Re: Victoria Sudan People Liberation Movement (SPLM) Chapter’s Position PaperWhether you are in position of leadership or not you have a moral duty to be the change you seek to be
Victoria, Australia, April 30, 2014 (SSNA) — Fellow comrades, we are hereby declaring to you all at your respective locations around the globe that we the Victoria SPLM Chapter members led by the Care Taker Chairperson-Comrade Gatluak Puok Puoch, Youth League Acting Chairperson-Comrade Peter Bidong Pal, Member of Youth League Executive Council-Comrade Tito Tut Pal, Finance and Administration Officer-Comrade Solomon Jal Nhial and Women and Gender Officer-Comrade Nyaboth Stephen and several other honourable active members of the Victoria SPLM Chapter whose names have not been mentioned, are no longer servicing under an incompetent government and shameless leadership of Salva Kiir, who failed to uphold its values and responsible and largly knokn for driven by family members and loyal hand-picked tribal groups; clan militants and militias.
Like any sons and daughters of this great nation-yearning for tranquillity, prosperous and just democratic South Sudan, we have denounced the current leadership and all its fiats in strongest term possible and embraced the just peace, democratic, united and inclusive SPLM/SPLA in Opposition led by Comrade Dr Riek Machar Teny and Comrade Alfred Lado Gore. We are urging you all to register your collective support whole heartedly with this democratic, just, transparent and people-driven political system-Federalism emerging.
Our immediate strategic decision came into effect as result of numerous despondences, massive loss of lives and destruction caused to our innocent South Sudanese by the government in the name of few desperate and power hunger individuals who have systematically organised the killings of our innocent South Sudanese through fabricated ‘Coup’. D’état. Hailed high on the basis of clan and region, Kiir placed his trust on few hand-picked patronages and spin-doctors that are mainly from his tribe and clan- leaving wondering and vulnerable the mainstream South Sudanese who had overwhelmingly voted him into the highest trusted post of the nation.
Kiir was thought to be a charismatic and an admired leader for his fierce and radical views in support of secession of the South and pursued for freedom for all South Sudanese; however, after he secured the position, Kiir unexpectedly chose the opposite. He joined the club of dictators led by murderer of Uganda, Yoweri Museveni, who enshrined and blessed him after he joined the nation of faceless men and became a prospect member fully integrated in this clan of gangs. This is indeed an undisputed evident that Kiir entered the office to service the interest of only few hand-picked advisors and foreign forces such as Ugandans and Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) militants of Darfur. Circled by such incompetent groups willing to commit atrocity in return of financial support, Kiir has completely chose not to listen to the majority of his own fellow citizens and further ignored the contributions of the very important actors and arc of the nation such as the political parties, faith based groups, civil society organizations, youth and women groups, traditional leaders, church leaders and eminent personalities which the world considers as the valuable and major actors for the future development in any nation.
Worst of all, the government was quick to condemn the killings of territorial invaders and venal groups-the JEM militants in the recent combat operations in Unity State; however, maintained silent during the mass killings of the most vulnerable innocents civilians on 15 December 2013 in Juba and continued to do so during the lynching of other more powerless Nuer members in Jonglei State in April 2014.
Comrades, we would like to advise that the government in Juba is too deformed to be reformed. This claim has been proven by number of the following evidences:
First, the government has been intentionally refusing to commit to the handwork of addressing political underrepresentation, political grievances, historical grievances between our communities, human rights abuses, economic disparity and trauma which have been facing our community for the last eight years. Domination of the most secretive and vital government positions by Kiir’s clan and tribal men is indeed another worrying sign of the nation’s resources and the leadership being dominated by one tribe. In 2013, South Sudanese around the globe embraced the notion of ‘Peace and Reconciliation’ as one of the vital mechanisms to seeking peace amongst themselves and forgiving each other; however, Mr Kiir and his spin-doctors delivery refused the go-ahead of this process-knowing that they have unfinished business-being the recent killing of innocent South Sudanese.
Second, the government has been rather oppressive to its critics and publically chose to rule with iron fist. Many prominent political commentators and journalists have been banded from broadcasting information that appears to be questioning the performances and directions that the government has been leading the nation to. Others have been killed-Isaiah Ambraham is an example. Several ordinary citizens have been incarcerated, unlawfully detained or dispositioned from places they called homes simply because they are being considered as enemies of the regime.
Innocent protestors were indiscriminately sprayed with AK-47 machine guns during peaceful processing in Wau in 2013 and countless Equatorian lands were occupied and continues to be seized from their custodians by Kiir’s militants whilst the government remain silent.
Third, invested immensely on tyrannical system, Kiir and his government applied zero tolerant, out of touch and dramatically failed to deliver the promised services to the needy South Sudanese. Kiir and his government claims they have no financial support when it comes to services supposed to be delivered to innocent South Sudanese; however, have funds available for militants, militias and foreigners like JEM of Darfur and Ugandans Army Combats Forces to carry out massacre on specific tribes that he and his spin-doctors hated most.
Fourth, the social fabrics of our great nation have been crippled by unspeakable corruption. The God-given abandon revenues that we all shared and inherited by birth became the properties of Kiir and his militants. In Juba, public offices have packaged up with family members, relatives and loyalists thus critically resulting in total lost of the visions, aims and objectives of the SPLM/A. Widows whose husbands and orphans whose father have given up nothing else by only their lives for the freedom of all South Sudanese to be achieved are continuing to suffer as the government turns blind eyes on them. Heroes and heroines who lost limbs in sacrifice for their people and nation are rarely treated as contributors to South being a nation today, or valued as living legends. Kiir has indeed becomes a king of the nation as symbolised by his cowboy hat and trademark stick pictures posted in business hotels, airport and everywhere in the nation. Loyalists serving Kiir’s interest have been enjoying a government of no accountability, purchasing expensive mansions outside the country using public money and filling their accounts with countless incentives that are supposed to be enjoyed by all South Sudanese.
Fifth, Kiir is a supreme man above the law instead of the law being above him. With the main security apparatus and agents of the nation appointed and runs solely instead of the nation, the legal institutions have also been systematically paralysed and made intentionally effective specifically so that the government continues to operate undercover and unquestioned. Strongly believed in his own militias and militants, Kiir has abandoned the nation’s army. Instead, he recruited his own clan-men whom he used to execute the genocide of the Nuer Tribe on 15 December 2013 and publically failed to implement measures aiming to curve the current ongoing lost of lives, destruction and despair in the new nation.
In conclusion, the South Sudanese should realise that there is only one trusted leadership capable to reversing the above critical issues and brings about inclusive, people driven government, transparency, accountability and equal share of resources for all-that is the current SPLM/A in Opposition led by Dr Machar.
Undersigned by: