SPLM in the USA outraged by presidential decree to probe Pagan Amum
Date: July 10, 2008
We, the undersigned leaders of the SPLM Chapters in the United States of America, note with great dismay and outrage, the decision of President Omer El Bashir, to lift the immunity and launch an investigation of Comrade. Pagan Amum, the Minister of Cabinet Affairs and Secretary General of the SPLM. The statement from the President’s Spokesman claimed that the decision was reached by the President to address and investigate the recent remarks by Comrade Pagan Amum at a political symposium organized by Ajras Al Huria Newspaper in Khartoum. We would like to unequivocally condemn this decision by the Chairman of the NCP and vigorously outline the following points:
– The statements attributed to Secretary General Pagan were neither libelous nor injurious to the honor or image of the state. Comrade Pagan was merely articulating the obvious fact that the nation state known as Sudan has been at war with itself for much of its modern life, and has failed to institute a stable system of governance that is responsive to the aspirations of its people and accountable to them. He further pointed out that the current transitional period after the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) and the formation of the Government of National Unity (GONU) represent the best and possibly final opportunity for the country to correct its course and emerge from the cycle of war, poverty and international isolation that it has been mired in since independence. The Secretary General of the SPLM called for the protection of rights that are granted to all Sudanese by the Interim National Constitution, chief among of them is the right to free speech and protection from security laws that are in clear violation of the Constitution. He further called for the respect of the freedom of the press by the Government and lamented the increased censorship and confiscation of newspapers in Khartoum by security operatives. All these appeals are all within the letter and spirit of the CPA and INC that led to the formation of the GONU, and can hardly be cause for condemnation or investigation.
– The decision of the President of the Republic is a material violation of the Bill of Rights as enshrined in Article 39 (1) of the Interim Constitution of Sudan, which protects every citizen’s right to unrestricted freedom of speech and expression. This encroachment on the rights of Comrade. Pagan Amum as a citizen is an impeachable offense by the President if there is no finding of libel or official misconduct by the accused after an impartial investigation.
– The decision of the President of the Republic is also a violation of Article 51 (2) of the Interim Constitution of the Republic of Sudan, which calls for a collegial decision making process in the Presidency to safeguard the stability of the country and ensure the implementation of the CPA. It goes without saying that the spirit of cooperation between the NCP and SPLM cannot be fostered when a serious decision like the lifting of the immunity of a senior SPLM member of the Council of Ministers is made without the consent and knowledge of the First Vice President of the Republic of Sudan and the SPLM Chairman, Gen. Salva Kiir Mayardit.
– The SPLM has steadfastly exhibited patience with the NCP as it continually worked to provoke it by dragging out the implementation of important CPA benchmarks, provoking strife in Abyei and other areas, using the news media to attack the Movement and its leadership, and generally flouting the Constitution of the land. This last move by the President is not an attack on the person of the Secretary General, but another calculated step in a long planned scheme to target the unity and legitimacy of our Movement. We call on our leadership, starting with H.E. Gen. Salva Kiir Mayardit, to emphatically reject these dubious maneuvers and to publicly condemn the NCP and demand the revocation of this illegal act immediately.
– Moreover, we implore our leadership to also demand an investigation of long ignored allegations of misconduct and abuse of power by leading members of the NCP going back to the beginning of the NIF regime in 1989. The victims of torture in ghost houses and widows and orphans of dissidents who disappeared in the hands of well known officials of the NCP are more deserving of a Presidential Investigation than the salient facts presented by Comrade. Pagan Amum in a symposium on press freedoms. Also the statement made by President Omer Bashir on June 14th 2008 on Al Jazeera TV and we quote “control by the SPLA over governance in Southern Sudan, failure of GoSS to deliver on the promises of post – war development, that the Southern militias who were fighting alongside Sudan Armed Forces are the solid base for unity, replication of the story about the misuse of 60 million dollars made available to the SPLM’s late Leader in the pre-interim period, purported inability of the SPLM to transform itself into a political organization capable of running a state and finally reluctance of the SPLM to contribute to efforts to lift sanctions imposed on GoNU by the US government” should be investigated.
