South-North Sudan: A lot remains to be done
By Kur Mijak,
January 16, 2008 — The recent crises resolution that is SPLM cabinet ministers pull out, by the SPLM and NCP was highly welcomed by all Sudanese citizens but a lot remains to be done by all the political elites and the Sudanese people at large.
To avert any future walk out or any other disastrous act, the signatory parties to CPA should see to it that all the provisions contained in it are implemented in letter and spirit as our FVP, Kiir Mayardit has always mentioned. For what is government if it cannot respect the will of the people and the constitution?
GONU, GOSS, and the state governments fully under NCP and SPLM parties should know that the Sudanese citizens are watching every move they make, and it’s saddening when they see you engaging in fruitless political wars. The people want to see their children go to school, they want to work in a secure and stable environment, a hospital to treat their sick, a road and bridge to carry out their businesses, and a long list of many other wants, in short CPA, should be seen bearing fruits..
The governments in Sudan, i.e. GONU and GOSS and state governments should increase exchanges and cooperation in all areas, ranging from social, economic to political exchanges.
GONU should initiate development projects in all parts of Sudan, not only in Khartoum, tangible developments should be seen in the Eastern, Western (Darfur), other marginalized northern states and finally in South Sudan where secession is imminent. This will not only make unity attractive but also change the minds of Sudanese citizens who are hell bent on voting you (NCP) out of government. The two political parties (SPLM and NCP) should welcome democratic transformation with open arms in order to promote peaceful co-existence and economic development now and the post referendum era (2011).
Some skeptical elements in NCP or outside it may not be for such an idea, most people in Sudan know that the northern political elites and partly elites from other regions of Sudan including the South bear the blame for most economic and political woes that had faced and continue to face the country. These political elites know that if any fair and free elections are held today, the masses will for sure reject them through secret ballot. Right now to the northern ruling class the sky is blue, the winds are gentle and the waters seems calm but unknown to them a political storm is brewing underneath them. Conventional wisdom is that there is always an end to anything, and one thing that is ending soon is your rule, unless you change before change in Sudan takes course will you prevail.
Therefore these political elements should be for not against the idea of New Sudan, first, because it will enhance their own political survival, second, its benefits outweigh the demerits, a Sudan where any political, social, religious, cultural group is tolerated, a diverse Sudan.
There are many reasons why John Garang de Mabior, one of our founding fathers came up with the Ideology of New Sudan, and I find it of no good here to explore it, but the two that I have pointed out are importance in relation to the context.
The northern ruling class ought to know that Southerners and other marginalized majority will not blindly agree to a united Sudan, they have experienced enough and if much is not done between now and 2011 then expect an independent South.
The South and the other marginalized Sudanese will only agree to united Sudan when the Ideology of New Sudan is embraced, where equal distribution of resources, democratic transformation, political stability, transparency, development, government institutions and other ideals of democracy are promoted.
Diversification and extension of communication channels will increase political confidence and encourage economic cooperation. This will go a long way to encourage exchanges in human resources across the border, either from the South to the North, or the other way round.
These kinds of efforts if shown by the ruling regime will contribute significantly to promoting reconciliation and cooperation as well as to increasing the momentum of a stable Sudan.
Among all kinds of exchanges that should be encouraged between the GONU and GOSS, is that of military and security authorities. These exchanges and cooperation would help reduce tensions. The military authorities on both sides, that is SPLA and SAF are to be rallied, push or encouraged to reduce and eventually remove propaganda on the media. The kind of cooperation being encouraged within the JIU (Joint Integrated Unit) should be promoted between the SPLA and the SAF. One of the ways of this can be done is through exchanges and cooperation between military authorities beginning to establish contacts and hold meetings, these and other actions with high levels of commitment will go a long way to fostering peaceful coexistence and easing tensions on the Sudanese soil. The people of Sudan have suffered long enough and it should not be in the interests of leaders to take us back to war.
Our leaders should learn from great leaders Such as Nelson Mandela, who though entitled to revenge and had the opportunity, he took it upon himself not to do so but to promote reconciliation and peaceful coexistence between South Africans. For to do the contrary, that is to avenge for the political and social injustices committed against him and the South African masses would put the hard-won freedom and millions of lives in jeopardy.
