105 - Sudan - Approaches to Armed Groups Kuol ... - The ICHRP

26. The excesses in glorifying the military for recruitment purposes undermined the value of civilian life
in the eyes of the soldiers.
27. The movement seemed to have taken so long to muster the confidence needed to check the
behaviour of some field commanders running rampage in their areas of command.
28. The 1983 political Manifesto and the 1984 Penal and Disciplinary Laws, which repealed the 1983
Punitive Provisions, were the only written documents to guide the conduct of the movement until
1994 when the SPLA held its first national Convention. The legal code, together with the variety of
unwritten customary laws constituted the body of laws, in force in SPLA administered areas. The
recognition of the customs of the local people was expressed by section (2) of the Penal Code, which
reads ' The provisions of this law shall not prejudice the application of existing customary laws and
practices in each operational area upon the local citizens. 6 '
29. The communities in southern Sudan still cherish and dearly value their traditional heritage. The
relative ease with which SPLA has attracted local support is related to the SPLA aspects that can be
locally identified with traditional norms. The identification of SPLA militarism with the aspirations of
age-set or warrior social institutions made it acceptable to the youth in those communities. The
political objectives of the war are the concern of a considerable number in SPLA, but to many others,
it is a fulfilment of fighter and military ego.
30. Dinka and Nuer soldiers in SPLA are often guided in their personal behaviour by their community
religion. Spirituality is entwined with the general culture and directs the members of the community
in shaping their world outlook. Association with Divinity, i.e., Creator, is achieved through the variety
of spirits that the clan or lineage members mould into their general thought. The conversion of those
people into some world religions hardly severs their identification with the Divinity and spirits. The
execution of war in the territory of traditional cultural environment has rejuvenated spiritual
loyalties. It is characteristic of community religion to reinvigorate the spiritual fervour of the
individual at times of acute hardship. The war and its consequences have created that pre-requisite.
The writings of prominent anthropologists Sir Edward Evans-Pritchard and Godfrey Lienhard give
insights into the spiritually guided behaviour of warriors in those two communities. The proximity of
the SPLA soldier to this cultural environment affects his spiritual identity and hence the behaviour in
war.
31. SPLA commanders utilise this cultural dimension, in addition to contemporary military instruction, to
discipline their troops. Hence, it is usual to see units of SPLA being conducted through religious
rituals by diviners before they are committed to military operation. Diviners in some instance have
extended spiritual support by their physical presence among the SPLA troops in the heat of military
action. Good commanders solicit reputable diviners to bless their soldiers even when immediate
operations are envisaged.
32. Such rituals concentrate on explaining the code of conduct of a warrior in the society. The safety
bestowed by the spirits on the soldier in combat is inextricably linked with his normal behaviour in
the community, i.e., among civilian population. The instruction of the SPLA soldier to abide by a
certain code of conduct in military campaigns is emphasized by invocations of local cultural values of
general behaviour rather than referring to almost far-fetched obligations of Customary International
Law.
33. The example of the Dinka and the Nuer is also discernible in the other communities of southern
Sudan, Nuba Mountains, and the Ingessena. SPLA soldiers who are a mixture of all those people join
6 The penal and Disciplinary Laws of 1984, SPLM.
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