Dr. John Garang’s Last Speech Marking the 22nd Anniversary of May 16th, 2005
24 min readTHE SPLM/A CHAIRMAN, DR. JOHN GARANG, ADDRESS ON THE 22ND ANNIVERSARY OF MAY 16TH AT A MASS RALLY IN RUMBEK, SOUTH SUDAN
RUMBEK, 16 MAY 2005
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This is an excerpt from “The Genius of Dr. John Garang, Vol. 1” edited by PaanLuel Wël
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- Special Anniversary Greetings: Today, 16th of May 2005, is our 22nd anniversary. This year is a special anniversary. It comes after we have signed the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) last January 9th 2005. This is therefore our last anniversary in the bush and before we become the Government of Southern Sudan (GOSS). This is a great and special day, and this is why I have come to Rumbek to celebrate with you and with the people of New Sudan. On the occasion of this 22nd anniversary, I congratulate all officers, NCOs, men and cadres of the SPLA; I congratulate all in the SPLM and all in the Civil Authority of the New Sudan (CANS); I congratulate all our civil population from Nimule to Juba, Wau, Abyei, Malakal, Kadugli and Damazine from Nimule to Halfa; Geneinna to Kassala for achieving the CPA. I congratulate all of you who are in this rally and through you and this rally I greet all our people everywhere in Sudan and in Diaspora, and congratulate them for achieving a fair and just peace.
- Tribute and Salute to the Martyrs: Before I make my address on this special and great occasion of our 22nd anniversary, I first pay tribute and salute the memory and honour of all our martyrs, who have fallen in the struggle for Sudanese dignity before independence, during the Anyanya Movement and in the war that has just ended. It is because of their ultimate sacrifice that it was possible to reach the CPA. I salute the memory of these martyrs as a reminder that they did not die in vain. The legacy and spirit of their struggle and sacrifice will always guide us and all generations to come toward a better and ever better Southern Sudan and Sudan as a whole, whatever the result of the referendum on self-determination will be at the end of the six year Interim Period. I therefore ask you to stand and observe one minute of solemn silence as a tribute and salute to our martyrs and wounded heroes to whom we dedicate this day and occasion … (after pause …). We shall hold special celebrations of the 22nd anniversary for the founding units of the SPLA – 105 and 104 Battalions, Jamus, Tiger and Tumsah Battalions and Katibat Banat. This celebration will be done in Bor as soon as conditions allow. Some veterans from 105, 104, Jamus, Tiger, Tumsah and Katibat Banat are here today. 104, 105, Tiger, Jamus, Tumsah and Katibat Banat Oye! I greet you who are here and all your colleagues everywhere. I also greet all the other historic units and formations of the SPLA. Koryom Oye! Muormuor Oye! Zalzal Oye! Infigar Oye! Mukushasha Oye! SPLA Oye! SPLM Oye! After the celebrations of the initial four formations of the SPLA, we shall also organize get-together celebrations for all units and formations of the SPLA, so that these eventually become annual events organized and funded by the members themselves. We shall also organize occasions for Anyanya veterans from who the SPLM/A took the torch of liberation and freedom. Yes, we must keep, remember and glorify our struggle and our history, because a people without a history are doomed to extinction to become dinosaurs in history books.
