AU force extension in Darfur, a victory to NCP not to SPLM
By Isaiah Abraham*
Mar 14, 2006 — The drama that led to the extension of African Peacekeeping Forces in Darfur has nothing to do with the Sudan as a whole or SPLM as a party as propagated by those who are against the marginalized people of the Sudan. Darfur is bleeding and should have been saved. The man ate the helm of this ?victory’ is non other than Dr. Lam Akol Ajawin, the Sudanese Foreign Minister from the SPLM Party.
Although it is not that easy to satisfy all interests in a coalition the least an astute politician could do or could have done was to compromise not his/her fall back base, no matter the enticement or attraction the players in that political scene. The Minister went out full blast to contradict his boss, President Salva Kiir Mayardit and his colleague in the Government of Southern Sudan (GOSS) Mama Rebecca de Mabior. President Salva was unequivocally pressed that NCP partner is not serious in its willingness to resolve Darfur crisis.
Did anybody hear the President or other Southern politicians or the Southern public unease about UN peacekeeping forces intervention in Darfur? Where there demonstrations in the Southern cities in condemnation of the United States or the United Nations or Jan Pronk? Certainly there weren’t and there will not be any protest against presence of UN in any part of the Sudan. Our people saw a sinister in the tone of NCP and therefore decided to say yes (at least secretly) to UN peacekeeping forces to any of the marginalized part of the Sudan.
There are questions but our Minister insisted that there is benefit for Sudan because the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) would be affected. That is shire rubbish! Our President was humiliated from Paris from the Donor Conference, isn’t that alone not enough to refute whatever lame excuse the minister wanted to put across to justify his actions and bad judgment towards our people. Our President has a short memory!
When our people were butchered at the hands of the Egyptians security forces, the minister chose to be mum and non committal until our great Vice President Dr. Riek Machar Dhorgun came out so fumed with national burden to denounce the Egyptian security forces act against innocent refugees. The President couldn’t even bother to underground murmur about performance of this minister. Whenever Southern consider a case Dr. Lam stands to say the opposite.
Majority of Southerners believe that Dr. Garang de Mabior was assassinated but Dr. Lam confidently jumped into conclusion that the plane came down on bad weather. Even the Panel that is investigating/probing the alleged causes of the crush didn’t come to conclude the same way the minister exuding his finding about the same. When President Salva raised issues affecting the implementation of the CPA, the minister defended the NCP in everything by stating that “everything is going on as planned and hence smoothed partnership”. When Southerners were looking for alternatives regional relationship, the minister came out offensively to condemn such a move.
When the minister in the GOSS for Finance and Economic Planning and the Governor of the Bank of Southern Sudan complained about the oil actually details of the income and expenditure, the minister chose to praise the NCP position of fairness in that area. When Southerners were looking for economic opportunities in the Foreign Ministry, the ministry denied them rights for employment.
He has blocked Mr. Nhial Deng Nhial from exercising his duties at the regional level. The list is long. Here it goes without saying that the minister from the SPLM has technically abandoned the party that sponsored him to that position. But he is a calculative politician. He knows well that his boss has no teeth to bite him bye at his stage, given their newly formed relationship from Yei situation when the later was almost losing his position to Mr. Nhial Deng Nhial.
No wonder the substantive freedom fighters in the likes of Mr. Pagan Amum Oketch, Mr. Nhial Deng Nhial, John Koang Nyuon and Edward Lino Abyei are left in the cold. What a set back for the people of the South and the marginalized areas when national matters are personalized and socialized. The minister ought to know that the relationship between the NCP and the SPLM/GOSS is ephemeral and therefore based on the mutual understanding if the former breaks from the past. The NCP should have capitalized on the CPA and makes unity attractive. It has not and it wouldn’t be made attractive and hence futile to trust them now.
The NCP still violates human rights of the Sudanese, still failing to uphold the rule of law, still practice instigation and bribery, still treat our people as second class citizen in the national capital etc, what is that new from the NCP that could attract our minister to believe them at this time? So, any surprise about the minister move? No!
The minister relentless campaign against his own people is dated and therefore a continuation of the same trend he has taken by choice! The President in my opinion needs to give this minister another portfolio other than the Foreign Ministry because we have a lot of stake in this docket.
* Isaiah Abraham is based in southern Sudan, he can be reached at [email protected]