海角大神

The old white building in the sprawling military barracks听on the outskirts of Juba听is a grim symbol of a painful past.听

Known as the "White House,鈥� the structure was the most notorious of the so-called ghost houses, illegal detention sites used by Sudan's rulers to detain southern intellectuals and suspected dissidents.

鈥淲hoever goes there cannot come back again,鈥� says human rights activist Edmund Yakani, who estimates at least听79 people vanished within the White House during Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir鈥檚 three decades in office. A Human Rights Watch report puts the number in the hundreds.

These and other violations of human and civil rights听spurred South Sudanese to vote overwhelmingly to secede from Sudan, which had concentrated political and economic power in the north and allotted limited resources to the south, despite its oil reserves.听

And so on July 9, 2011, after two wars covering nearly a half-century, South Sudan finally gained its independence 鈥� led by President Salva Kiir,听a man from the Dinka tribe,听and hailed as a reconciler and a peacemaker.听It was a chance to start anew.

But four years on,听many say that听things are reverting听back to the days of Khartoum's rule as South Sudan's government grows more authoritarian. Activists say ghost houses are once again being used as detention sites, along with听forced disappearances and crackdowns on journalists and killings of civilians.听

This comes against the grim backdrop of a civil war that erupted in 2013 and pits听followers of the President Kiir against allies of his former Vice President Riek Machar, from the rival Nuer tribe. More than 50,000 people have been killed, and over 2 million displaced 鈥撎齛 tragic turn of events for Africa鈥檚 youngest nation.听

鈥淲e fought against the White House, but still the White House is activated by our government,鈥� says听Mr.听Yakani. 鈥淵ou have Sudan and South Sudan, but both countries are operating with one system.鈥�

Illegal detentions on the rise

The time of independence in 2011 was full of euphoria, remembers Peter Mayen, the chairman of the opposition People鈥檚 Liberal Party.

鈥淎fter we had gone through what we had gone through for so many years we actually expected to have a real, democratic society,鈥澨齢e听says. People of all political and ethnic backgrounds would buy each other drinks at celebrations.听

鈥淭hat鈥檚 why it鈥檚 very unfortunate today that the current regime is actually trying to be doing what the Khartoum was doing: dictatorship system, breaking the rule of law, violations of constitutions.鈥�

Mr.听Mayen has firsthand knowledge: After calling for more government accountability in early April, he says he was kidnapped,听held for seven days in a ghost house, and severely beaten. He suspects the culprits were members of the feared National Security Services (NSS), who operate under President Kiir.

鈥淚f it was any criminal they would ask for money,鈥� he says, pointing out that they did not ask for a ransom. 鈥淲hat they asked for was for me to shut up. That鈥檚 it.鈥�

The Presidency has denied any involvement in Mayen's abduction.听

A Human Rights Watch investigation听found that dozens of citizens have been detained without trial over the last year,听sometimes for months at a time. Yakani,听the rights activist,听says three religious leaders have disappeared, while at least other two activists fled the country.

National security

Yakani also blames the NSS. Many of the agents had worked in Sudan鈥檚 notorious spy agency鈥攖he National Intelligence and Security Services 鈥攂efore the north and south split.

鈥淭he way the national security operates here is the same way they operate in Khartoum,鈥� Yakani says. 鈥淭he way that the ghost houses operate is the same as Sudan.鈥�

Any perceived dissent is increasingly curtailed by the NSS, who have harassed journalists and activists alike.听Newspapers editions have been confiscated听for simply publishing a photo of rebel leader Mr. Machar more prominently than one of the president.听The Nation Mirror's print edition was suspended in February after erroneously printing news that rebels had captured a town.

The international NGO and aid community is also under scrutiny.听In June, the government expelled the United Nations鈥檚 top humanitarian official in South Sudan, Toby Lanzer, for his comments on the country鈥檚 deepening crisis. The move shocked many longtime observers, including Mukesh Kapila,听who held the same post as Lanzer in then-united Sudan 鈥� and was also expelled for accusing Mr. Bashir鈥檚 government of committing crimes in Darfur.听

鈥淚n Khartoum I expected it. What do you expect from a regime that is in a sense lawless itself?鈥澨齅r.听Kapila says. 鈥淏ut for that to happen in Juba was deeply sad.鈥�

Shattered hopes

Kiir鈥檚 side is not the only one to blame; the government grew increasingly authoritarian before the war when Machar was still vice president. But abuses in the civil war鈥攃ommitted by both government and rebels鈥攈ave achieved new levels of brutality, the UN reports. Rebels have shot patients in hospital beds. Government forces have slit the throats of little girls.

鈥淭here鈥檚 no question [this fighting] is more brutal, more wanton,鈥� says one听western diplomat with experience in the Sudans during the previous and听current wars.

More South Sudanese are fleeing the country now than at any point during the previous civil wars. 150,000 people are living听under international protection听in听UN camps听and the number is growing fast.

And there is no end in sight.听On Wednesday Machar听called on President Kiir to resign along with his government or risk sparking a revolution, adding fuel to an already deadly fire.听

鈥淪outh Sudan has shattered my hopes,鈥� says Eric Reeves, an anti-Khartoum activist who supported independence.听鈥淚 had thought [Salva Kiir] wanted to do the right thing,鈥� he says. 鈥淚t is saying, for me, a great to deal to tell you I don鈥檛 have much faith in that belief in Salva [anymore].鈥