SPLM Reunion at Crossroads
By Malith Alier, Perth, Australia
Wednesday, 5 June, 2019 (PW) –— It’s in children’s blood to play most of the time. In a single day the play can take a large chunk of time which nobody cares about. Time is on their side! To help the kids kill off their idle time, adults or minders have created playgrounds and toys of various shapes and colours for the amusement. On the playground there is the seesaw.
A seesaw balanced on a single pivot enables the merry inclined kids to sit on either side. As one goes up on one side the other goes down until they no longer feel the thrill. The child moves to the swing and does the play. And then tries the toys, turns them upside down, assemble them.
And finally, build castles in the sand. Two conditions must first exist in a child who seeks this kind of thrills; good health and full tummy. With this perfect conditions, the child would repeat over and over again the play scene until the bored parent says enough is enough, let’s go home!
The so-called SPLM reunification began in early 2014 takes a similar character to the above playground set up. 4 years down the line but nothing seemed to satisfy. This writer have authored not less than three articles against the forced reunification in the past four years. The reasons for that hinged around the insurmountable mistrust among the former comrades.
The SPLM reunited in 2002 after a ten year estrangement. The ghosts of that period have not been addressed. Though reunification enabled the country to navigate the interim period and secured the long awaited independence, nobody is certain about this round of reunion. What it aimed for and what it will help achieve. The SPLM factions have “seen their hands” during and after the interim period.
They declared through blood shed once again that they’re not to be trusted with power and wealth. They worked in tandem to squander the oil wealth. They misapplied the power entrusted to them by the people, took arms and kill the very people who gave the trust.
The people of South Sudan are against reunification. They see no value for it anymore. Their attitude is summed up by the phrase: when they reunite/unite, they plunder and when they divide/diverge they kill. It’s not simply choosing the lesser of the two evils. The SPLM has completely squandered all things goodwill included. The people of this country have been left with nothing but blood and tears and displacement and destitution.
Those people who continue to believe that the SPLM is the only force that can bring harmony can have a second look. There, the very SPLM members including former SG, Pagan Amum deeply doubts that this is the case. Pagan has now publicly and finally declared that he no longer recognise the original SPLM vision. He’s ready to form a new party based on the long abandoned vision.
He’s also ready to work with the similar minded in the country. That is a true move on the side of Pagan. Taban faction has been in government since 2016 but no reunification. The FDs are all in Juba except their boss but no reunification yet. Riek IO faction continues to contend with cantonment and the move to Juba amidst extensions.
neither the SPLM reunification not the peace agreement seems to be implementable. Spirited interventions in the party reunion and peace agreement seem to do little. The regional bodies I believe, should put more focus on the agreement rather than the elusively damned reunification of the party that had outlived its usefulness.
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