The South Sudan blood bath and Kiir’s perfidious power consolidation act

The Horn Times Newsletter
by Getahune Bekele, South Africa
Already castigated as another flop in tyranny prone Africa, the impenitent would-be-tyrant who is leading a corrupt and militarized autocracy, President of South Sudan Salva Kiir Mayardit is no longer sporting his trademark 10-gallon black cowboy hat he imports from the US state of Texas, some 7,000 miles away.

President Salva Kiir

He first saw the hat in July 2006 when then President of the US, the peremptory George W Bush offered him one as gift at the White House during his first visit there. According to reports, Kirr wears the hat ever since in honor of President Bush who played an instrumental role in the 2005 comprehensive peace agreement, a measure that gave birth to the world’s youngest nation in 2011.
However, while fashion Guru President Salva Kiir wears his black Stetson and pretending to be a Texan, his deputy, the renegade Riek Machar wears standard Western suits particularly those made in Britain. He dearly loves the former colonial super power. Some say he is still trying to come to terms with the horrific death of his late British wife Emma McCune who died in a Nairobi car crash. She was heavily pregnant.
“I call it oil curse. There was no harmony and patriotism in the upper echelons of our governing class. Both these power drunk gentle men have lost their brain function. Ethnic rivalries and the bitter power struggle aside, Kiir was awarding all contracts in the oil and construction industry to Americans while the now fugitive Riek Machar wanted British companies to get some of the lucrative deals just like the Americans and the Chinese. The two imposters, one Texan and the other Briton, Machar and Kiir were at each other’s throat over this issue which resulted in Machar eventually losing his job as deputy President of South Sudan in July 2013.” A top academic based in the tense Capital Juba told the Horn Times by phone.
Asking not to be named for security reasons, the academic added that inflammatory rhetoric and targeted violence are pushing the impoverished landlocked nation of more than 10-million people into renewed civil war.
Currently, foreign aid workers are leaving Juba and the capital of the restive Jongole state Bor, in large numbers amid escalating violence. On Saturday December 21, three US Service men were wounded when small arms fire hit three military aircrafts in Bor and a UN helicopter was downed in the same area where Dinka loyalists of President Kiir are battling the Nuer supporters of Rick Macher.
Moreover, the fortified US embassy in Juba, guarded by more than fifty marines announced the withdrawal of all ‘non-essential’ staff and more than 98 Germans were airlifted to neighboring Uganda.
The clashes began last week Sunday when military bases in the capital were attacked by what the government of South Sudan called soldiers allied to former SPLM rebel leader Riek Machar. The next morning, on Monday December 16, 2013, President Salva Kirr appeared on national TV swapping his cowboy hat and suit for full military uniform, returning the nation’s collective memory to the days of the 22-year devastating civil war that left the country in ruins.

Riek Machar

Although Kiir claimed victory in the televised address, the war that pitted well organized and battle hardened gangs from Nuer tribe against the Dinkas, spiraled out of control in just few days and it is now spreading like wildfires east towards the border with Ethiopia; where three Indian UN peacekeepers perished last week while attempting to protect civilians.
Furthermore, despite the massive manhunt launched by security forces to capture Rick Machar, his whereabouts are still unknown, but he insists that he is in South Sudan.
“Mr. Kiir is using the false accusation of coup as pretext for a purge.” The firebrand Machar told the Sudan tribune from his hideout believed to be somewhere in violence torn Jongole state. “I have no connection with or knowledge of any coup attempt. Salva Kirr is trying to use the alleged coup attempt as reason in order to get rid of us to control the government. We don’t want him as the president of South Sudan anymore.” Machar added.
Peace efforts to save the nation from the looming disaster were further complicated by the sheer brutality of security forces loyal to President Kirr. They have been attacking ordinary Nuers and carried out series of arrests rounding up unknown numbers of former and current military or government leaders in the capital Juba; notably former lead negotiator in talks with Sudan over oil sharing, Mr. Pagan Amum.
On Friday December 20, 2013, a jittery Salva Kirr who is clearly in choppy waters indicated his willingness to talk to any rebel group and his foreign minister Barnaba Marial Benjamin had given African mediators the go-ahead to meet with Kiir’s rivals without directly mentioning the name of his archrival Riek Machar. Can they afford to ignore the man the Nuers cheer like a long lost hero and largely seen as the next president of South Sudan?
Current nervous AU chair, Ethiopian PM Hailemariam Desalegn who is deeply worried about the sordid mess in South Sudan has been spluttering about urgent negotiated settlement before Ethiopian militant opposition groups exploit the situation and grab a foothold in a region rich with natural resources and awash with weapons.
“President Salva Kiir has been a key ally of the late Meles Zenawi and a trusted comrade to the ruling minority junta of Ethiopia. Before and after the independence of South Sudan, Kiir never allowed Ethiopian oppositions to enter his banana republic and those who entered seeking protection were captured and handed over to the TPLF regime.
“The pragmatic Riek Matchar who spent more than 30 years in Ethiopian jungles during the liberation struggle, however, won’t be just a yes man to the genocidal Tigre junta. Their ill-considered and misguided support for Kiir has been hurting the Nuers. Some top Matchar men even openly said that they feel their country is the colony of Tigray republic under Kiir’s inept leadership hence they feel the war for total independence has just started. Well, personally am not surprised that the Nuers have chosen the path of war as the best route towards peace and democracy.” A political analyst who recently visited Juba told the Horn Times from Addis Ababa.
Is Riek Matchar the face of change in a region blighted by terrible misrule and tyranny? Is he the man who can bring lasting peace to a region dogged by the lexicon of bloodied past? Only time will tell.
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Ethiopia: What’s love got to do with it?

