Sudan’s standoff with the UN on Darfur: SPLA at the crossroads
By Bor Gatwech
August 29, 2006 — SPLA stands for Sudan Peoples’ Libration Army, initially a guerrilla army that fought with consecutive Sudan government’s regimes in the north for more than 20 years. But these days, it has become a contingent and a semi-national army for the Sudan.
Nonetheless, SPLA seems to be entangled and erroneously positioned at crossroads due to its depictions on CPA specifically the Security Protocol it has signed with embattled NCP if President Bashir of the Sudan inevitable goes to war with Kofi Annan in Darfur.
Will SPLA join Bashir to fight the UN in Darfur to keep its commitment as a semi-national army of “jemuuriya el Soudan” or will it break the ties? Will SPLA redefine itself to be only a national army for the south or stick to its traditional vision about the whole Sudan?
According to Sudanese President El Bashir, deployment of UN Peace Keeping force in Darfur is all about dishonouring of international law by the UN which is committed to help the African genocidal victims in Darfur from his tyranny. It’s all about disrespect of Sudan’s sovereignty and disproportionate show of force by the UN or the West to send blue-helmet troops. It’s all about West invading the pro-East NCP Sudan government and further alleged that the Jews and Christians are just orchestrating a plot to regain Darfur back to Christendom.
But in all these unprecedented standoff between UN and Khartoum, one could ask what position SPLA will undertake if things unnecessarily end up in conflict.
According to Protocol on security arrangement , a Join Integrated Unit was formed from the two recognised armies of the Sudan, SPLA and SAF with functions of being a symbol of national unity, national sovereignty and to participate in defence of the country together with the two forces.
Unlike SPLA Sudan Foreign Minster Lam Akol, the SPLA C-in-C comrade Salva Kiir reiterated his acceptance of UN intervention in Darfur. But shall SPLA decide to uphold itself not to be involved in the war with the West orchestrated by jihadist Bashir and his NCP? And what will be the consequences for both the SPLA and CPA as well?
Nonetheless, it is crystal clear that SPLA will definitely find itself in a difficult situation if Vice President Kiir won’t exhort his colleague Bashir to drop his position on UN intervention in Darfur before diplomacy is limited. It is a situation of mend or break! If SPLA uphold itself from fighting UN troops along side SAF in all-out war, then a single character will be missing in CPA implementation which may lead NCP discard the whole agreement to the rubbish. But does our CPA fit to be in the bin now??? Let wait and see if President Bashir will re-invent Darfur conflict to be a catalyst for Sudan disintegration into two countries without waiting for normal six years as stipulated in Comprehensive Peace Agreement. Or a catalyst for him to reverse the reactions on making for SPLA and southern independency.
Bor Gatwech is a Sudanese living in Diaspora and can be reached through [email protected]