SPLM is not a separatist movement – Sudanese minister
July 7, 2006 (KHARTOUM) — The Minister of Foreign Trade in the Government of National Unity, George Bureng Nyombe, has defended the SPLM against accusations that it’s a separatist movement.
In an interview with Sudan Radio Service (SRS) in Khartoum on last Sunday, the minister said that the SPLM is not a separatist movement, nor is it working for the separation of the south from the north.
He said the SPLM is working for the unity of Sudan, but the choice to secede or remain united depends on- what he called- “the free will of the Sudanese.”
“We have given this country a supplementary of six years, whether to live together or not to live together, so our work as members of the Government of National Unity, whether SPLM or the National Congress Party, is to ensure that we give the people of the Sudan the chance to reevaluate whether we can still co-exist as a people or not.”
Professor Bureng said that from its inception, the SPLM has never been a separatist movement.
Such calls for separation, now, are counterproductive for the south because donors are discouraged. Many didn’t honor their pledge because they see instability in the future and corruption in the present, say an analyst.
Southerners have to work for the construction of their region first and they have the right to vote for separation in the future so why they call for separation while inter-tribal fighting and insecurity reign in southern Sudan, he further added.
(ST)