    

Love of people and country means simply loving freedom.  Those that love freedom like Mandela love their people to free them revered by the world. Other that hates freedom like Mengestu and Melse hate their people to subjugate and sell them and hiding in their cage.
Ethiopians can only be free when we love freedom more than anything. That means, if we want our freedom we need to rid of those that pander for our worst instinct – fears, differences, greed…etc. that held us hostage for far too long. The sooner we rid of peddlers and predators the sooner we will be free.
by Teshome Debalke
Strange thing is happening to us Ethiopians. We all claim to love our country and people more than anything and have a strange way of showing it. From the outset love of people and country comes from love of freedom. It is a belief ‘if you love something set it free’.  Opportunist love isn’t love at all. It is peddling for self interest above all. Therefore, love has noting to do with what we have been doing for too long.
Let’s stop the bull and cut the chase and get right to the important issues of our people. If we love our people as we claim, noting is important than freeing them from peddlers and predators starting with Woyane.
At this late hour, noting is more urgent than to stop the bleeding of our people and country. We don’t need anything to bring down the main cause of the bleeding but love of freedom to hound peddlers, predators and their conspirators that cause it.
But, before we do that we must understand;  retail freedom is not love of people but, short cut to glory. Tripping on each other for the limelight than doing it together isn’t love of people but, power mongering. Pandering for our differences than oneness under the rule of laws isn’t love of people but taking advantage of our venerable people to bargain their freedom with tyranny.  Talking and writing about freedom and democracy than delivering isn’t love of people but diversion from freedom. Pandering for our fears than our intellect is not love of people but a coward way of remaining or climbing the ladder of power.
Remember, even the ethnic peddling and predator regime of Woyane and its stooges claim to love the people with a strange way of showing it. Their new found love is to fatten their pocket book more than anything else; so-much-so it drove them in madness to kill anyone and sell anything or anybody that threaten their corruption.
Take for example Woyane peddling ethnicity as Tigray People Liberation Front (TPLF). Is killing and stealing Ethiopians in the name of Tigray and making Tigray a damping ground for stolen stuff of Woyane love of people?
Take Woyane peddling ethnic federalism as Ethiopian People Federal Democratic Front (EPFDR). Is killing and stealing in the name of nation and nationalities and making ethnic region a playing ground for out of control ethnic Warlords love of people and country?
The sorry Woyane apologists have their twisted way of expressing their love too. Acting stupid, they skirt the crimes of Woyane spinning lies and diverting the public to save Woyane.
Likewise, the atrocious Derg and its stooges that are responsible for the loss of thousands of lives and property love the people too. Their special love was expressed by killing her brightest children and exiling millions to leave her venerable for the Woyane hyenas to finish her off.  The king pin of Derg that made a mockery of government with a slogan is hiding behind Mandela to talk about his new found love too. In his latest interviews, he was allowed to skip all his crimes to come out after 22 years of hiding as a born again lover of the people.
Similarly, the sorry Derg’s apologists have their own way of showing their love too. Skirting the crimes and opening old wounds is becoming a habit of tormenting us allover again; hiding behind Woyane’s crime.
Others claim to love the people too. Some do only if they can experiment their new found adventure on the whole or part of the people. Others, love the the people if only they can live off the people’s poverty. Rightly, these are what are referred as Hodams.  The term Hodam refers to someone that lives for his/her belly by pandering for tyranny. Surprisingly, there are too many of them at home and hiding in the ‘free world’.
Take for instance the Merchants-of-death that tag along with Woyane to get ahead of           everybody else. They are lineup like drug addicts — pleading Woyane to hand them public resources in exchange to support the regime. Some of them are ugly enough to throw pocket change and brag about helping the people they stole from. Others are tripping over each other to receive stolen plot of land cheering Woyane.
