SPLM accuses Sudan president of slowing CPA implementation
By: Wasil Ali
October 11, 2007 (JUBA) — Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) accused the Sudanese president Omar Hassan Al-Bashir of curtailing the implementation of the Comprehensive peace agreement (CPA).
A senior SPLM official talking to Sudan Tribune by phone from Juba on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issues said that Al-Bashir has been blocking key elements of the CPA.
Yesterday the SPLM decided to suspend their participation in the national unity government because of what they describe as the National Congress Party (NCP) failure to fully implement crucial elements of the CPA.
The SPLM and the NCP are the two main partners of Sudan’s national unity government following the signing of the 2005 peace agreement that ended two decades of civil war between the north and south.
“The First Vice President [Silva Kiir chairman of SPLM] has been very patient hoping that the NCP will eventually change their attitudes but unfortunately this was not the case.” the SPLM official added.
The official revealed that the Sudanese president has been refusing to endorse the SPLM’s request to remove Sudan’s foreign minister Lam Akol, a SPLM member, and replace him. Al-Bashir has been insisting that Akol remains in his current position.
“Akol is a SPLM member and the post of foreign affairs is allocated to us and as such Kiir has the right to shuffle his ministers”.
Analysts say that Akol has been taking favorable stances to the NCP on hot issues such as Darfur while distancing away from SPLM position on the issue of the troubled western region of the country.
The senior SPLM official said that there is a list of pending issues some of which can be resolved instantly such as the unlawful harassment of political opposition, political reconciliation, interference in the judicial system and the politicization of the Justice minister Mohamed Ali al-Mardi impacting the rule of law in the country.
The other long standing issues which involve the demarcation of borders including the issue of Abyei and redeployment of northern troops can be resolved if the NCP would respond to the solutions put forth by the SPLM to resolve these issues he added.
SPLM has constantly accused NCP of stalling implementation of key elements in the agreement, including the protocol on the Abyei region and demarcation of the north-south border.
Last month the SPLM proposed a temporary administration and new borders for the disputed oil-rich Abyei region to break the deadlock on the issue but the NCP provided no formal response.
However the official stressed that the suspension of SPLM participation in national unity government “is not an ultimatum” and said no timeframe was set for the resolution of the pending issues between the former foes.
An envoy from the Kiir was dispatched to Khartoum to formally convey the SPLM’s decision the official said.
The latest development between the SPLM and NCP is likely to create grave concern among the US, UN and of Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) who helped broker the CPA.
The White House special envoy to Sudan Andrew Natsios had made the CPA his primary focus during his recent 10 day visit to Khartoum.
Natsios said during his visit that he was deeply concerned with the health of the CPA and warned that clashes may erupt as a result between the two sides.
The SPLM official said that Natsios was not informed of the step that was taken today during his visit but he was made aware of the existing deadlock.
“The crisis between the SPLM and NCP is not simply a war of words as Natsios tried to portray it. There are more fundamental issues that are spoiling the implementation of the CPA” he added said in a very rare criticism of a US official by the SPLM.
Yesterday the US government called on the SPLM and NCP to exercise restraint voicing concern that the CPA might unravel otherwise.
The 2005 peace agreement brokered by the US and other western countries ended two decades of civil war between the Arab and Muslim-dominated north and the mainly Christian and animist black southerners.
(ST)
Toposa Boy southerner
SPLM accuses Sudan president of slowing CPA implementation
Best south Sudan I knew all along that my government want to remove the devil and the slave of Arab the ill men the idiot habit Lam Akol from the foreign office thanks
Bob Tata
SPLM accuses Sudan president of slowing CPA implementation
Nowadays, vast majority of south Sudanese are suffering or underprivileged from their basic needs not only due to the lack of the so-called CPA implementation but rather from the fundamental issues created by naivety or lack of good leadership by Mr Kiir and Dr Machar, corruption and nepotism that are being practised by vast majority of GoSS officials and among others.
Usually the main concerns of any government are always matters such as welfare of its citizens in term of food security, sheltering, healthcare, and among others.
In my entire life I never see a failure government such as GoSS, as such; this government has completely failed to meet any basic need of almost every south Sudanese; regardless of millions of dollars it has been given by the central government as its divide out of the oil revenue according to CPA,yet, up to this moment there have been no trainable results achieved on the ground.
For instance, vast majority of south Sudanese are still going without any enough food, drinkable water, shelter, education, electricity and among others.
Regardless of such huge amount of money GoSS is getting, services are still poor, in certain regions of south Sudan(such as Upper Nile Region), wages are being delayed for up to two months, I wonder where does GoSS thinks its officials will bring money to feed their families from! After all the suffering our people have patiently endured, now their hopes are being killed by hearing of GoSS withdrawal or resignation from the government of national unity and without any obvious plan by GoSS of how their needs will be maintained.
What is the GoSS’s reason for its withdrawal from the GoNU? If it is due to the so-called Abeyi dispute, I believe everyone knows about that since the signing of CPA so what is new about it? The same question apples to south- north boundaries which was left unresolved by the CPA signatories, so, what is new about it too? Who the GoSS expects to go to bush and fight that loosing war again? What is the capacity of our armed forces militarily, bearing in mind that GoSS was very busy with corruption and thus did not put enough recourses and time to equip our armed forces i.e. they are not well prepared by the GoSS! So, how are they going fight when under equipped? I hope Mr Kiir will not repeat the mistake of 1983 when they declared the war without any preparation whatsoever, thus, resulted in the killing of 2 million South Sudanese and complete ruin of south Sudan both economically and physically!
We don’t want to see those mistakes being repeated once more time. If SPLAers are eager to go back to war, fine, but let them know one thing for sure! no one will allow them to force other people’s kids, especially the farmers’ ones to go to war again while leaving the kids of their leaders untouched! it will not be like in 1980s when they used to abduct and recruit poor people’s kids into their armed forces even without the agreement or consents of their parents.
This time we will make sure that such evil acts must not happen again no matter what the reasons are!accept or reject it, I really mean it, so, think twice about going back to war; for not everyone is ready for that right now, not for Abeyi or South-north borders or even for Dr Lam Akol issue!
Thus, you better think of resolving such issues diplomatically before you even think of any use of violent so as to resolve them!
You must also know the fact that there are people out there who are more than ready to advocate for the poor!! so, no one will allow you to do as you like in any more in this era! as your time for the mess of south Sudan is up, fortunately!!!!
By Bol Thourmouck of Greater Nasir (UK)
Manyok Mabiei
SPLM accuses Sudan president of slowing CPA implementation
Iam so proudly of our Government of Southern Sudan; leadership has made a good decision by returning all the SPLM/A Ministers to break out from the National Unity Government yesterday! We have no “room” to discuss pointless of no solution and we have no “room” say we need help from North sector. What we are looking now in Sudan is only self-dependent, but not self-reliable calling for help from North.
The outbreak of SPLM from Sudan National Unity Government Thursday 11 October 2007 is a point to save the “Comprehensive Agreement” (CPA). What SPLM need today is to call in the international community to save the CPA, instead to breaking down where it needs to be? Well-done to Mr. Kiir leadership to made a good point of returning out if the CPA is not implementing in way it needed. We have no time to call for help from north-sector…”that called violation of rule of law!” If, someone violation the rules, why you not violating them? Thank to the SPLA/M vision to think before thing goes in wrong angle!
Manyok in Chicago (U.S)