- Local Insecurity Must Stop immediately: The struggle has been long, 22 years today, and it has been hard. There has been a great deal of suffering. More than one million people have died of war and war-related causes; more than three million have been displaced internally and as refugees, and despite our best community efforts, the vast majority of our children have lost opportunities for education. With conclusion of the CPA all this suffering must now stop, but ironically we are losing lives and property in this sub-Region through sectional and clan fighting. I here ask and here order that all sectional and clan fighting must stop forthwith. All cattle rustling and cattle thefts and the killings associated with them must stop forthwith. All stolen cattle must be returned to their owners and lives lost must be compensated according to customary law and all necessary legal measures must be taken against the culprits involved in this unnecessary fighting and unnecessary loss of lives and property. I have come to Rumbek to celebrate our last anniversary in the Bush, and also to use my presence here to work with local authorities and the SPLM-LC to bring to an immediate end the rampant insecurity that has recently afflicted the three sub-Regions of Lakes, Warrap and Western Upper Nile. Accordingly I have ordered all local authorities of the three sub-Regions to Rumbek, and they should already be here, so that we resolve this uncalled for situation of local insecurity. So the Commissioners of all Yirol Counties, all Rumbek Counties, all Tonj counties, all Gogrial Counties and all bordering counties of Western Upper Nile should be here along with the military authorities of the 1st and 3rd Front. The insecurity must end immediately and everything must be done to end it and to do justice to victims. There must not be any unnecessary loss of lives and property when we have achieved the CPA.
- Phases of the Struggle: Looking Back at 22 Years of Struggle As we celebrate 22 years of our heroic struggle and this time in peace, let us look back and rearm ourselves with the inspiration that has kept us for the last 22 years and has reached us this far. As I said before, the struggle has been long and hard with much causality in lives and property and lost opportunities. But as long as the land and the cause are not lost, everything else may be lost, but can and will be regained, and much more added. The struggle itself as we look back has been a miracle as it went forward and backwards, but overall it went forward until we reached the CPA. The struggle will go through four phases. We have already traveled through two of these phases and two more are in front of us. These four phases are:
Four Phases of the Struggle:
- Phase 1: 1983–1991: The golden years of the revolution
- Phase 2: 1991–2004: Years of darkness, serious struggle, negotiations.
- Phase 3: 2005–2010: We have just begun 6 years of the Interim Period.
- Phase 4: Beyond 2011: Post Interim Period; depends on result of RSD.
How did we get to this peace agreement? It is because we defined the problem we set out to solve correctly. Our vision was correct—to solve Meshkilat al-Sudan (Problem of the Sudan) not Meshkilat al-Junub (Problem of the South). From the vision flowed our objectives, strategies and tactics. Our objectives were and are: (a) New Sudan and (b) RSD—Right to Self Determation. It is because of the relentless war we fought all over the Sudan. It is because we stayed the course, we were consistent and persistent. I pay tribute to our martyrs, wounded heroes & SPLA – they brought CPA and we will take care of the widows and the orphans and the disabled. I pay tribute to our civil population, who provided the logistics for the war, and the SPLM/GOSS will faithfully serve you, the people by translating the CPA into tangible benefits of development and services.
- Forgiveness, Reconciliation and Unity: Now that we have signed the CPA, our next and immediate task is to ensure that it is implemented in letter and spirit, and in order to do this correctly, my main message to you is on the need for forgiveness, reconciliation and unity of the people of New Sudan and the unity of your Movement, the SPLM/SPLA, so that we are best able to face the challenges of peace that are ahead of us. In order to implement the CPA, the unity of the SPLM/A, and of the people of New Sudan, is of paramount importance, indeed unity is a necessary condition for successful implementation of the CPA because those opposed to the CPA in both North and South will try to divide us and use some of us to derail and renege on the CPA. Those who are opposed to the CPA have no other weapon except to hope that the SPLM/A and the people of Southern Sudan will be divided as happened in 1991. This must not be allowed and everything must be done to abort such diabolic plans. Our weapon to stop such plans and ill wishes is forgiveness, reconciliation and unity. This was my main message in the recently held and successful South-South Dialogue and it is my main message in this anniversary celebrations. The “Covenant of the People of Southern Sudan” which was the end-result of the South-South Dialogue was signed by 24 Southern Sudanese leaders and witnessed by former President Daniel Arap Moi. It is only the leaders of Armed Groups affiliated to the GOS that were not present at the South-South Dialogue, and this is because the Government prevented them from traveling to Nairobi. We will continue to work and I am personally in contact with them to bring them into the process of forgiveness, reconciliation and unity, so that we implement the CPA in a stable and peaceful Southern Sudan and achieve the aspirations of our people. There is no reason why these Armed Groups should continue to be used as counter-insurgency forces because the insurgency is over and so the Government will have no use for them, and we welcome them to the fold of Southern Sudan.
