Press Release: The Tenth Plenary session of the Leadership of Sudan Peoples’ Liberation Movement–North

In the period between May 2011 and February 2012, the leadership of the Sudan Peoples’ Liberation Movement (SPLM-N) held ten meetings despite the state of war in two key states. The latest leadership meeting was held in February 2012. The full text of the resolutions will be announced shortly.

The Tenth Leadership Plenary Session deliberated on the Humanitarian, political, organization and the military situation.

The meeting of the leadership salutes and pays tribute to the thousands of Sudanese civilians whose resolve has not faltered while still facing the government daily aerial bombardment, and the deliberate destruction of their lives and displacement.

We, salute the hundreds of SPLA-N leaders whose will is unbroken, nor has their resistance weakened in face of arbitrary detention, torture, summary trials, abuse and defamation. We bow our heads to the martyrs of resistance both fighters and civilians who sacrificed their lives for the principles and values in which they believed; and above all, to the victims of genocide and war crimes.

We pledge, that we will work for achieving a new society based on upholding the dignity of the individual; and that recognizes the right of others to be ‘others’, and to build a Sudan for all Sudanese, regardless of their cultural, social, gender and political affiliation. A society that will pride itself with its justice, amity and peace – a new Sudan.

The meetings opened-up by reviewing the humanitarian and political situation, and have concluded the following:

After the secession of the South, the leadership of National Congress Party (NCP) decided to issue a death sentence on the SPLM-N, aiming to uproot and obliterate it. They began a political campaign and propaganda onslaught steeped in racism and fascism, utilizing the entire resources of the state: military, security and financial to uproot the SPLM-N and smash it, assisted in this by the silence and connivance from some quarters.

Now, after eight months, and as the dust of political and military battles has settled, and after the NCP have boasted of smashing the SPLM-N’s leadership from mosque pulpits and at Eid’s prayers, and on national media, the SPLM-N has emerged stronger and more battle-hardened opponent despite the high costs that have been paid by its cadres. The NCP fevered campaign have been confronted and repelled and its banners cut down. A battle that was lost politically and militarily. The SPLM-N’s battle for survival, imposed upon it by the NCP, is over. And, the SPLM-N remains to lead and to win.

Here we turn to thank and congratulate SPLM-N and SPLA members; and our friends at home and abroad, and to all the resistance fighters- men and women- who made this possible.

Before the secession of the South the SPLM had initiated a process of disengagement from the predecessor party, by forming an autonomous organization with transitional structures. Several Committees were established- including a committee to draft a Vision and a Manifesto- taking into account the reality of the division of the country into two states and the SPLM into two organizations. We then immediately engaged in the preparations for an inaugural convention. This was not long before the declaration of the Republic of South Sudan. Shortly thereafter, the NCP launched its assault in the Two-Areas followed by a ban on the activities of the SPLM-N and hundreds of its cadres detained, and there are still more than two-hundred cadres incarcerated; and the movement’s assets and the possessions of its cadres were seized and confiscated, and despicable war crimes were committed against its members.

The NCP employed several rules to pressure SPLM-N cadres to do its bidding, and established front organizations to incorporate them. But only a handful of the faint-hearted were enticed. The overwhelming majority of our cadres sided with its official leadership. The state of war also created difficulties for the leadership in carrying out its role. Those events tested our metal, individually and collectively. Some party structures, as well as the military and political institutions survived, but others were stranded and lost. The current political climate has engendered three party entities working in three different ecologies. These are: areas under NCP controlled area, the liberated areas and the SPLM-N membership in the Diaspora. The leadership of the SPLM-N expended every effort to unify all these entities; added to this the complex dual reality of the leadership and cadre engagement in civilianand military struggles. All this necessitates a leadership that would organically combine the dual political and military roles until the time of holding the Inaugural Convention to elect a new leadership.

The prevailing political /military confrontation with the NCP regime have resulted in a real test for the commitment, valor, loyalty, patience and perseverance of members and cadre of the movement This is a fact which will be taken into account as we proceed with the re-organization and assigning new responsibilities in all fronts.

The meeting deliberations began with the assessment of the humanitarian situation and the decisive shift within the international community in agreeing a plan for large scale humanitarian operation and the need to move forward shortly with its implementation. The SPLM-N leadership contacted a number of leading officials in neighboring countries and the special envoys of the president of the United States, the EU and the United Nations from the meeting venue and expressed its readiness to provide immediate access for any humanitarian effort to save hundreds of thousand of displaced citizens in South Kordofan and Blue Nile. Concern of the international community with this issue had been galvanized following a successful campaign led by the leadership of the SPLM-N spanning several continents, organizations. There were also solidarity campaigns by Sudanese men and women, and other friends of the Sudanese people and the SPLM-N; and human rights advocacy groups; and US Congressmen and EU Parliamentarians; and senior leaders in neighboring countries in the African continent.

The SPLM-N is filled with gratitude, and offers thanks to all who contributed to this effort, and welcomes the solidarity of all.

In response to new emerging requirements on the ground, the meeting decided to assign the task of the re-organization and oversight of the Sudan Relief and Rehabilitation Association to the SPLM-N Deputy Chairman, Abdel-Aziz Adam Elhilo.

The meeting resolved the separation of the Civilian Administration from Military Command in the liberated areas. The SPLM-N Chairman and the SPLM-N Leadership Council will oversee the reorganization and the restructuring of the civilian administration in the liberated areas.

The meeting also resolved to dissolve all interim organizational structures, except the elected National Liberation Council, and responsibilities assigned to the Chairman, Deputy Chairman and the Secretary General.

The Leadership Council will comprise of the following officials:

Seven additional members will be named, in due course, to afford the Leadership Council geographical, gender and cultural balance, as well as the necessary expertise. This will be presented to the first meeting of the Leadership Council.

Political and Organizational Work in Areas Controlled by the Government:

A review of the functioning of leadership in the different states and in the national capital will be undertaken in consultation with the leadership in the regions and the capital, Khartoum.

Until the date of holding the Inaugural Convention, the National Liberation Council will assume the functions of the legislative organ of the SPLM-N after its restructuring, taking into account the political, technical and normal reasons that may prevent some members from resuming their duties.  A committee of the following named persons has been charged with compiling the list of members of the National Liberation Council and to prepare for its inaugural meeting. They are:

The National Liberation Council will incorporate new members, should the need arise, in order to achieve the necessary balance and effectiveness in its work.

The Meeting resolved to establish an Executive Bureau to manage the day-to-day political and organizational duties of the movement under the chairmanship of the Secretary General. The full make-up of the Bureau will be announced in the coming period.

Women will be represented by a ratio of twenty-five per cent (25%), at a minimum in all the organs of the SPLM-N.

The external representation of the SPLM-N will be extended from the current level of eleven (11) offices in Africa, the Middle East, Europe and the United States.

The Executive Bureau along with the Secretariat of External Relations shall oversee the elections of all SPLM-N chapters in all the countries of the diaspora.

The Chairman of the SPLM-N will oversee the deliberations of the Vision and Programmer Committee, and the process of the adoption of the new manifesto through the relevant institutions of the SPLM-N.

The full list of resolutions of the meeting regarding other important issues, including transparency, accountability and discipline relating to institutional practice, resources and the duties and responsibilities of members, will be promulgated in due course. Similarly, other resolutions of interest to the general public concerning the military situation, and the restructuring of the Sudan Peoples’ Liberation Army as a revolutionary and a national liberation army will be made public.