SPLA to be called South Sudan Armed Forces after independence
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April 28, 2011 (JUBA) – The Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA), the
military wing of South Sudan’s ruling Sudan People’s Liberation
Movement (SPLM) which fought the North-South war for 21 years, shall
be transformed into a national army for the Republic of South Sudan
under the new name: the South Sudan Armed Forces (SSAF), according to
the draft constitution that shall come into effect on 9 July.
JPEG - 21.9 kb
SPLA soldiers march during a parade at the 4th anniversary celebration
of the signing of the CPA in the southern town of Malakal January 9,
2009.(Reuters)
Other political parties in South Sudan have also been expressing their
disapproval of continuing with the current name, SPLA, saying it is
affiliated to the SPLM party and will therefore be an irrelevant name
once the South becomes formally independent on 9 July.
A technical committee for the review of the current interim
constitution of Southern Sudan, chaired by John Luk Jok, the minister
of legal affairs and constitutional development, has finalised its
work and submitted the draft constitution to South Sudan president,
Salva Kiir, last week. The final draft of the document has stipulated
that the SPLA shall be transformed into South Sudan Armed Forces
(SSAF).
The work of the constitution amendment, which was supposed to be all
inclusive, saw withdrawals of several other political parties from the
committee membership in protest of what they described as lack of
consensus spirit contrary to the initial consensus as the basis for
the agreement between the SPLM and the parties. They accused the SPLM
of a simple majority vote which was not the agreed procedure. The SPLM
members in the committee deny the charges, saying they were respecting
consensus as the basis for reaching agreement on issues during the
process.
The main issues of disagreement included the power sharing
arrangements after 9 July as well as the period for the transition to
the next elections. SPLM members wanted the current government to
continue for the next four years from 9 July, a position the
opposition parties rejected, saying the next period should not be a
continuation of the current interim arrangement. They also demand
formation of a broad-based government in which the other political
parties should be represented by 50%.
They demanded a period of less than two years of transition for the
president, the appointment of new reinstated members of parliament and
cabinet immediately after the declaration of independence.
Leaders of the political parties gathered on Thursday in Juba to
discuss the constitution. The political parties’ leadership forum
(PPLF) is chaired by the president, Salva Kiir, with the vice
president, Riek Machar, as its secretary. The forum has established a
General Secretariat in Juba, with membership of all the political
parties, under the chairmanship of the Vice President, Machar.
The chairman of the constitutional review committee, John Luk, read
out the draft constitution to the political party leaders during the
opening of the conference on Thursday. The leaders are scheduled to
present their draft positions, highlighting any observations in the
draft document on Friday.
After its endorsement by the political parties, the draft document
will be presented to the Council of Ministers for approval after which
it will be presented to the parliament for final endorsement. It shall
be signed and operationalised on 9 July, 2011.
(ST)
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