- The CPA is good and it belongs to all Sudanese: As we begin the 23rd year of our struggle, our main task as I said before shall be to implement the CPA and to develop new tools of struggle for this purpose. The CPA is good and it belongs to all the Sudanese people, and so I appeal to all Sudanese to support the CPA and to achieve consensus around it. It is true that the CPA was negotiated by the SPLM and NCP-GOS, however the CPA does not belong to the SPLM nor to the NCP- GOS; it does not belong to John Garang and Ali Osman who signed it; it belongs to all Sudanese; it belongs to you, the people, and so you own it and use it for the development and provision of basic services. Although some of you have read the CPA and although it has been explained to you many times, I want to summarize in twelve points what the people of Southern Sudan, Nuba Mountains, Blue Nile and Abyei and Sudanese in general have achieved in the CPA: –
(1) CPA Ends the War: The First great achievement of the CPA is that it has ended a war that has lasted 22 years, and more importantly it has ended the war through a just and honorable peace with dignity. With the CPA there will be no more bombs dropping from the sky on innocent children and women. Instead of the cries of children and the wailing of women and the pain of the last 22 years of war, peace will bless us with prosperity and happiness. The CPA will move our people away from war, insecurity, instability and suffering to peace, security, stability and development. This is a great achievement.
(2) Secondly, Right of Self Determination: At the end of six years, southerners will vote in a free and internationally monitored referendum on self-determination, to choose whether to remain in a united Sudan under the “one country two systems” arrangement, or opt for an independent Southern Sudan. The challenge now for Sudan is to make unity attractive to Southern Sudanese so that they vote for it during the referendum. If unity is not made attractive, why would any Southerner vote himself or herself into second-class citizenship? If Sudan does not sufficiently and fundamentally change, why should anybody vote to become a servant instead of being a master in his/her own independent house? Clearly the Sudanese must work hard during the Interim Period to make unity attractive, if they want the Sudan to remain united as one country that accommodates all its citizens equally.
(3) Third, North/South Border Demarcation: An issue related to the right of self- determination is that of return to Southern Sudan of all areas that were annexed to Northern Sudan after 1956 by various Khartoum regimes. This will be determined by a North/South Boundary Commission as provided for in the CPA. These areas are in Bahr el Ghazal and Upper Nile, and include Kafia Kingi and Hofret Nahas in Western Bahr el Ghazal and Chali al-Fil in North Eastern Upper Nile. Even Higlig is reported to have been recently annexed to a newly created province in Kordofan called Keilak. The CPA clearly states that the boundaries of Southern Sudan are as they stood on 1/1/1956 and any areas that were part of Southern Sudan by this date must be returned to the administration of the GOSS.
(4) Real Power in the South within the context of a “One Country Two Systems Model”: Southern Sudan shall have its own Government of Southern Sudan (GOSS). It will be an SPLM-based Government; and for the first time in its history, Southern Sudan shall have genuine political power that does not depend on the goodwill of the Central Government, but that depends on the will of the people of Southern Sudan. This power will be exercised in the context of a “one country two systems” model, which the SPLM has advocated since the Abuja talks in 1993 and during the IGAD talks. The GOSS will exercise extensive, exclusive and concurrent political powers including the power to initiate and conclude international agreements in social, cultural, educational and economic fields with foreign countries and international organizations and to have offices abroad for these purposes.
