June 1st, 2014
Thro’ Comrade Dr. Anne Itto
SPLM Secretary General (a. i.)
Subject:
“The moment the activity of an organization becomes divorced from all theory; from all rational synthesis of the period and the ways of thinking that mould it, the masses are quite right to abandon that organization. The cynicism of the leaders will be paralleled by the scepticism of the militants and sympathizers, who have become passive spectators of a series of about-turns, whose coherence escapes them and over which they therefore no longer have any influence.” Debray (1974) A critique of Arms.
While our people, the people of South Sudan, are passing through these difficult times in their long history of struggle for freedom, justice, equality and prosperity, it is not possible for me to remain unperturbed by, indifferent or insensitive to this unprecedented trepidation, immense suffering, fragmentation and internecine fighting occasioned by the events of December 15, 2013.
I am writing this letter to you as Chairman of the SPLM and as somebody, I have known since 1986. First, I want to discuss my concerns in respect of the current political situation surrounding the SPLM as the ruling party, and our republic of South Sudan. As a revolutionary, up to this point in time, I consider myself part of the SPLM and therefore equally responsible by commission or omission for some of the SPLM shortcomings, which have landed it into this awkward situation. In this connection, therefore, and without any reservation, chauvinism or shame I offer to self-criticize myself.
Mr Chairman, the vision of the ‘New Sudan’ and the political objectives of justice, equality, freedom and prosperity united us and indeed inspired many Sudanese, young or old, to join the ranks and file of the SPLM/SPLA since its inception in 1983. The dynamics of the political environment did not permit the SPLM/SPLA to realize its New Sudan vision and had to compromise for Southern Sudan in the Comprehensive Peace Agreement. As a Liberation Movement, the SPLM need not abandon its vision and political objectives of building justice, equality, freedom and prosperity in Southern Sudan. This is because the ideals of social justice, equality, freedom, democracy and progress are equally applicable territorially to Southern Sudan as a subnational entity under the administration of the SPLM (2005 – 2011) as they were to the New Sudan. The only explanation must be that the SPLM had eschewed these concepts and jettisoned its vision of the ‘New Sudan’ in a paradigm shift to ‘Southern Sudan’ in obedient response to external forces. ‘New Sudan’ disappeared imperceptibly from the oral or written literature of the SPLM without any debate.
Mr Chairman, the SPLM emerged from the poorest and underdevelopment sections of our society namely the peasants and pastoral communities. Its objective was to liberate our people from centuries of deprivation and neglect accentuated by enslavement and political repression. The SPLM dominated the Government of Southern Sudan and those of its States since July 9, 2005. It had the necessary financial and economic resources coupled with resource injection from the international community during the interim period (2005 – 2011) to make a difference in the lives of our people. This was entirely under your leadership as the Chairman of the SPLM and President of the Government of South Sudan.
Neither the SPLM nor the Government of Southern Sudan had a socio-economic programme that could absorb the billions of US dollars that poured into Southern Sudan from the oil revenues. This explains how under your watch unscrupulous individuals laid their hand on, and stashed away in foreign lands, what you called in the letter to the ‘seventy five former and current ministers’, the missing four billions dollars. I did not work with the Government of Southern Sudan during the entire interim period. However, like many others who did not work for the Government of Southern Sudan, I nevertheless received the letter suggesting that when it became certain that the real thieves would not be apprehended – due to their proximity to your good self, you sent out the letter to smear the ‘clean ones’ in your government (2011-2013). Put in another way, the inclusion of other was to make it difficult to identify the real culprits.