
Govt. Job 0%
SOUTH KORDOFAN CENTRAL SECTOR* TOTAL
54% Small Business