South Sudan Forum says Salva Kiir not defending peace implementation

July 12, 2006 — The failure of President Kiir to listen to the public opinion of the South concerning the slow implementation of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) is self-evident. The Abyei Boundaries Commission’s report has been rejected by the National Congress Party (NCP) without a meaningful protest from the President. The NCP theoretically agreed to the formation of a commission that would settle the demarcation of the border between the South and the North without setting a dateline. The meeting between the SPLM and the NCP in May was nothing more than a discussion of a wedding between the two parties.

The Democratic Forum Party has tirelessly attempted to advise the President to face reality by telling President Bashir to set a dateline for implementation of the ABC’s report but to no avail. The frustrated SPLM’s members like Minister Deng Alor Kuol echoed our call for President Kiir to have a plan in dealing with the NCP’s tactical paralysis of the CPA, but without a success because the President is insensitive to the political game being played by the NCP. President Kiir’s insensitivity to the paralysis of the agreement raises serious doubts about his commitment to the CPA’s implementation.

The Memo being circulated in the President Kiir’s office calling for the dismissal of Deng Alor Kuol from his portfolio for criticizing the NCP may raise questions whether the President has ideologically become a member of the NCP’s Council of forty that outlined plans to dismantle the agreement. If the President would listen to his wicked advisers to relieve Deng Alor from his duties for being critical of the NCP’s policies, the people of the South would be forced to conclude that he is no longer fit to lead the GoSS.

It’s a political tragedy for the people of the South that the post-John Garang SPLM has become NCP’s partner to dismantle the CPA. Dr. John Garang never intended the partnership to be used for either selective implementation of the CPA or paralysis of the whole agreement. President Kiir has not only proved himself incompetent to deal with post-John Garang NCP but also too weak to question President Bashir for the slow implementation of the agreement. He is always in record calling for the people of the South to defend the CPA without his participation. Southern Sudanese are wondering whether he is aware that he is the only one who should confront Omar Bahir for the slow implementation of the agreement since he is the President of the GoSS.

It would be a tragic mistake for the SPLM leadership to think that the NCP is a partner that would work for the democratization of the country. President Kiir erroneously believes that NCP is a partner for democratizing Sudan. However, the history of the country does prove that the problem is not the northern Sudan as a political entity but the NCP which created itself as National Islamic Front (NIF) in 1989 to impose racism, radical jihadism and Al-qaeda like policies that would be held accountable if Southerners voted for separation in 2011.

We call up on the President to adopt a plan before meeting President George Bush on July 20. The following recommendations reflect the public opinion of the marginalized people of the Sudan:

1- The SPLM leadership must accept our call for South-South Consensus in dealing with the NCP’s tactical paralysis of the CPA. All South Sudan political parties should meet in Juba and discuss the modalities of dealing with the NCP. South Sudan politicians need to agree to handle the selective implementation of the CPA and propose diplomatic and military solutions.

2- The SPLM must accept our call for North-South Consensus of democratic forces to free the country from the NCP in the coming election in 2008/’09. President Kiir should distance himself from wicked advisers who are mentoring him to distance himself from other political forces in the North calling for the defeat of the NCP in the election. The problem of the Sudan is NCP’s leadership. Once they are out of power, the whole party members will face justice at International Criminal Court.

3- The President must convey his plans to handle the NCP to President Bush so that the international community would clearly understand the problem of the Sudan. Those plans should not be limited to diplomatic solutions but also military ones.

4- The President must inform the U.S. government that if the NCP rejects the UN forces to prevent continuation of genocide in Darfur, the GoSS would have no choice but to declare unilateral independence of the South. The UN is the sponsor of the CPA. If the NCP declares war on UN Forces as it is now evident, it logically follows that it would not implement the provisions of the agreement. The South Sudan Assembly unanimously concurred last year that the GoSS has a constitutional right to declare the South independent before 2011 if the NCP is not implementing the agreement.

Contact :

South Sudan Democratic Forum-Canada

Email: [email protected]

Tel. (613)260-9307

More Contact

Head Office

South Sudan Democratic Forum Party

Juba, South Sudan