SSDF declares autonomy from South Sudan government

Mar 19, 2006 — This is to inform the international community and the oil companies that today it becomes necessary for the people of the oil and gas rich of Greater Upper Nile region including all the SSDF controlled areas in Greater Bhar-el-ghazel and Greater Equatoria regions constituting the 10 states of the South unconditionally declared autonomy from the so-called GOSS. We do hereby appeal to all democratic and peace-loving people of South Sudan to free themselves from this highly corrupt, undemocratic and tyrannical rule predominately led SPLM/A self-appointed farce of a government the so-called GOSS.

The SSDF will lead the way and will create every available obstacles and hurdles for the downfall of the SPLM/A. They did to the signatories of the Khartoum Peace Agreement in 1997. We shall now avenge it. This is a hardball politics. The SPLM/A is a pseudo-nationalist movement. It was born crippled since it inception in 1983. It has worked to bulldoze the nationalist movement, but it failed and could not possibly liberate the people from their bondage, unfortunately. Nowadays, the SPLM/A is working assiduously and laboriously 24 seven to push out the SSDF from its seven-year-old alliance with GOS retrospect to the Khartoum Peace Agreements of 1997. The SSDF leadership and its intelligence network including its informers within the SPLM/A command and leadership aware of this deception and manipulation of this bloody game. We rest assured that this will not repeat itself. It would signify the reoccurrence of events of 1984-5 incident when the late Garang conspired with Colonel Mengistu Hale Miriam and booted out the nationalists from Bilpham, and murdered many of them cold blooded including the charismatic Colonel Samuel Gai Tut, the first President of the movement and the veteran politician Mr. Kuot Atem.

Nevertheless, today the ruminants of the Bilpham leadership under the commands of Lt.-General Gordon Kong Chol of the SSDF, lead the SSDF the largest and potent force in the South. As long as SSUDA/SSDF exists, the Khartoum Peace Agreement remains intact. Henceforth the SPLM/A should know that SSUDA/SSDF alliance remains strong because it is based on permanent interests. In the paradox of international politics, there are no permanent friends and permanent enemies but permanent interests. Let it be known heretofore to the international community, IGAD and Sub-Saharan Africa that SSUDA/SSDF relations or alliance Khartoum would deter it from advocating for the exercise of the right of self-determination. This was (and still is) the prima facie objective when the Khartoum peace Agreement in 1997 was negotiated and signed by the parties to the agreement. The SPLM/A first rejected the Declaration of Principles (DOP) in May 1994 and the Khartoum Peace Agreement in 1997. Without the shadow of the doubt, it was Mr. Bona Malwal, the opportunist and now and advisor to the government that he once hated most in his worldview. The other character that southerners should not forget is Dr.Francis Mading, the theoretician in Washington, DC, and now an advisor to UN Secretary- General Kofi Anan who engineers most of the UN decisions and resolutions against the government in Khartoum. Lobbyists such as Mr. Roger Winter a former democrat and now switched to Republican and Mr. John Prendergast a former Clinton’s State Department official campaigned against the peace in 1997. The peace agreement compared to the SPLM-Khartoum Peace Agreement of 2005 remains the mother of all agreements in Sudan. In fact, we could argue that the 2005 peace agreement was the recompilation or the copycat of the Khartoum Peace agreement of 1997. In essence, it was a plagiarized peace agreement. Therefore, it could not be implemented in the real sense of the word. The late Dr. Garang negotiated the peace for his personal self-gratification and prophecy to become the first vice President of Sudan, the President of South and the commander-in-chief of the Army. This is autocracy and dictatorship of the worst kind that the world supports. It also makes mockery of the concept of democracy, rule of law, good governance, transparency and accountability worldwide and in African in particular

It was rejected by some world’s powers because their vital strategic national security and economic interests were not articulated by either the then SSIM/A (now SSDF) and the GOS at the time. It is only the people’s vote through a secret ballet box, which is the people’s power to decide the verdict of the referendum rather the SSUDA/SSDF. SSUDA/SSDF will not absolve it alliance with Khartoum until there will be changed of attitudes from the international community to talk honestly to SSUDA/SSDF political and military leadership. SSUDA as the political wing of the SSDF already registered in Sudan as the United Democratic Salvation Front (UDSF) in 1997. Dr. Riak Machar and General Paulino Matip Nhial snapped the SSDF victory in 2002 and 2005 respectively. However, with our might, courage, duty, honor and country, we shall prevail. There will be no South without the legitimate and democratic participation of the Nuer nationality one of the largest, strongest and potentially rich in the South out of over 100. And yet, the GOSS is 57% entirely Dinka undereducated, with no experience in public administration, public policy, pubic management, state formation and strategic planning who wanted the South for themselves, to be ruled by them with no distribution of wealth even though the wealth comes from our land. Power comes from the people not from the Governors, Commissioners, or any other tyrant. We expect other states, under the protection of the SSDF to declare their autonomy soon too from this farce of a government called the GOSS.