(5) Fifthly, Significant and Real Power in the Center: The SPLM and Southern Sudan shall also have significant and real power in the central government, as we shall have up to ten full Ministers, eleven State Ministers and the office of the 1st Vice President, with powers as well as at least 25% of posts in the national civil service as well as in the administration of the National Capital. The SPLM and Southern Sudan’s presence in Khartoum will not be a token representation as happened before. In the CPA we have grouped the Ministries into three clusters: (a) Nine Sovereignty Ministries from which we shall have three, (b) Ten Economy Ministries from which we shall have three, and (c) Eleven Services Ministries from which we shall have four. We shall also have at least eleven State Ministers also similarly clustered. We will put our best people in these Ministries and we shall assert ourselves; nobody will push us aside or marginalize us in any way in the cabinet to which we shall belong by right not by invitation or someone else’s goodwill. Our presence in the central government at all levels will be real and effective and it shall be by the authority of the CPA and the Interim National Constitution.
(6) Sixth, an independent SPLA during the Interim Period: The SPLA shall remain a standing army under its own command and shall be considered and treated equally with SAF as part of Sudan’s National Armed Forces. Meanwhile a forty thousand strong Joint Integrated Unit (JIU) is to be created of equal numbers from the two armed forces to be deployed in Southern Sudan, the two areas, the National Capital and Abyei. At the end of six years if the result of the referendum on self- determination is unity, the two armies will merge to become one National Army; otherwise if the result is in favour of independence, the SPLA would be transformed into the national Army of Southern Sudan. The Security Arrangements Agreement and the existence of two armies during the Interim Period are the most important guarantees for stability and implementation of the peace agreement, in addition of course to the goodwill of the Parties and international guarantees.
(7) Seventh, Wealth Sharing and Sources of Revenue for the GOSS: Unlike the Addis Ababa Agreement, the CPA provides Southern Sudan with its own organic sources of revenue that do not depend on Khartoum. There are four such sources of revenue, namely: (a) 50% of oil revenues, (b) 50% of non-oil central government revenues generated in Southern Sudan, (c) revenues generated by the GOSS by virtue of its taxing powers; and (d) international assistance to Southern Sudan, which will come directly to Southern Sudan through the Bank of Southern Sudan (BOSS). And as you might have followed in the News, the Oslo Donors Conference generated more than four billion US dollars in pledges. At least 50% of these pledges shall accrue to Southern Sudan and the rest for other war affected areas in the North, i.e., of Nuba Mountains, Southern Blue Nile, Abyei, Eastern Sudan and Darfur as well as other neglected areas of the North.
(8) Eighth, Own Banking System for Southern Sudan: Southern Sudan will also have its own secular banking system within the context of a “one country two systems” model. We have agreed that there will be one Central Bank of Sudan, but it will have two windows, one window for Islamic banking for the North, and one window for conventional banking for the South. The secular window of the CBS will be operated by the Bank of Southern Sudan (BOSS), which shall have the power to open correspondent accounts with foreign banks of its choice. This means that BOSS will operate with international banks directly and only keep the Mother CBS informed. Moreover there will be one currency for the country, which shall be agreed upon by the Parties, but in the meantime the currencies circulating in Southern Sudan are recognized, that is why the Sudanese pound is operating in our areas as legal tender until when we jointly issue the new agreed currency. Unlike the case of the Addis Ababa Agreement, Southern Sudan and GOSS shall make their financial transactions with the CBS and with the international community through the BOSS. The currency just issued in Rumbek is not a new currency; its is old notes of the Sudan Pound, which was circulating before, that has been reissued as happens in any economy since notes get worn out; that is why the exchange value is the same. I understand that the quality of the paper of the currency is poor and that there are other technical problems. These will be solved and the notes improved to standard quality, and the New Sudan Pound at the same market value as the old notes will continue to circulate until when both the New Sudan pound and the Dinnar are replaced by a new joint currency agreed to by the Parties as came in the CPA.
(9) Ninth, Resolution of the Problem of Abyei: As you all know the problem of Abyei is even older as that of the south as Abyei was annexed to Kordofan in 1905, one hundred years ago, while Southern Sudan was formally amalgamated with the North in 1947 by the colonial regime and Darfur in 1916. The CPA grants Abyei the right of self-determination, whereby the people of Abyei will conduct a separate referendum but the same day as Southerners to choose whether to remain in the North or return to the South. The oil of Abyei is also split six ways: 2% for Ngok Dinka, 2% for Missiriya, 2% for Western Kordofan State, 2% for Bahr el Ghazal, 42% for GOSS and 50% for the GONU. And during the six years of the Interim Period Abyei will be under a special Administration under the supervision of the Presidency, and one Battalion of JIUs for security in addition to international monitors and observers. This is a major achievement and we congratulate the people of Abyei and wish them well in their new political dispensation.