– The SPLM clearly wished to open a new page of national reconciliation after the CPA, and thus did not demand fact finding commissions on crimes committed before for the sake of stability. That generous spirit must have been misconstrued by some elements in the NCP as a sign of weakness and lack of zeal. It is time the SPLM leadership disabused them of such mistaken notions.
Finally, we appeal to our people inside Sudan and in the Diaspora to band together behind our leadership and impress upon them the need to face the NCP clique collectively and in the spirit of protecting the CPA and the Constitution. The NCP must know that all peace loving Sudanese will not allow them to revert back to their old thuggish ways of suppressing the views of others and using the State as an instrument of terror and intimidation.
SPLM OYEE
NEW SUDAN OYEE
The SPLM Chapters’ Leaders in the United States below have jointly endorsed this.
01. Ezekiel Lol Gatkuoth, SPLM Representative to the USA
02. Peter Lam Thot, Chairperson, SPLM Chapter, California—SPLM Chapters West Coast Coordinator.
03. Joseph Chol, Chairperson, SPLM Chapter–Florida, SPLM Chapters Southern Regional Coordinator.
04. Reat Nhial Tuany, Chairperson, SPLM Chapter-New York, SPLM Chapters East Coast Coordinator.
05. Kenneth Elisapana, Chairperson, SPLM Chapter-Illinois, SPLM Chapters Midwest Coordinator.
06. Mun Nam Koak, Chairperson, SPLM Chapter-Iowa.
07. Deng Deng Nhial, Chairperson, SPLM Chapter – Washington DC Metro Area
08. Anwar El Haj, Deputy Chairperson SPLM Chapter – Washington DC Metro Area
09. Edward Laboke – Chairperson, SPLM Chapter- Maine, D/Coordinator East Coast.
10. Atem Mator– Chairperson, SPLM Chapter, South Dakota
11. Abuk Makuac, Southern Representative of the SPLM Women’s League
12. Mangok Mangok Mayen, Chairperson, SPLM Chapter -Mississippi.
13. Lual Riak Adiem, Chairperson, SPLM Chapter – Arizona
14. Mary Wani, Midwest Representative of the SPLM Women’s
League
15. Peter Makuoth Won, Chairperson, SPLM Chapter-Texas
16. Makoi Paul , Chairperson, SPLM Chapter, Indiana
17. Isaac K. Gang, Secretary General, SPLM Southern Regional Council
18. Makoi Wol Manuer, Chairperson, SPLM Chapter – Michigan
19. Ador Akok Athuai, Chairperson, SPLM Chapter, Missouri
20. Mayol Aroman, Chairperson, SPLM Chapter, New Hampshire
21. Elizabeth Benjamin Ajongo, Chairperson, SPLM Chapter, Nebraska
22. Dut Mangar Malek, Chairperson, SPLM Chapter, Connecticut
23. Philip Ruach Chan, Chairperson, SPLM Chapter, Georgia
24. Kenneth Elisapana, Chairperson, SPLM Chapter, Illinois
25. Solomon Kabolla, Chairperson, SPLM Chapter, North & South Carolina
26. Miaj Riek, Chairperson, SPLM Chapter, Wisconsin
27. Emmanuel Mayen, Chairperson, SPLM Chapter, New Jersey
28. Nyuol A. Nyuol, Chairperson, SPLM Chapter – Utah
29. Machar Wek Aleu, Chairperson, SPLM Chapter – Oregon
30. Ujulu Ugala, Chairperson, SPLM Chapter – Washington
31. Helen Abyei, Chairperson, SPLM Chapter – Colorado.
32. Diany Deng, Chairperson, SPLM Chapter—Alabama
33. Daniel Deng Mayan, Chairperson, SPLM Chapter , Minnesota
34. Deng Chol Mourter, Chairperson, SPLM Chapter—Tennessee
35. Toc Mach, Chairperson, SPLM Chapter, Pennsylvania.
36. Elizabeth Kuc, Deputy Chairperson, SPLM Chapter—Pennsylvania.
37. Nyayath M. Kuot, Deputy Chairperson, SPLM Chapter—Tennessee.
Moses Kur Akech
SPLM in the USA outraged by presidential decree to probe Pagan Amum
There has been a grave silence on the side of SPLM leadership especially the Vic president Kiir. Pagan and Yasir Arman have been facing NCP in a number of occasions since the birth of CPA. Kiir has been dormant with other prominent figures in the leadership in challenging the regime. I think this problem has to be addressed collectively. Bashir would have not dare to suspend Pagan had there been mutual response from the leadership of SPLM.