We have spoken the words of equality, south-south dialogue, the right of self-determination for decades but today we act as equal men, endowed with all the rights from the Almighty including Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness. In order to secure these rights, the rights that we have been fighting for decades, we must create a just Government in the South, deriving its powers from the consent of the governed NOT from other sovereign governments who thought it was a good idea to have a peace treaty that was NOT comprehensive and did not include the people. What kind of peace is that? It is up to the people of South Sudan alone to determine its Government- how to create it, whether to alter it and institute new leaders so that their Safety and Happiness is protected. The people of South Sudan have had to suffer too long with a long train of abuses and usurpation. So why now do we install a government that continues these abuses. We have seen over the last few months that the GOSS which is really the SPLM, has attacked us in Upper Nile. Any why? For power to gain access to the oil fields of the South. In time, most of the states of the South will declare themselves autonomous from the tyranny of the SPLM and the GOSS. The oil money and the wealth sharing is our wealth and we get nothing of it. Even talk of this 2% royalty is a farce besides the fact it is absurdly low as a royalty. The late Dr. Garang negotiated a low royalty since he knew the SPLM/A did not control the oil areas. Though the facts are self-evident, lets us restate them for the world to see since some members of the world are complicit.

The de facto highly corrupt Government of South Sudan has attacked its own people and continued to do so even to this day and reporting of this by the world press has been biased and lacking. It is losing grounds and public support in the South. It is now self-evident that the SPLM/A does not have the guts and gusto to govern the South. To do so, it has meet many pre-requisites, which it lags, namely, qualified manpower, democratic transformation, establishment of good governance, the rule of law, human rights protection, transparency and accountability. SSUDA/SSDF with its highly qualified work force in the Diaspora and inside Sudan could do better more than the corrupt and most deceitful SPLM/A leadership. Again, we shall reiterate that we will do what is humanly possible to create hurdles internationally for the SPLM/A to come to terms with all Southern population who made biggest sacrifices for the cause of freedom, Liberty, and social justice for all in indivisible, democratic South under God Almighty.

The Government of South Sudan does not properly represent the people of South Sudan. A majority of the South is not members of the SPLM and as such, the people have not equitably represented in the legislature or the Ministries, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only. Because of th*e above-mentioned, SPLM/A does not, we repeat, does not have the political mandate from the people of South Sudan. It is as such a sectarian and ethnocentric(tribalist) out fit led by criminals and human rights abusers who deserved to by indicted by the International Criminal Court (ICC).

Most importantly, Article 11 of The Sudan Peace Act (the Act) passed by US Congress and signed into law in the White House by President George in October 2002. The US Secretary of State Dr. Rice should invoke the indictment of SPLM/A leadership. Mr. Salva Kiir the then Chief Executioner of the SPLM/A and the current ineffective VP of Sudan, Dr Riak Machar of GOSS, Mr. Kuol Manyang Juuk, the current Minister of Transport, Pagan Amum, Cdr. Ping Deng Majok (brother of Dr.Francis Mading Deng) the murderer of Pagau Nuer women and more than 1500 of Lou Nuer youngsters burned with boiled cooking oil and many renegades and criminals in the SPLM/A should be inducted for crimes they have committed against humanity during war years in the South. In a democratic Sudan, they do not deserve to lead but their rightful place should behind bars and keep away for good from society.

It has made the legislative process unusual, uncomfortable, and unfair for the sole purpose of fatiguing the people of South Sudan into compliance and acquiescence as seen with the establishment of the GOSS. It is just a re-composition of the SPLM

It has routinely invaded the rights of its people.

It has failed to protect its people, to provide for its people, to educate its people, to establish rudiment and necessary living conditions for its people, to provide proper health care and yet it takes the natural resources from the people of South Sudan with no compensation at all. With the initial $702 million, you would have thought that something would have started. The differences we see if the SPLM staying in nice hotels, flying first class and enjoying other luxuries while our people suffer.

It has formed the Government of South Sudan as a way of making the people of South Sudan forever subservient to the GOSS.

It has murdered our people, women, girls and our troops.
We, as the representatives of the people appeal to the world, that we absolved from all allegiance to the Government of South Sudan. All political connection between the Government of South Sudan and us is and ought to be totally dissolved. All contracts and agreements established by the Government of South Sudan or the SPLM for and involving any land, resource, or anything else within our territory mooted and declared null and void and all assets shall revert to the people of Upper Nile. In addition, for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of the Almighty, we mutually pledged to each other our Lives, our Fortune, and our sacred Honor.

The last word goes to all international oil companies who have signed agreements with the SPLM/A for commodities that they do not control at all. Their present and future investments are too risky. As soon as the declaration of dissolution from the GOSS comes to effect, all oil agreement and other commodities are mooted and invalid. It up to these consortia to make the wise and the right choices now before it is too late to contemplate. It is better to be safe than to be sorry at the end of the day.

Long live the struggle for freedom, equality, liberty, unity and social justice for all.

God bless South Sudan and its long-suffering people. Forward, backward, never (Wane nhiam, thile wa jok, ke piek!)

We shall prevail, we shall prevail and we shall be free at last! We shall overcome and we shall overcome!

– Signed: Professor David Chand, PhD,
Spokesman/director for External Affairs, SSUDA/ SSDF