Nyandeng says 1991 SPLM split irrelevant
December 11, 2013 (JUBA) – Madam Rebecca Nyandeng de Mabior, the widow of the late founder of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM), John Garang de Mabior, rebuked some of the party leaders whom she said still dwelled on the 1991 split of the movement to try to blackmail other leaders who work for change.
She argued that the past political differences are irrelevant with the current situation in the ruling party.
The widow of the first chairman of the movement, also presidential advisor, was responding to utterances by a number of senior party leaders who on Sunday held a press conference in which they accused the first deputy chairman, Riek Machar, of leading the current move against South Sudan’s president and SPLM chairman, Salva Kiir.
In response to a Friday press conference by Machar, Nyandeng and Pagan Amum, among other senior leaders, in which they accused Kiir of “dictatorial tendencies”, a group led by the South Sudan’s vice president and SPLM second deputy chairman, James Wani Igga, reminded that Machar had differed with late Garang in 1991 which they said he intended to repeat against Kiir.
Speakers at the press conference included Kuol Manyang, defence minister, Daniel Awet Akot, member of the party’s political bureau as well as Riek Gai Kok, minister of health, all referred to the 1991 split, accusing Machar of being “anti-Salva.”
They denied an accusation by Machar’s group which described them as “anti-Garang elements.”
Speaking to Bakhita Radio on Tuesday, Nyandeng however said those who had personal problem with Machar should not dwell on the political differences that occurred 23 years ago in 1991 between her late husband and Machar, adding that they should instead address the current challenges facing the party.
Machar and Garang reunited in 2002 three years before the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) in 2005 which ended 21 years of war between the former regions of northern and southern Sudan.
In November 2004, Kiir also differed with late Garang in which he accused the latter of dictatorship in the movement, but the two were later on reconciled in Rumbek, the capital of Lakes state, through a mediation effort led by Machar.
Nyandeng also explained that their group was not to immediately remove Kiir from the presidency but to remove him from the party chairmanship in the upcoming convention until a presidential election is held in 2015.
She and her other colleagues including Machar announced a plan to hold a public rally on Saturday, 14 December, to enlighten the public on the party’s affairs.
(ST)