SPLM in Unity State, welcome belated support from Juba - Sudan Tribune

By Bonifacio Taban Kuich

May 23, 2012 (BENTIU) - The caucus of South Sudan’s ruling Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM), in Unity State met on Wednesday to welcome SPLM teams coming from the capital Juba, who were visiting to deliver food items for the military. However, some members said the ruling party had taken too long to act to support soldiers stationed on the tense border with Sudan.

Norah Zangabeyo SPLM secretary for social welfare and services addressing SPLM caucus meeting in Unity State, South Sudan, 23 May 2012

South Sudan has launched campaigns to to assist the army (SPLA), which has been engaged in a border conflict with Sudan, over the contested oil-producing region of Heglig.

Norah Zangabeyo, SPLM secretary for social welfare and services, team leader of SPLM delegation from Juba, said that despite winning the elections in 2010 the former rebel group had a lot to do to provide for society’s needs.

South Sudan, which seceded from Sudan in July last year, is one of the poorest countries in the world, with next to no infrastructure and very low development indicators.

This has been exacerbated by the loss of revenue from oil export since the start of the year over a transit fee dispute with Khartoum. The SPLA says that over 80 bombs have been dropped on Unity State by the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF). Khartoum denies this, despite it being reported by the UN, journalists and officials.

Zangabeyo said that what had happen in Unity State was very "paining" and concerning for the rest of South Sudan to witness, "we take it seriously in our hearts as the leaders from the national government to share the burdens together as people from one nation.”

2015 Election

Zangabeyo said that unity among SPLM members was needed to pave ways for preparation of next election in 2015.

She urged SPLM members in the oil-rich state to be more mature whenever delivering information’s to the world about South Sudan. “South Sudan must be clean in the international community by practicing good governance, democratic, peace and stability”.

Unity State has suffered from the presence of rebel groups, which Juba claims are militia backed by Khartoum to destabilise the young nation. Sudan denies this.

“We need to tell the world that we promote democratic [values] within the new nation, rather then we develop hatred agendas in our hearts that could bring failure government in South Sudan."

She called on SPLM members to follow the country’s laws. South Sudan should not put itself in a position like that of Sudan, where its president Omer Hassan al-Bashir has been indicted by the International Criminal Court for alleged genocide, war crimes and crimes against in Sudan’s western Darfur region.

“It is unfair for the country[’s] president to violate laws, we don’t want cases like these happening, we want democratic and promote freedom for every creature living in the republic of South Sudan in general”, she explains.

Deputy governor Michael Chiengjiek Geay welcomed the visit of delegation from Juba, but said the SPLM in Juba had been slow to respond to the insecurity happening in Unity, North Bahr-El-Gazal, Western Bhar-El-Gazal and Upper Nile states in order to boost the moral in the militarily.

He urged women across South Sudan to work hard to support SPLA forces. Geay added that women in Unity State have done a lot in caring for their sons who were wounded during the recent fighting by donating sleeping sheets and cooking food at the hospital.

He also calls for forgiveness among SPLM members to go ahead with the vision of free nation.

Engineer Riek Degoal Juer a member of parliament criticised the decision of SPLM’s leadership to not recognise the representative elected by the SPLM caucus in Unity. Failing to do so hampered democracy in South Sudan, he said.

(ST)