Scare tactics won’t distract SPLM

By Luk Kuth Dak

May 21, 2011 — I truly believe that by now everybody knows that I’m no fan of the International Criminal Court ( ICC) most wanted fugitive and soon-to- be a forlorn, Mr. Omer Hassan Ahmed Al-Bashir. Sadly, it’s only in a country like the Sudan, where a man with so much blood of his fellow citizens in his hands, could still be called president of anything much less a nation.

Apparently, Al-Bashir doggedly holds a grudge against the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) and President Kirr in particular, of course, for liberating the people of South Sudan, and for opening the eyes of our dear brothers in the West, East, Ingissna Hills and the Nuba mountains, to the injustices they had endured for decades and counting. It’s very evident that his regime’s ultimate goal is to clear the land from the black people, and replace them with Arabs, as we have seen it already with the uncontrollable influx of Egyptians and other Arab nationals into our land with hardly and documentations.

In his latest visit to South Kordofan, Al-Bashir was vehemently blameful of the SPLM – both in the South and the North- for anything and everything that went wrong in the country!! “ We will fight them tooth and nail; we will take off our “ jalabia” and the “ khaki” will return”, he told the audience. So there you have it. The battle lines have now been drawn with Al-Bashir out front!?

I’m not so sure about that!!

Once again, we have a judgment issue. But Al-Bashir’s threats didn’t come as a surprise to very many Sudanese on both sides of the country, especially given that folks are really and truly in replete with his lies, and no longer engross in his empty rhetorical speeches and erotic behavior.

Al-Bashir relentless attempts to undermine the South, further its suffering, and make the separation as sourly and painfully as possible, the dictator’s regime is currently imposing an unannounced economical embargo on the South, especially on goods and essential commodities from the North. However, there is bright spot in all of this –and that’s Al-Bashir and the band of lunatics, will much sooner than later learn their lesson the hard way that they are in fact shooting themselves in the foot, by hurting their own economy, because South Sudan can fill the gap from the other neighboring nations, like Ethiopia, Kenya and Uganda, which is exactly what the government of South Sudan (GoSS) is currently pursuing, according to the Regional Cooperation Minister, Ustaz Deng Alor.

But there’s also this: first off, after July 9th, the North would desperately need every loose penny there is, to make up for the lost oil revenue, which will then become solely a Southern property. And at that time, any discussion about sharing anything will most likely fall into a deaf ear.

Surly enough, Al-Bashir, through two plus decades, has caused the South enough tragedies. From the murders of over two million innocents lives to his now attempts to destabilize the security of the region. We can’t take that anymore, can we? Therefore, it’s time for the SPLM to craft a more direct strategy in tackling that problem. Most importantly, it must bring everybody on the same page as a people and as a nation. That’s the only way we can dismantle their hateful agendas.

Finally, I couldn’t disagree with those who are calling for cuts in the security budget in favor of the development and infrastructure. Thus, the truth of the matter is: security and development go hand- in- hand, but without security, development has a zero chance.

The author is the Vice President of the Sudanese Journalist union (SJU) in the USA, and a former anchorman at Juba Radio. He can be reached via email at: [email protected].