Opinion | The secret behind Dinka-Nuer conflicts in 1991 and 2013

By Gen. Stephen Buay Rolnyang

OPINION, FEBRUARY 5^th 2023 (SUDANS POST) – The Sudan People Liberation movement and army (SPLM/A) was formed in 1983, with the ideological objectives for the liberation of the whole Sudan to create a NEW SUDAN, but with time, members of the SPLM/A political – military high command began to doubt about the realization of the SPLM/A ideology of fighting for the liberation of the whole Sudan.

There was a need for them to review the manifesto of the SPLM/A to change the ideology from fighting for the whole Sudan which they thought would take time and resources and wanted a change of plan and ideology to fight only for the liberation of Southern Sudan including Abyei, Nuba Mountain, and Southern Blue Nile.

The members of the SPLM/A political-military high command asked Dr. John Garang to convene urgent high command meeting where they would discuss and review the SPLM/A manifesto, but Dr. John Garang who had already discovered the whole plan evaded to convene the high command meeting and instead ordered for mass mobilization campaign of the SPLA forces to converge around Juba to attack and capture Juba.

1991 SPLM/A SPLIT

The two high command members in Nasir Commander Riek Machar Teny Dhurgon and Commander Lam Akol Ajawin refused to contribute forces to go to Juba and instead decided to act without waiting for the rest of the members of the SPLM/A political – military high command who were sharing the same ideas with and senior to them and on August 28, 1991, they sent a radio message to all the SPLA units that they had taken over the leadership of the SPLM/A and accused Dr. John Garang of dictatorship tendency including running the movement alone. They had pledged to promote and advocate for human rights within the movement and called for the self -determination (New ideology).

The Nasir move was received negatively by the rest of the SPLM/A high command members who were having the same idea but preempted by their junior commanders in Nasir. As a result, they had planned to fail Nasir group by issuing covert orders to target Nuer SPLA soldiers and innocent civilians in the areas controlled by the SPLM/A mainstream known as Torit faction so that when Nuer heard about it, they would also target Dinka in Nuer controlled areas, which was a great plan for them to prevent the rest of Dinka SPLA soldiers from supporting Nasir coup.

On the same development, some elements from Nasir faction reacted heinously by targeting Dinka in the Nuer controlled areas and therefore, the conflict changed from being a leadership takeover to tribal dimension which was exactly planned by the SPLM/A violent extremists. The plan to fail Nasir coup had successfully worked out by the fact that all Nuer survivors in the areas controlled by the SPLM/A mainstream managed to desert to the areas under the control of Nasir faction and vice versa all Dinka survivors in the areas controlled by the Nasir faction managed to desert to the areas controlled by the SPLM/A mainstream. Both sides carried out massive campaigns to attack either side-controlled areas including innocent civilians, with Nasir faction on offensive using armed Nuer youth known as White Army from greater Lou and Fangak to attack greater Bor in Jonglei and Nuer armed youth from Western Upper Nile (Bentiu) to attack greater Warrap in Bhar El Ghazal which involved cattle raiding and wanton vandalism.

The whole secret plan was that let us target the Nuer so that the Nasir faction would react negatively by targeting the Dinka so that there would be no Dinka who would go over to the side of Nasir faction and this plan worked out as planned. No SPLA Dinka soldiers dared to join Nasir Faction when Nasir faction was targeting the Dinka. If Nasir faction had not reacted negatively by targeting Dinka SPLA soldiers in the Nasir faction-controlled areas and tended to behave as revolutionaries and nationalists, most of the SPLA forces if not all, would have joined the Nasir faction and there would not be enough forces to remain with the SPLM/A mainstream.

2013 SPLM CRISIS

In 2013, some senior members of the SPLM led by former Vice President Riek Machar Teny Dhurgon decided to challenge the chairperson of the SPLM, in the person of President Salva Kiir Mayardit to give chance to one of the SPLM senior members to be the SPLM flag bearer in the general elections which were supposed to be conducted in 2015.  President Kiir was shaken by the move and almost lost the political ground within the SPLM party, but he was lucky and rescued by the planners of 1991,who came up and repeated the same idea by targeting the Nuer in Juba so that the Nuer would do the same as they did in 1991, and the SPLM leadership struggle would be turned into a tribal conflict that would save President Kiir from being removed from the chairmanship of the SPLM and use the ethnic conflict to consolidate himself in absolute power.

CONCLUSION

The death of Nuer and Dinka will never end if President Kiir and his Vice President Riek Machar are in power. They will always use Dinka and Nuer to kill themselves whenever their leadership positions are under threat and as a result, the rest of 62 tribes will be the grass to suffer. Wake up Dinka and Nuer and stop finishing yourselves because of Riek Machar and Salva Kiir. The Presidential seat is not for Dinka or Nuer.

It belongs to all the people of South Sudan, and you will one day regret the death of your beloved Dinka and Nuer who have died because of Riek Machar and Salva Kiir who are the coronavirus of South Sudan.  Thank you all.

The author is the chairman and commander in chief of South Sudan People’s Movement (SSPM/SSPA).

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