Revolution or Resolution?
By: Daisy Kessler
Just four years ago, South Sudan triumphed in their efforts and finally became a separate country from Sudan. They gained their independence and leaders that they chose to create their republic. However, now even though they went through years of civil war, they may be on the brink of yet another. Ethnic groups are constantly fighting for power, property, and other important resources necessary for survival. Despite best efforts to calm the nation's unrest, the power struggle between President Salva Kiir and former Vice President Riek Machar continues to escalate. Germany's Foreign Minister Frank Steinmeier has said that the conflict must not spread to the rest of South Sudan. Because if this conflict, hundreds of people are dead and thousands of people are on the run, trying to evade what may be coming. The conflict, that began in Juba, has already made an effect in most of South Sudan's provinces, although Mareike Schomerus of the London School of Economics has said that, "Most people in South Sudan are not affected." (Jansen, Klaus 28.12. 2013)
Different ethnic tribes like the Dinka and Nuer all over South Sudan have been fighting for decades. Sudan has had to endure over 40 years of civil war until finally in 2005 a peace deal was formed. In this time, over 2 million people died in the conflict. During the war, rebel groups in the south rose up against the government in the North. Ever since the 1980s the revolution was mostly carried out by the Sudan Peoples Liberation Army (SLPA) of John Garang. (Jansen, Klaus 28. 12. 13)
Machar on right, Kiir on left on october 1ST, 2013
Usually, political leaders in South Sudan have held military positions in the past. The current president in South Sudan, Salva Kiir, fought alongside general Garang. However, in 1991, an officer named Riek Machar, who would later be the Vice President of independent South Sudan split the SPLA. This was conflicting with Garang's vision, because Garang's idea had been to reform Sudan as one unit, while Machar just wanted an independent nation for the south. President Kiir and Machar have been in a power struggle for many, many years and they both come from different ethnic groups, which they both try to use to their advantage . President Kiir is backed by Dinka, which is the largest Ethnic group in South Sudan consisting of 40% of the population. Machar, on the other hand, is a member of the Nuer group, which consists of 20% of the population. Machar is now being accused of creating a revolution against President Kiir, and using his tribe to do so.
For years, The SPLA rebels tried to make treaties and negotiations with the Sudanese government about what kind of political solution they could come up with and agree upon to end the civil war. Finally in 2005, after many smaller treaties, a solution was procured, and a peace agreement was reached in order to end the civil war. This agreement included that the mostly Christian population of the South part of Sudan would have the chance to vote on whether they wanted independence for the mostly Muslim north sometime over the next six years. The agreement included the six years as a compromise in order for the people to reflect upon whether they really want seperation.
However, in that same year, Garang died in a helicopter crash. His vision of a united Sudan faded, and it gradually lost supporters. Eventually when the people of south voted in 2011, they wanted independence almost entirely.