SPLM failure to nominate candidate for Sudan presidency
By Gatkuoth Deng
April 18, 2009 — Reliable information reaching us from Juba indicates that efforts of the recent extra-ordinary meeting of the Political Bureau, the highest executive organ of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM), which set for three days from 15th to 17th April in Juba to nominate its top candidate to run for the office of the President of the Republic of Sudan, has unfortunately failed.
Most, if not all, of the SPLM active members around the globe are aware of the importance of the upcoming national elections scheduled for February next year. As a national party and a hope for the marginalized people of the Sudan that yearn for democratic transformation of the old undemocratic system, coupled with inequality, injustice and unbalanced development in the country, the SPLM is set to contest for political seats all over the country in order to capture power even in the Khartoum Palace through the elections. This is in order to effect the transformation of the whole country.
The SPLM shall contest in the Presidential, parliamentary and local government elections in the South, West, East, North and Center of the Sudan in addition to its strong holds of the three contested regions of Abyei, Nuba Mountains and Southern Blue Nile. The SPLM shall contest for the parliamentary seats of the National Assembly in Khartoum to push for a considerable increase of its current small share of 28% representation in the National Assembly to may be over 50%. It shall contest for governorships for all the Greater Northern Sudan states including for the home state of the incumbent President, Omer Hassen Al Bashir. The SPLM shall also contest for parliamentary seats in all the states of Sudan including the seats for Commissioners of the counties in such respective states.
However, without the SPLM top contestant against the incumbent President, Omer Hassen Al Bashir, as the captain of the ship in this huge task of national transformation, it would be an aborted attempt to effect such a change. Considering the limited time left towards elections, and before which the nominee should get prepared for a huge task of preaching the wind of change throughout the 25 states of the country, delaying the nomination of the party’s top candidate for the Presidential elections, to me, retards the SPLM’s preparations for the elections at the national level.
I was hoping that the SPLM Political Bureau meeting should have emerged with the party’s nominee who would start to take up the huge task from this April. Reliable sources from the South Sudan capital, Juba, indicate that our chairman, comrade Salva Kiir Mayardit, made a dramatic and surprising move that resulted to the failure of the SPLM nomination of its candidate for the office of the President of the Republic of Sudan.
According to the sources, the 27-member of the SPLM Political Bureau nominated comrade Salva Kiir Mayardit to contest against the incumbent President Omer Al-Bashir for the national office of the President. They also nominated comrade Dr. Riek Machar Teny, to run for the office of the President of the Government of Southern Sudan, and perhaps and rightfully comrade James Wani Igga to eye the office of the Vice President of the Government of Southern Sudan.
It is said by these reliable sources that comrade Salva Kiir bitterly refused to run for the office of the President of the Republic of Sudan, and instead chose to run for the office of the President of the Government of Southern Sudan and nominated Dr. Riek Machar to run for the office of the President of the Republic of Sudan. The Political Bureau members insisted that General Salva Kiir should run for the office of the national President in Khartoum, but he continued to bitterly refuse. Then finally, the members of the Bureau told him he was exercising his right of choice as a person if he did not want to contest at the national level, but asked him to handover the chairmanship of the Party to Dr. Riek Machar and to step down as deputy-chairman so that Dr. Riek Machar contests for the Presidency at the national level. Comrade Kiir also refused to handover the chairmanship and also refused to contest at the national level at the same time. Sources added that he even suggested that there was no need for somebody to contest for the Khartoum Presidency in the upcoming elections, but was reminded by the Bureau of the need to do that as the party’s vision and objectives are concerned. Dr. Riek Machar is said to have accepted to contest in Khartoum provided that he is handed over the party’s chairmanship in accordance with the CPA’s power sharing arrangements leading to the elections.
The Political Bureau pleaded with the chairman Salva Kiir to reach a consensus with the Bureau by either choosing to contest in Khartoum as the SPLM chairman or to handover the chairmanship to his deputy who would compete against the chairmen of the other political parties in the country. In that way, he was told that he would remain in Southern Sudan and contest for the office of the President of the Government of Southern Sudan. The chairman surprised the Bureau by totally refusing to reach a consensus. Sources say that the matter is now referred to the SPLM National Liberation Council (NLC), the body that serves as parliament for the Party, to try to resolve the issue next month (May).
It is very unfortunate that the SPLM could continue to disable itself in the face of the soon coming general elections. NLC should study the situation properly and come up with a binding resolution that should be respected and implemented immediately so that the party’s nominee hurries up and prepares himself or herself for the daunting task which is already at the corner. Unless the SPLM is not serious about the process of transformation of the country which it always talks about, this delay for internal top nominations will make the SPLM elections look like the last year’s failed population census in the South simply because of the disease called ‘unpreparedness.’