(10)Tenth, the Two Areas Agreement: The two areas (Nuba Mountains and Southern Blue Nile) also have a good Agreement as part of the CPA. The CPA gives the SPLM 45% of power in the two areas, resolves the problem of land, which was one of the main reasons people of the two areas took up arms, and provides for the Right of Popular Consultation after four years for the people to give their views and decision on the Agreement of the two areas. I want to assure the people of the two areas that the SPLM will never abandon them as some agitators say in their propaganda. Firstly, the SPLA will remain in the two areas in the form of JIUs; secondly excess forces above those required for the JIUs will be deployed in the South together with other SPLA units and they shall be under SPLA GHQ, and thirdly, it is the same SPLM that shall form the GOSS and the 45% share in the State Governments of Nuba Mountains and Southern Blue Nile. As you can see both the SPLM and the SPLA will remain united and the Two Areas are inseparable components.
(11) Eleventh, the SPLM shall remain a national political Movement: The CPA enables the SPLM to retain its national character and to expand all over the Sudan. The SPLM shall consolidate itself in Southern Sudan where we shall have 70% of power and in the Nuba Mountains and Southern Blue Nile where we shall have 45% of power. The SPLM shall also have 10% of power in all the remaining 15 States of the North. With the consolidation of the SPLM in Southern Sudan and its expansion and consolidation in the Nuba Mountains, Southern Blue Nile and the other States of the North, the SPLM clearly has the potential to become the majority party in the coming national elections at all levels – local, state and national. I therefore on the occasion of this 22nd anniversary celebrations appeal to all Sudanese everywhere – in the South, Nuba Mountains, Blue Nile, Eastern Sudan, Northern Kordofan, Khartoum, Central Sudan and the far North to join the SPLM and rally behind so that we complete the project of New Sudan and build a Great Sudan.
(12)Finally, the CPA is also good for all others: The CPA is not only good for the SPLM, Southern Sudan, Nuba Mountains, Blue Nile and Abyei; it is also good for the NCP and for all other political forces in the North and for all of Sudan. For the NCP they become our partners for at least six years, and for the other political forces in the North the CPA achieves all the objectives they have struggled for including Democracy and elections, Interim Government, Interim Constitution and Human Rights. The CPA can also be adapted and applied to bring peace in other parts of the country such as Darfur and Eastern Sudan. The CPA represents a true and genuine paradigm shift for the democratic transformation of the Sudan, if implemented, and for the renewal of Sudan to achieve prosperity and happiness for all Sudanese in our lifetime and for all future generations to come. As you can see in the twelve points that I have just presented, the CPA contains all the objectives we have struggled to achieve over the last 22 years. When you combine (a) real power in the GOSS, (b) an independent SPLA, (c) organic sources of revenue for the GOSS, and (d) a separate banking system, then one can say that we truly have an autonomous Southern Sudan. And as I said before, the CPA is also good for everybody else in the Sudan, for all the political forces and for all the Sudanese people. The SPLM and the NCP brought the CPA, but it now belongs to all the Sudanese people and it is a win-win agreement for all. There are no losers in the CPA as it gives everyone their rights. In general the “One Country two systems model” shall be reflected in all structures and relationships. The connection between Khartoum and Juba shall only be nominal at the top most macro levels such as the national constitutional court, the office of the 1st Vice President, the dual banking system, the JIUs and JDB, and so on. Some people have argued that the CPA presents separatist arrangements, but I disagree; the CPA is actually good for the unity of the country, for unity can only be based on freedom, equality and confidence. Only if, or rather when, Southerners and the marginalized people of Sudan in general are assured of their rights, of equality, of justice, can they voluntarily choose to remain in a united and New Sudan, not out of coercion but because they want to.