Pagan and Yasir are undoubtedly seen by Bashir’s regime as peril to the future of their dominion or dictatorship.
I think Kiir has to change his lenient mood towards the regime there are outstanding issues that need to be collectively addressed.
James Okuk Solomon
SPLM in the USA outraged by presidential decree to probe Pagan Amum
From the silence of the Vice President Kiir till this moment, it seems to suggest that he is telling H.E. the SPLM Secretary-General, Pagan Amum that let him carry his own cross which he fixed in the Forum of the Communists Newspaper, Freedom Bells (Agras al-Huriya). The issue is very tricky. Let me put it in this logical form:
Premise 1: If Salva Kiir defends Pagan Amum, he will make himself look unpatriotic.
Premise 2: His defense will be interpreted as affirmation of the Sudan as a “Failed and Corrupt State.”
Premise3: And if he affirms this new definition of the Sudan it will mean he is also affirming himself as a “failed and corrupt” leader because he is part of the administration of the “Failed and Corrupt Sudan”.
Premise 4: Salva Kiir does not want to affirm himself as a “failed and Corrupt” leader of the “Failed and Corrupt Sudan”.
Conclusion: Therefore Salva Kiir is reluctant to defend his Cadre who is the Minister of the Ministers of the Sudan.
This is a simple logic that can be comprehended by any logical human being. From this argument, a critical person can understand why Salva Kiir prefers others to defend Pagan Amum and help him with the journey of the heavy cross he put on his shoulders. That is why you see the arrogant American Sudanese who hold SPLM Chapters abroad defending H.E. Pagan Amum in isolation. This may look wise because these Afro-Americans have decided to take American Nationality by naturalization and use America passports and other official documents. Since Sudan’s constitution does not allow dual citizenship, then these Sudanese-American are not considered legally as Sudanese even if they have Sudanese marks on their foreheads. They can be excused when they insult Sudan because they are no longer Sudanese. This is the truth and you can insult this truth if you like.
A similar comparison: The Republic of Costa Rico was insulted last month by the top Sudanese diplomat in New York to be “a Banana State”. But the insult did not come from any government official of the Costa Rico itself; it was from outside. There is no problem for a top official of one country insulting another Country as long as his country is not interested in building a good relationship with the insulted country. But there is a problem with a top official of a country insulting his own Country because he will be regarded as unpatriotic if he does. H.E. Pagan should have left the outsiders to insult Sudan but not himself joining them in the insults, especially when he has decided to make rebellion as a past history and embrace CPA partnership in Sudan government with all it levels (National, Southern, State and Local).
The Bill of Rights are correlated with the Bills of Duties, especially for those who hold constitutional positions in the government. They cannot express themselves freely like journalists because whatever they say is considered seriously by the public. The unfortunate statement of the ‘immunity-lifted’ Minister of the Ministry of the Council of Ministers makes him look unpatriotic and Anti-CPA. If Sudan is a “Failed and Corrupt State” then it implies that all those who are involved in its government are failed and corrupt too, because ‘failure’ and ‘corruption’ does not occurs by itself. This statement implicate and pains the Sudanese SPLM members, but of course it does not pain the Foreign SPLM members who do not care about the image of the Sudan because they have deserted it and became foreign nationals serving foreign interests.