JUBA – The Real Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (Real-SPLM) led by former Secretary-General of the SPLM has said that the people of South Sudan have been betrayed by the ruling SPLM faction and that the leadership of President Salva Kiir Mayardit is too deformed to be reformed saying it should resign to allow the people of South Sudan to rebuild the country.
The Real SPLM is a faction of the ruling SPLM party and was formed in August 2019 by exiled opposition politician Pagan Amum Okiech who was, before the ongoing conflict, the SPLM’s secretary general.
In a statement marking South Sudan’s 10th independence anniversary, the group which is negotiating end to the conflict in a talk mediated by the Sant’Egidio Community of Rome said there is very little to celebrate on South Sudan’s 10th birthday and concluded that the leadership of President Salva Kiir Mayardit has betrayed the people of South Sudan.
“Today is the 10th anniversary of the Independence of South Sudan. It would have been a joyous occasion, but this is not a happy day at all, because the majority of our people are suffering from hunger and economic hardship, disease and insecurity in the countryside, displaced persons and the refugee camps as well as in the towns and in Juba, our capital. We have lost a decade of statehood, because of a blind and corrupt rule. There is very little to celebrate today. We can only ‘stand up in silence and respect, saluting our martyrs, whose blood cemented the foundation of our nation,'” the statement extended to Sudans Post reads in part.
“Our people struggled for generations to be free. We fought for our right to live “united in peace and harmony” in this, our, blessed homeland with great abundance. Tragically the people are betrayed right from the inception of Independence. Their hopes dashed. The ‘leadership’ lost the vision and is taking the country into chaos and disintegration, if it is not stopped sooner. It is a “leadership” that has missed the path to serve the people with glory. Instead of leading the people to the Promised Land by uniting and inspiring them to tackle the demanding and difficult historical tasks of state and nation building, deplorably it embarked on destroying the emerging institutions of the new state and dividing the people and shredding the social fabric of the young nation,” the statement added.
The group further said there is currently a fair conclusion that the country has lost direction under the leadership of President Salva Kiir Mayardit and the regime is now too deformed to be reformed and it is incumbent upon President Salva Kiir Mayardit and his first deputy Dr. Riek Machar Teny to resign to give chance for the people of South Sudan to rebuild the country.
“It is fair to conclude that our first republic has failed and is bankrupt, that the Kiir regime “is too deformed to be reformed”, that all attempts of reform and transition to peace and democracy have failed or have been failed by the regime. Now is time to listen to the voice of the people of South Sudan. The people are calling for a total rebooting of the system in South Sudan,” the statement said.
“The people are calling on President Kiir and Dr. Riek Machar and indeed all the politicians and warlords, to kindly step aside to allow for a credible transition to peace and democracy led by a caretaker government formed of professional technocrats to stabilize the country, reconcile our people, rebuild the institutions and organs of our state, including lead the permanent constitution making process and to conduct free and fair elections for our people to elect their leaders and representatives,” it added.
It further concluded that “Even though we lost a decade to murderous despotism, kleptocratic plunder, yet the hope of our people in the project of new, just, united and democratic South Sudan of dignity remains strong. The aspiration of our people to continue the struggle for a free, just, prosperous and new South Sudan for all is uncheckable. On this occasion of the tenth anniversary of our independence let us all unite as equal citizens and stakeholders to make the dream of a peaceful, free and prosperous South Sudan come true.”