The author lives in New York, USA, and can be reached at: [email protected]
Jayo
SPLM failure to nominate candidate for Sudan presidency
This guy should not create things from his house and says some sources told him anything.Who are those sources that do not talk to the media in Sudan and only talk to him in USA.
I stongly condemn this baseless lies.A whole country with media sources should not be misled by some individual with malicious motive.
Akol Liai Mager
SPLM failure to nominate candidate for Sudan presidency
Mr. Gatkuoth,
Conversation councils in Sudan are the only forums where Sudan’s issues are well-addressed. What is taking place in the SPLM party behind closed doors regarding presidential candidate is very obvious to street conversation councilors.
The Councilors have narrated this is a water-giver man’s story. Once upon a time, a village gentleman decided to serve people for no return for his service. He chosed getting water to people individuals and groups equally. The story said that the man did this service for more than 20 years. One day the man went to get water in the river. As he was filling up his water’s container for the thirsty persons, a person’s like hands emerged in the water and the voice said can you give me water please? The water serving man was deeply annoyed and said this is a provocative request. You made me a slave to give you water everywhere even if you are deep in the water, you ask me to give you water, I will never give you water and this is my last time to give water to anyone. The man thrown away water container, the hands asking for water disappeared and the water giver man went without water and also talking loudly to himself. Another person appeared before him and asked are you alright? Is something went wrong? Craziest people! Replied water giver man. They ask me water even if they are in the water. The man asked how long have you been giving water to people and why? Water-giver man, more than twenty years, I want to help people out of their hardship, but now I don’t want to do it any more. The man said, you have just refused to give water to God. The water-giver man felt sorry, but it was too late for him to receive God’s reward”. I have nothing to add, with thanks,
Akol
William Okuch
SPLM failure to nominate candidate for Sudan presidency
CORRECTION: We understand the word ‘CORRECTION’ as an alternative to eradicate wrong leadership and replace it with responsible chair person who has capability shepherd the member of community.
Examples of former president Nelson Mandela and Rev. Martin King Luther: Let me use their initiatives as examples to prove my arguments. Mandela had fought to restore human qualities bestowed in his consciences by Creator (God).
Nelson Mandela after Mandela had managed to preside the affairs of nation as president, on his watch, there dogs that were once used against human on the streets were taken into their cages. He had showed the white what does the leadership means. He had restored the buried human values (just, equality, democracy and freedom) in South African community. That was the meaning of word CORRECTION which can only be achieved by our innermost vision not that base on plagiarism or by stealing other people vision.
Martin King Luther change to US and entire world was begun by one black woman in US who was once in 1960s asked to give her seat to a white person standing in a bus. But that heroine black woman had that day determined to correct the inhuman culture that prevalence in US community. The woman was arrested and locked up in prison.
The news had reached Martin King that a woman had refused to give her seat and as a result she was imprisoned. King himself went and sat in a bus to observe such thing happen. Knowing it does, King had begun his corrective movement which brought the change not to US only but to the world. Now, let relate the corrections of Dinka leaders to those corrections and their leaderships if they correlate to moral responsibilities of human community.
But Dinka dictionary interpretates or translate correction in oppoisite ways. Let me say briefly few errors Dinka leaders have committed against the Sudanese nation.
ABEL ALEIR CORRECTED JOSEPH LAGU: I would like here to share with you the outcome of correction played by Abel Aleir, Dr. John Garang and Salva Kiir in their patriotisms. Just to mention only numbers of years without talking about lives and properties lost during Anya-Anya One. Joseph Lagu had fought the enemy for seventeen years and he was almost willing to achieve his vision that called for the Southern Sudan Independence. However, former president Ja’far Nimiery through helps from Islamic and Arab worlds was able to fail General Joseph Lagua from breaking away the South from North through puppet Abel Alier. The ideas to terminate the SSLM were only two sentences mentioned below which was suggested by Arab to convince the SSLM supporters mainly church.
“The Southern Independence could not be reach by insurrection, neither could the National Integration could be attain by subjugation. Peaceful negotiation base on REGIONAL-AUTONOMY is only possibly effective way for solving southern problem.” The suggested alternative to SSLM sound good and it made sense to the church. But who will be there to serve the interests of the enemy. Off course our usual outstanding puppet Abel Aleir was there to implement the plot. First step was to fire good southern politicians from their ministerial positions that were began with most radical figures.