There are also those that passionately hate the people and say it loud and clear. Some are self-appointed ethnic and religious peddlers with foreign nationalities.  Others are agents of her enemies willing to do someone’s dirty job as Woyane officially used to be. There are few others that want to see her people divided into small numbers and regions and at each other throat so that they can do their own little dirty deeds.
In all the mess our contemporary ethnic peddlers/ mercenaries/ revolutionaries liberators/adventurists and Hodams of all kinds and shapes created not one is brave enough to come out and take responsibility.
Tracking the stooges of Woyane, Derg, Shbiya and the rest of the ethnic peddlers/ mercenaries/ revolutionaries/liberators/adventurists and Hodam tells a story of our contemporary elites that got away with murder and still claim to love the people and country.
A good example of ‘what love got to do with it’ is Tamerat Layne, the former Woyane Prime Minster, Marxist revolutionary, ethnic liberator/ businessman/hodam and born again Christian and soon to be born again democracy advocate in a span of few decades  is hiding in the free world like many of his fallen comrades.
He sums up what one-in-all of modern elites did to our people in the last four decades.  The article titled;  Tamrat Layne: Another Botched Marxist Rollout describe him better. But, there is much more of the man to be reviled yet. Unfortunately, the man that confessed only to his corruption is roaming free while his victims are buried under the ground grave or jail crying for justice. watching his handlers scramble to make a devil turn God-fearing angel by itself is as sickening and tells another story of ‘what love got to do with it’?
Another good example is Siye Abriha. A former Woyane defense minster, a Marxist Tigray liberator, an ethnic peddler, businessman, born again nationalist in span of few decades and soon to be ‘security expert’ to hound more Ethiopians from his hiding speaks loud. The man that helped put up an Apartheid system and  money grabbing cartel of TPLF is improving his ‘skills’ at Harvard University and claim to love the people and the country he left behind.
Several more stooges of X Woyane, X Derg, X Shabiya and the rest can be cited uttering love of country and people in one form or another too. Some of them are shameless enough to reinvent themselves and comeback as experts, research fellows, authors, media men and the rest.
What love of people and country means
When Mandela that lived through three succeeding Ethiopia regimes became the most revered leader in the world by breaking the backbone of Apartheid tyranny to be the first democratic elected leader of free South Africa we are still searching for a leader that can walk straight. Worst yet, we live under the Woyane Apartheid regime surrounded with ethnic hodam warlords running wild– killing and robbing people.
When a foreign man that trained in Ethiopia and felt pride of being an Ethiopian achieved so much to his people we couldn’t find a leader that feel pride of Ethiopiawinet and end up with modern day ethnic peddlers, killers, thieves and drifters that hate their people and country, and freedom itself.
Love of people and country means simply loving freedom.  Those that love freedom like Mandela love their people to free them revered by the world. Other that hates freedom like Mengestu and Melse hate their people to subjugate and sell them and hiding in their cage.
Ethiopians can only be free when we love freedom more than anything. That means, if we want our freedom we need to get rid of those that pander for our worst instinct – fears, differences, greed…etc. that held us hostage for far too long. The sooner we rid of peddlers and predators the sooner we all will be free.
Ethiopians must reject those that tell us our people are our enemies than the killers the thieves, the corrupt warlords, businessmen, journalists, bureaucrats… that carry tyranny on their shoulders. We must follow those that walk the talk the rule of law and democracy and deprive a hiding place for those that hide behind it. Our people can no longer afford to be pawns of tyranny in any shape or form just because we let them get away.
As we keep Woyane and its stooges run and dodge the unavoidable surrender we should say no more we allow the suffering of our people again.  The apologist of Woyane that prolong the pain and suffering of our people should be warned; there will have no place to hide and no excuses to claim when they face the warmth of the people. Until then, they can fart all they want, it wouldn’t make any different.