- SPLM Program During the Interim Period: The CPA is clearly a good agreement. What are left are its implementation and its translation into tangible benefits for the people of southern Sudan, the two areas, Abyei and the whole of Sudan. I have summarized the SPLM post war programmes and priorities in the following six points. These are programmes that will fundamentally change the lives of the people of New Sudan. The peace dividend that they expect as individuals and as communities and for which they have fought for the last 50 years since August 1955 will be provided by these programmes, and I ask all the people of New Sudan to build consensus around these programmes and to own them; these are:
1) The Wounds of War and Healing: I believe that our first and foremost task and priority is to heal, to forgive, to reconcile and to unite around the CPA and its implementation so that we face the challenges of the Interim Period with a unified purpose, will and cohesion. This is what we did recently in the South-south dialogue, and I have called a conference of all the counties involved in instability of the last few months in Lakes, Warrap and Western Upper Nile. The peace, reconciliation and stability must begin here where we have our Interim SPLM administration.
2) Governance Infrastructure: Our second priority is the establishment of a good governance infrastructure and the rule of law and order to ensure justice and stability all over Southern Sudan. This governance must be inclusive of all ethnic groups in all aspects of politics, power and the economy, and must be completely transparent and fight nepotism and corruption.
3) Physical Infrastructure: Our third priority shall be physical Infrastructure–roads, railways, river transport, telecommunications and electric power generation, and we are starting literally from scratch. Since creation, there has never been a single tarmac road in Southern Sudan, an area the size of Kenya and Uganda put together. We shall concentrate our energies on the construction of thirteen key roads, these are: (1) Juba-Nimule, (2) Juba-Kapoeta-Lokichoggio, (3) Wau-Rumbek-Maridi-Yei-Kaya, (4) Juba-Yei-Lasu, (5) Juba-Bor-Kongor-Ayod-Waat-Malakal-Renk, (6) Wau-Tambura-Yambio-Maridi, (7) Rumbek-Yirol-Bor-Pochalla, (8) Wau-Warrap-Abyei-Kadugli, (9) Melut-Adar-Ulu-Kurmuk-Damazine, (10) Malakal-Nasir-Jekou, (11) Wau-Aweil- Babanusa, (12) Wau-Raga-Nyala to Darfur and Shambe-Yirol-Bentiu-Pariang-Jaw-Kadugli. In addition to the roads, two railway linkages are important: the rehabilitation of the Wau-Aweil-Babanusa railway and a railway connecting Juba to Mombasa, either through Uganda or Kenya. We are also discussing with DR Congo linking of Juba-Yei-Lasu with Kisangani by railway to have access to the Atlantic Ocean and open up DR Congo markets to Southern Sudan. Opening up of River Nile transport is also urgent. Finally, construction of a major dam for hydroelectric generation at Fulla rapids or Bedden Falls south of Juba is critical to overall development of Southern Sudan. This transport network will link Southern Sudan with Northern Sudan and with the Greater Horn of Africa and the Great Lakes Area, and create a major market of some 300 million people. It is a win-win strategy for all stakeholders in the Sudan, in the Region and the rest of the world. I ask the people of New Sudan to be forward looking in having bigger economic and political entities in the Region.
4) Economic Development and Financial Infrastructure: On the economic front our goal is clearly set; within the context of the CPA, and in conformity with the millennium development goals, both the Government of National Unity and Government of Southern Sudan (GOSS) shall adopt poverty eradication as the ultimate objective of socio-economic development. To this end, of poverty eradication, the SPLM shall adopt an economic development vision and program that emphasizes economic growth through rural development and transformation of traditional agriculture that is integrated with agro-industries. We aim to transform the present subsistence traditional agriculture in Southern Sudan and other areas through technological innovations, and make agriculture the engine of growth. The SPLM vision is encapsulated in two slogans to “use the oil revenues to fuel agriculture” and to “take towns to people in the countryside rather than people to towns” and more than 90% of the population of New Sudan live in rural areas. For any meaningful development to take place we must have a functioning a viable market including financial institutions of different times and encourage a vibrant market economy.