REMOVAL OF JOSEPH GARANG: He was one of the most capable Southern leaders who fought for our rights. Nimeiry knew very well that his plan to tear down the SSLM will not work if Joseph Garang still in his position as minister for Southern affairs. To implement his ambition for national integration, president Nimeiry had therefore replaced Joseph with Abel Alier in August 1971 because Alier has teeth that bite his fellow not enemy. Sadly enough, Joseph Garang was not only occupationally removed, but his live was terminated as well. Song sing by the Sudanese communist party for yearly commemoration of Joseph Garang informed us about treason of Alier. Song states that, “his name is Joseph, who among you can stab his brother at his back.” Song is telling Alier that Aleir is Christian as Joseph. He is Joseph as Abel Aleir and he is black man as Southerner who fights for the same destiny as Alier. Thus Abel shouldn’t have had stabbed him at his back. That is the massage of song.
EFFECTS OF ABEL ALEIR AND DR. JA’FAR MUHAMMAD TASKS ON SSLM: With Abel as minister for southern affairs rather than Joseph Garang, Nimeiry had entrusted the task of the South to Abel Alier and Dr. Ja’far Muhammad who shortly after their appointments came up with conclusion that they had won the southern public opinion for ‘REGIONAL AUTONOMY’. Dr. Ja’far and puppet Alier had then drafted the illusionary proposed organic law calling for regional autonomy which was published in September 1971. That law had paved the way for regional autonomy government that was ran by Abel Alier after Addis Ababa Agreement.
How Nimeiry and Abel Alier had engaged the church in forcing General Joseph Lagu to dismantle from his call for SSLM:
Local church in Sudan was influenced by Abel Aleir with help from government and urged her members to agree on the proposed law calling for regional autonomy. Church members were enticed to accept and preach that notion of suggested regional autonomy to the church around the world. President Nimeiry and puppet Alier had targeted three Christian institutions such as, the Vatican, World Council of Churches (WCC) and All-African Conference of Churches (AACC). Through local church leaders, president Nimeiry had managed to invite the members of AACC to visit Sudan for first time in June 1970. It was really a rapid destruction of SSLM carried out on parallel rails, internally and externally. Least than 12 months later, Abel Aleir and president Nimeiry were able to connect WCC and AACC to collaborate on treasonous plan against the will of our people who already denied their lives for seventeen years. In April 19971, a joint mission of AACC and WCC had discussed the Southern future in Khartoum. After their discussion, one month later, Abel Aleir was delegated in May 1971 to Rome to meet the Pope Paul VI with whom he had joint interview. In one month only, the WCC and AACC had been accepted as intermediaries in June 1971 by both the government and SSLM.
The first Contacts between SSLM and Government were secretly held in Addis Ababa on November 9-10, 1971 with representatives of WCC and AACC as observers till SSLM and government signed Addis Ababa Peace Accord on February 27, 1972. We can understand here that General Joseph Lagu was forced to sign the agreement base on Abel Aleir and Nimeiry vision of Regional Autonomy. However, Gereral Lagu was reluctant to ratify the agreement till further pressure was put on him to do so. Anglican Archbishop in Jerusalem and Superior-General of the Verona Fathers had then signed a joint letter begging Joseph Lagu to ratify the agreement. Indeed, SSLM under heavy intimidation of being isolated had unwillingly ratified the agreement on March 28, 1971. That was how Abel Aleir had emerged to change the call of SSLM for independence with regional autonomy which he again had destroyed through standard of Dinka culture of division, corruption, killing and destruction that brought Cocora among the Southerners.
Not all the members of SSLM who had came to back to Sudan result of peace accord. But many of them had remained as refugees in host countries who had again waged war against the enemy. Again Abel and Nimeiry were able to send Dr. John Garang with heavy arms from enemies such as Libya to crash the Anaya-Anya Two in 1983.
As Abel had destroyed the government of regional autonomy he had created, Dr. Garang and Salva Kiir have been destroying the SPLM they both had established for the New Sudan during liberation period. Again, they are now burying the constitution of SPLM that called to build the NEW SUDAN base on democracy, justice, equality, security and freedom.
In my understanding, leadership and corrections mean to Dinka leaders to aggravate the situation by causing more grievances and to enrich the position of Dinka tribe.
The whole community of Sudan has now understood the nation of Dinka and Dinka leaders understood that they can never be elected if the contest for presidential election. That why nomination of presidential candidate within SPLM office failed.
Those guys can never lead a nationa as all and they should not try to do that. But they can however do that unethically that cause more suffering to the nation as they assume they are born to rule. They have failed in South as we can see the president and ministers descending to Malakal to address their Dinka affiars despite the whole region is on flame of explosion. How can they try then to address the issue of the world Sudan if they favor their tribe and replace the most capable figure as Dr. Lam with dumb man like Deng Alor who knows what is taking place in Sudan according to his words during his visit to US.