Opinion

SPLA must be ready for war to gain peace

27 October 2005
In Opinion

By Alfred Taban, The Khartoum Monitor

Oct 26, 2005 — Recent developments in Sudan call for battle preparedness by the Sudan Peoples’ Liberation Movement (SPLA). As the Chinese say, if you want peace, prepare for war.

The Sudanese army is notorious for usurping power from the military as well as civilians, including democratically elected ones. It has taken over power at least four times since independence but has handed back power only once. The Sudanese people are tired of coups and do not want any to take place. That is where the SPLA comes in. It is the only institution that can tell any adventurers soldier that the time when you can shoot yourself to the general command and Radio Omdurman and declare a coup is over. The Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) is the only thing that will guide the destiny of this country for at least six years, not guns.

To defend the CPA, and the gains of the marginalized people of Sudan, the SPLA needs to maintain its battle readiness. There are elements in the north who are currently left out of the power structure in the country and would like to make a grab for it. The SPLA must grab them first. There are those who feel, without a basis, that the south has got away with too much and would like to roll the clock back. The SPLA must be prepared for them.

The gains of the CPA must be protected by us and our boys in uniform. The SPLA must train and retrain and equip itself with the latest technology. The SPLA is our deterrent against adventure, non-compliance with peace agreements, greed for power and political manipulation. Already the SPLA is being tested by the bandits called the Lords Resistance Army (LRA) of Joseph Kony. But chasing ragtag child soldiers in the bushes of Southern Sudan is different from facing seasoned coup plotters who know they must succeed to live.

Thus the minister of defence for Southern Sudan, the minister of SPLA affairs, should be named almost at once to provide the SPLA with what it needs to face the challenges of the future.