ICG: SPLM should urgently transform from military movement to political party

April 05, 2011 (JUBA) – The ruling party of South Sudan should speed up its transition from a military movement to political party as the declaration of the independence of the new state is imminent, the International Crisis Group (ICG) says in its latest report.

The South’s ruling Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM), is the political wing of the Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA), the rebel movement which fought for independence from north Sudan from 1983-2005. The Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA), which ended hostilities, stipulated that the South Sudanese have a plebiscite in 2011. They voted overwhelmingly in favour of a secession, which will become official in 9 July 2011.

This transition process, ICG says, should involve the establishment of internal party reforms at both state and national level, by comprehensively reviewing party structures and relationships and clearly distinguishing its party activities from its role in government.

“Now that South Sudan’s referendum is complete and its independence from the North all but formalized, focus must increasingly shift to the political agenda at home. A new transitional government will preside over a fixed term from 9 July 2011, during which a broadly consultative review process should yield a permanent constitution,” the ICG report party reads.

Entitled “Politics and Transition in the New South Sudan”, the report urges the SPLM to demonstrate the “seriousness” of its plans to form a broad-based government, by appointing a significant number of opposition members to certain key ministries.

The ICG is “an independent, non-profit, non-governmental organisation committed to preventing and resolving deadly conflict.” It provides advice and analysis to governments, intergovernmental bodies, non-governmental organisations and others on conflict prevention and resolution.

Certain critical decisions, according to the ICG, should be tackled now and soon after the country’s independence, saying such measures will define the “health and trajectory of democracy” in the country.

“Embracing pluralism now – both inside and outside the party – would lay a foundation for stability in the long term. Failing on either front would risk recreating the kind of overly centralized, authoritarian and ultimately unstable state South Sudan has finally managed to escape,” further says the report.

POST-REFERENDUM NEGOTIATIONS

The report also acknowledges the ongoing post-referendum negotiations between the SPLM and their northern counterparts, the National Congress Party (NCP), describing it as an important step towards a “peaceful separation and a constructive North-South relationship”.

“While they [negotiations] consume considerable attention of the SPLM leadership, the political landscape in South Sudan has begun to transform. From the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) in 2005, South Sudan’s divergent ethnic and political communities were united behind a common goal: self-determination”, it says.

The ICG report paints a potentially dark picture of the future of the south, citing the wave of armed insurgencies and numerous militia attacks that have rocked the region’s post-referendum era. These rebellions, it says, highlight “internal fault lines and latent grievances within the security sector.”

“Continued fighting has challenged government capacity to manage domestic conflict, risks further polarization of ethnic communities and their political leaders and could stoke broader insecurity,” it warns.

The report urges members of the international community and donors to strive to ensure that the UN Mission in South Sudan and its leadership support, but in an impartial manner, the people of the region and its government thorough a renewed relationship with development partners.

It also urges them to speed up the processes related to providing support for political party development for all in the soon to be new country. It also calls for support for public opinion polling, and the South Sudan Legislative Assembly (SSLA) members.

(ST)