JUBA – The main armed opposition Sudan People’s Liberation Movement in Opposition (SPLM-IO) has slammed President Salva Kiir’s ruling Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) over claims by the group that it has violated the Arusha reunification accord.
The reunification deal was signed in early 2015 in Tanzania by three factions of the SPLM namely SPLM-IG under Kiir, SPLM-IO under Machar and the defunct SPLM-FDs then led by Pagan Amum as a supplement to the agreement on resolution of conflict in South Sudan.
But since the collapse of the 2015 peace agreement in 2016, no further steps have been taken so far to complete the reunification process.
Pagan Amum, then secretary-general of the SPLM, returned to Juba briefly in Juba 2015 before leaving the country once again. He then formed the rebel Real SPLM currently being a member of South Sudan Opposition Movements Alliance (SSOMA).
Last week, a meeting of the political bureau of the SPLM chaired by President Kiir resolved to remove Machar and Pagan, saying the two men have lost the membership of the party for establishing their own political parties.
“The Political Bureau also recommends to the national liberation council the replacement of Comrade Pagan Amum and Comrade Riek Machar from the structure of the SPLM as they already forfeited from their memberships by establishing other political parties,” said the acting SPLM secretary general Peter Lam Both told SSBC on Thursday last week.
The senior SPLM official further declared that the implementation of the Arusha Reunification agreement has been completed and that factions led by Machar and Pagan are not willing to reunite the party.
In a statement responding to the dismissal and the suspension of the Arusha agreement, Machar’s media aide Puok Both Baluang who doubles as the director of information and public relations said the decision by the SPLM faction under Kiir violates the Arusha agreement.
“On other the hand, the unilateral decision made by the SPLM (IG) is a grave violation of the Agreement on the Reunification of Sudan People’s Liberation Movement signed in January 21st, 2015 in Arusha which was mediated by the Tanzania’s ruling party Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM), in which the three SPLM factions namely SPLM (10), SPLM (IG) and SPLM (FD) committed themselves to the re-unification of the party to enhance national unity, reconciliation and healing amongst the people of South Sudan,” the SPLM-IO statement reads in part.
The statement further said the Arusha agreement does not live in part, but a complementary document to the 2015 agreement and its successor, the revitalized peace agreement, to cement unity and reconciliation across the country.
“The Arusha Agreement is a complementary accord to the Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in South Sudan (ARCSS) and consequently Revitalized ARCSS. The Arusha Agreement is aimed to bring together the SPLM factions to address most of the crucial points on political, organizational and leadership issues,” it said.
It further said that the “the SPLM (IG) has no authority to dismiss leaders of SPLM of other factions at any time when the reunification is not done. This decision of SPLM (IG) is a distraction of the ongoing efforts being made by the parties in addressing the national crisis through the implementation of the R-ARCSS and Rome talks which would pave the way for the SPLM factions to implement the Arusha Agreement.”
“However, we note the fact that SPLM (IG) can reorganize and restructure itself, without necessarily claiming the authority of the SPLM.
“Finally, the leadership of SPLM (IO) respects and firmly commits itself to the two Agreements (R-ARCSS and Arusha). We therefore hold the SPLM (IG) accountable for violating the Arusha Agreement and aborting the reunification of the SPLM.”