5) Provision of Social or public Services: Our fifth priority is the provision of basic social services – education, health, sanitation and clean water, etc. to our people, and the facilitation of the return, reintegration and rehabilitation of some three million IDPs and refuges that are expected to return to their homes following the CPA. It is estimated that more than one million people have returned to their homes over the last six months, and the international community has done nothing in this grave situation. I appeal to the UN and the international community to urgently come to the assistance of the people of Southern Sudan, the Two Areas and Abyei.
6) Youth, Women and the Diaspora: Finally, I want to briefly mention and appeal to three important constituencies of our people; these are the youth, women and the Diaspora. We need the Diaspora to return and contribute to the building of the nation or, if they cannot return, to assist where they are. Our children have been deprived of the vitality of youth! From the day of birth our children have seen no peace, and we must concentrate on the development of youth in the next phase. Women, the “marginalized of the marginalized” must be given special attention in development of skills and income generating activities. Women will be effectively empowered through girl-child education, pro-women government policies and above all income generating opportunities. Only when women are able to bring home a respectable income alongside their husbands will they become fully empowered and respected. Civil Society groups will also need to be empowered to participate effectively in all these initiatives and activities.
7) Emphasis on human resource development: In general, the SPLM shall give priority to human resource development as the most effective strategy for poverty eradication and economic development. The SPLM has already announced its policy of free universal Primary School education so that by 2015 all girls and boys of school-going age do go to school, and by that time we should also have free Secondary School education. Other initiatives shall also be introduced for those beyond Primary School age, including adult and functional education and vocational training to develop skills.
- CONCLUSION: I want in closing to assure you all once more that there shall be enough room for all Southern Sudanese who wish to participate, and by way this assurance I often have quoted the Gospel of John 14 V 1-2. “Do not be worried and upset” Jesus told them. “Believe in God and believe also in me. There are many rooms in my Father’s house, and I am going to prepare a place for you. I would not tell you this if it were not true”. So, I say to all Southerners that there will be many rooms in the GOSS and GONU, and all are welcome. In the legislature for example we shall have 135 members in the Central Parliament, 170 in the Southern parliament, and about 400 in the Parliaments of the ten Southern States; that alone is more than 700 legislators. In the Executive Southerners will have 10 full Ministers and at least 10 State Ministers in the GONU and about 20 Ministers in the GOSS and some 40 Ministers in the State Governments; these are more than 70 Ministers. Then you have the judiciary and civil service. And with the massive development we shall launch, the private sector will be very lucrative and full of jobs. As you can see there will be enough room for every one; our problem will actually be lack of manpower.
(1) I want to conclude by assuring you that the SPLM will continue to be steadfast, that the SPLM will continue to be a movement of the people and for the people and by the people; the SPLM shall not betray your cause and trust, as we have not betrayed you over the last 22 years of struggle. The SPLM shall continue its vision and ideals that it has sacrificed for over the last 21 years and for which we have shed tears and blood.
(2) Again, on the occasion of this special 22nd anniversary celebration, I once more congratulate you for the CPA and salute our martyrs to whom this day belongs. I greet and congratulate all the people of Sudan wherever you may be this anniversary day. I assure you all that the Movement will be faithful and loyal to the objectives of the struggle. The SPLM/SPLA will never betray the cause of our people, and our track record is known to all.
(3) I wish you well as we begin the 23rd Year of our struggle. God bless you all. SPLM Oye! SPLA Oye! New Sudan Oye! Victory to the SPLM/SPLA and to the people of New Sudan!
Dr. John Garang de Mabior
Rumbek, South Sudan
16 May 2005
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This is an excerpt from “The Genius of Dr. John Garang, Vol. 1” edited by PaanLuel Wël
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