By: James Okuk Solomon
It is good to mention that the above mentioned SPLM politicians have attracted the attention of the media with their public statements. H.E. Dr. Lam Akol has been defending the government and became the sacrificial lamb in the criticism of those who have the xenophobia of Khartoum and the NCP. H.E. Mr. Pagan Amum has been criticizing Khartoum and got the admiration of those who hate the current national government of the Sudan. Who respects the rule of law, CPA implementation and democratic transformation between these two politicians from the Collo (Shilluk) Kingdom? To avoid street talks, let me refer to the book and understand the kind of oaths they have taken so that truth becomes the judge:
"I, Lam Akol Ajawin, having been appointed as National Minister, do hereby swear by God the Almighty that I will at all times be faithful to the Republic of the Sudan; that I will obey and respect the Constitution of the Republic of the Sudan and abide by all laws of the country; loyally defend the independence of the country, its unity and the democratic decentralized system of government and to faithfully serve the people and the country to the best of my ability; as God is my witness."
"I, Pagan
Amum Okiech, do hereby swear by the Almighty God/solemnly affirm/, that as
an Advisor in the Government of Southern Sudan, I shall be faithful and bear
true allegiance to Southern Sudan and shall diligently and honestly discharge
my duties and responsibilities and strive to foster the development and welfare
of its people; that I shall obey, preserve and defend this Constitution and the
Interim National Constitution and abide by the law; and that I shall protect
and promote the unity of the people of Southern Sudan and consolidate the
democratic decentralized system of government and preserve the integrity and
dignity of the people of Southern Sudan; so help me God/ and God is my
witness".
These two
prominent gentlemen have also taken similar constitutional oaths as
parliamentarians in the National and Southern Interim Assemblies respectively.
Based on those oaths, it can be justified that H.E. Dr. Lam has been loyal to
the rule of law and institutional discipline of his ministerial and legislative
office. He is confident of his ability to negotiate self-reliantly (e.g.
employing 60 Southerners in Sudan Foreign Affairs). In his press statements he
appeals more to the intellects of the listeners. But H.E. Mr. Pagan has been
disloyal and undisciplined in his advisory and legislative duties. He doubts
his own political ability of negotiating SPLM interests without external
backup. In his press statements, he appeals more to emotions of listeners. His
motion of calling upon American Administration to take charge of Sudanese
disorderly house is an inferiority complex that endorses Whites superiority. It
portrays SPLM as unpatriotic Sudanese party! Mr. Pagan seems to be blinded by
the formula: "the enemy of my enemy is my friend and I shall call for his help
to defeat and fail my opponent." He would have not been held accountable for
his public statements were he only the Secretary-General of SPLM and never a
constitutional holder of any government business. In multi-party democracy,
parties are supposed to check and balance the government and themselves as
parties. Since it seems that Mr. Pagan excels opposition, it is noble if he
resigns from any government office so that he is not bothered by the question
of constitutional allegiance and institutional discipline. This would give him
credibility and respect, especially if he updates his notes before declaring
them in the public, lest they contradict his colleagues'. For example, the SPLA
spokesperson released a press statement on the same day of Mr. Pagan's that "the
withdrawal of SAF from Southern Sudan is almost completed....the presence of
armed forces in oil production sites are part of the CPA and not part of
serving SAF agenda."
The stalemate of
implementation of Abyei protocol is neither a mistake of SPLM nor NCP nor the
government; it is the mistake of the so-called experts who compiled the report
hurriedly without checking its compliance with the CPA articles. Those experts
went with a lot of dollars that could have improved the life of the poor
residents of Abyei area. In spite of their big pay, they proved to be inexperts
by leaving the mess, which still haunts the Naivasha partners for a year now!
If SPLM is really a party which does not entertain marginalization, it should
include Misseriya and other non-Ngok Dink residents in the administration of
Abyei area as stipulated in the CPA and Sudan Interim National Constitution. To
say every time that NCP and government are reneging on the CPA implementation
is a sign of weakness from SPLM leadership. It shows that they are not able to adjust
to the new reality of peace language, and be in control of the country's
politics. This continuous cry puts a question mark whether SPLM would reliably manage
Sudan
government business if given people's votes in the coming general election. Surely,
this baby cry makes Umma party, who are against Self-determination and
many articles in the CPA, very happy!!!!
James Okuk is a junior diplomat (Second Secretary) in the Ministry of
Foreign Affairs of the Republic of the Sudan. He is also a PhD young Student
in the area of Political Philosophy in the University of Nairobi.
He can be reached on
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