The South Sudanese President, Salva Kiir, may be frustrating efforts by the United Nations (UN) to stabilise his country. Five years after seceding from Sudan, the youngest nation in the world has known only short bursts of peace. Lately, despair is beginning to set in for many of its citizens. Considering recent developments in the country, there is need for the international community to place heavy sanctions on the government and its armies.
Last Friday, the UN Security Council approved an additional protection force of 4,000 regional troops to be sent to South Sudan. The abstinence of four countries: China, Egypt, Russian and Venezuela could not hinder the decision, which already garnered 11 votes. According to the UN, the troops, which will be within the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS), will be “responsible for providing a secure environment in and around Juba.” Reacting to the development, Kiir said he will leave it to parliament to decide whether to accept or reject the UN resolution.
“The consequences of hasty and imposed decisions may be dire, for good intentions are not necessarily always reflected by the decisions made thereon.
“We welcome assistance. We are attentive to advice. But assistance requires dialogue. It should not be turned in an imposition that becomes intervention in which our sovereignty is compromised and our ability to govern effectively diminishes rather than increases. More and better could and should be achieved through consultation and dialogue,” Kiir said in a speech at the inauguration function of the transitional national legislative assembly.
The question now is why Kiir has always seen external troops as a threat. Firstly, his failure to maintain the agreement that previously restored peace to the country, has given way and justified external influence in South Sudan. Sacking the First Vice President Riek Machar, last month, escalated violence and attacks in the capital city of Juba. While President Kiir continues to take his time to decide on the projected external forces, several ugly incidents continue to pile up. Although the consideration of placing an arms embargo on the country by the United Nations is yet to fall through, a rapid response to calls by the opposition for a faster peace resolution in the country is needed, since Kiir’s body language seems to not be in the interest of the South Sudanese people.