Sudan is bigger than all of us and the notion of a selected few of ruining and breaking it into pieces as a result of pursuing their own selfish interests is unacceptable.
Kur Mijak, A Sudanese studying in the diaspora. He can be reached at
[email protected]
Gatwech
Expected Manipulations in the 2nd SPLM National Convention
By Tut Gatwech
15th January 2008
If the saying that “there is no smoke without fire” is always true, then there is need by the SPLM leadership to seriously look into any political charges labelled against any senior member of the Movement or Party. The recent accusation of the SPLM Secretary-General, Mr. Pagan Amum Akech, by his senior colleague, Mr. Telar Deng, that he plots to remove the SPLM Chairman Salva Kiir Mayardit, from the Chairmanship of the Party, should not be simply thrown away or ignored without investigations on Mr. Pagan Amum himself. Secondly, there have been suspicious public statements floating around in Southern Sudan denying or confirming that there exists in the SPLM, even today, those who still keep their loyalty to the deceased former SPLM Chairman, Dr. John Garang, who are popularly known as ‘Garang’s Boys,’ represented by Pagan Amum and Rebecca Nyandeng, and those loyal to the present Chairman, Salva Kiir (or Salva Kiir’s Boys) and a third neutral group that has not taken sides in this unfortunate game. Both Salva Kiir and Pagan Amum have participated in giving out statements denying the existence of such divisions in the SPLM, while at the same time suspicious of each other’s activities.
One of the recent activity by Pagan Amum is his recommendations of membership to both the SPLM Interim Political Bureau (IPB) and the SPLM Interim National Council (INC) of which so many members to these two structures were brought from the so-called marginalized regions of northern Sudan while most of those recruited within the South are those who keep their loyalty to late Dr. Garang and defy Salva Kiir’s leadership. This cunning strategy by Pagan Amum, Rebecca Nyandeng, Deng Alor and the likes is to achieve one goal using different means. The goal is to make sure that Garang’s Boys take over the top SPLM leadership using what democrats called democratic process, even if they are not themselves historically good democrats or believers in democracy. By now controlling the two most powerful structures of the Party, their members can work day and night to discredit and undermine Salva Kiir’s leadership, expose him to the danger of public uprising in the South and finally vote him out using the ‘Vote of No Confidence’ in the SPLM Interim National Council. In his attempt to appease the Party’s Secretary-General, Salva Kiir approved Pagan Amum’s list of membership and decreed their membership into the Council and IPB.
Another strategy by Pagan Amum is to pave the way for any unforseen circumstances, like that sudden death of the late leader, Dr. John Garang de Mabior. The Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) and the Interim Constitution of Southern Sudan (ICSS) stipulate that should the post of the President of the Government of Southern Sudan – who is also the Chairman of the SPLM – fall vacant in the period before elections, the SPLM shall nominate a successor within two weeks. This also targets the current Vice President of the Government of Southern Sudan and First Deputy Chairman of the SPLM, Dr. Riek Machar Teny-Dhurgon. With the current SPLM Interim National Council, which is infiltrated by members from northern Sudan, a separatist like Dr. Machar would definitely not be the preferred choice for the group. Besides, Dr. Machar had in the past challenged late Dr. Garang’s way of running the Movement. Garang’s Boys brand him their enemy. Instead, the group would nominate somebody from their midst to succeed Salva Kiir.
