SPLM northern sector spokesperson resigns

June 26, 2006 (KHARTOUM) — The Sudan People’s Liberation Movement’s spokesperson of the northern sector, Walid Hamid, resigned last Thursday. However different sources within the SPLM said there are ongoing discussions to persuade him to withdrew his decision.

The secretary-general of the movement, Pagan Amum, said if what is being reported about the resignation of Hamid is true then it is a “great loss” for the movement considering the fact that he was a fighter who made a lot of sacrifices.

Hamid is one of rare northern Sudanese army officers to join the former rebel SPLM since more that ten years ago.

Amum said that Hamid spent many years struggling to achieve the goals and aspirations of the movement.

Hamid attributed his resignation to “the organizational dysfunction within the SPLM institutions”

It seems that Hamid’s resignation disturbs SPLM officials after the resignation of Nihal Deng and Abdelaziz Hilo from their posts. Deng resigned from his ministerial post as Southern Sudan minister for international cooperation while Hilo was the responsible of the SPLM northern sector.

Both Hilo and Hamid resigned for similar reasons.

But other SPLM leading members like Minister of state for labour: Mohammed Youcef Mustafa and le Vice Speaker of the Sudanese parliament Eitem Garang condemned the move saying Hamid had to discuss the reasons of his resignation within the SPLM before.

Youcef added dysfunction within the SPLM is expected and “this is one of the problems of the transformation of the movement from a military organisation to a political party with a partner who does any thing to provoke our failure”.

Garang said the resignation is motivated by internal difference and it would be better to discuss it with the organisation.

The first vice-president, chairman of the SPLM, Lt-Gen Salva Kiir Mayardit, is currently in Juba. He will tomorrow begin a field tour, during which he will visit most southern cities and regions.

So it appears that the issue would be suspended till his return to Khartoum.

(ST)