Another strategy by the group is to hijack the upcoming SPLM Second National Convention to take over power if they now fail to successfully discredit, undermine and remove Salva Kiir in an INC’s ‘vote of no confidence’ or succeed him in case his post falls vacant. This third strategy seems to have been a dream come true in the last few days when Salva Kiir ignorantly issued a Party decree forming a high level committee to organize and oversee the upcoming SPLM Second National Convention due to be conducted within the next three months. Salva Kiir appointed Mr. James Wani Igga, Chairman, Mr. Abdel Aziz, SPLM newly appointed Deputy Secretary-General as Deputy Chairman of the Committee, while Mrs. Rebecca Nyandeng de Mabior falls in the third position in the Committee’s hierarchy. This is the biggest blow to Salva Kiir’s future leadership plus his Deputy, Dr. Riek Machar. The Chairman of the Committee and Second Deputy Chairman of the SPLM, who is also the Speaker of the Southern Sudan Legislative Assembly, Hon. James Wani Igga, is said to be changing loyalty between Garang’s and Salva Kiir’s Boys. One day he entertains Salva Kiir’s Boys with his dramatic speeches and another day he entertains Garang’s Boys. He may strike a deal with Garang’s Boys to let him keep his being Deputy Chairman of the Party on condition that he doesn’t attempt to run for Chairmanship of the Party nor mobilizes any body to support Salva Kiir, but the group and only the group. His deputy in the Committee, Abdel Aziz is a northern product of Pagan Amum and would, with pleasure, implement whatever the group sees fit. Rebecca Nyandeng’s appointment in the third position in the Committee is a golden opportunity for her to tell Salva Kiir and Riek Machar that ‘I got you.’
In his downfall decree, Salva Kiir went on to explain the functions of the Committee which include, but not limited to, organizing the Convention, setting out a criteria for the selection of representatives who should participate in the Convention and overseeing the conduct of the Convention itself. These responsibilities entrusted in the hands of this group came as a big surprise to many people across Southern Sudan, particularly in the SPLM party. The likely scenario to this unfortunate situation is that the group will manipulate the conduct of the Convention by poorly organizing and preparing representatives to the Convention in some areas where they don’t have stronghold, mobilize their members in both structures of the Party and Secretariats to recommend as representatives to the Convention only those loyal to the group, bribe those who try to resist their preferred nominees and choose a venue of the Convention preferable to them, in addition to other possible rigging of the votes during the Convention. The result of this rigged Convention will see the group taking over the SPLM Chairmanship, Deputy and consequently the post of Secretary-General in the name of manipulated democracy. I pity Salva Kiir!
Finally, what does the group want to achieve if they take over power in the South? First, the group is a power thirsty minority which is determined to be in power no matter how best others do in leadership. They don’t evaluate leaders on how good or bad they perform, but on whether such a leader is from their midst or not. The group has a dangerous project of ‘New Sudan’ or ‘United Sudan’ and is historically known for rejecting the right of self-determination for the people of South Sudan. The group advocates for the establishment or maintenance of the unity of the Sudan at the expense of the South Sudanese people as long as it mis(rules) the South through the assistance of the North. The group fears any emergence of independence of the South because this would leave it vulnerable, weak and permanent minority since the group would lose recruitment of members from the North. Once in power, the group would make sure that the so-called referendum in the South in the year 2011 is either rigged in favour of unity or called off indefinitely. It would then resort to dictatorial rule by bribing, intimidating, imprisoning and murdering in cold blood whoever questions the group’s policies or decisions.
The group knows very well that it has no much support among South Sudanese people and therefore resorted to the dangerous strategy of infiltrating the most powerful SPLM institutions with northern Sudanese to hijack and dilute the SPLM policies and decisions and frustrate the aspirations of the people of South Sudan. Until the people of South Sudan understand this group’s ambitions and expose it rightly as element of Jalaba, the group will remain a dangerous ”wolf in sheep’s skin’ ready to devour the unique and historical right of the people of South Sudan to self-determination. One of the group’s manipulations to kill self-determination of the people of South Sudan was revealled recently by the SPLM Third Deputy Chairman, Malik Agar, who called for confederal system between North and South, which he recommended for discussions with the National Congress Party. The response of the NCP leadership was too possitive because they know that this proposal, if agreed upon and implemented, would gradually be used by the group to erase from the minds of the people the need to hold a referendum in the South. Salva Kiir should wake up and be vigillant not to allow the group to overthrow him using manipulated democratic process. Their difficulty is that they don’t control or trust the SPLA army, otherwise they would have declared forced removal of the current top SPLM leadership.
*Tut Gatwech is a former member of the SPLA Red Army or ‘Child-Soldier’. He can be reached at: [email protected]