Rebel South Sudan Liberation Army distance themselves from Peter Gadet
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NO PEACE TALKS ARE TAKING PLACE BETWEEN SSLM/A AND THE GOVERNMENT OF
THE REPUBLIC OF SOUTH SUDAN
For Immediate Public Release
Military High command of South Sudan Liberation Movement/ Army
(SSLM/A) SSLM/A General Headquarters, Mayom
August, 04, 2011
The Military High command of South Sudan Liberation Movement/Army
(SSLM/A) is hereby refuting the statement made by its former
Spokesperson, Col. Bol Gatkuoth Koal, in the media on August, 03,
2011, alleging that the SSLM/A declared a ceasefire with the
Government of the Republic of South Sudan. We the undersigned members
of the SSLM/A High Command are hereby alerting the people of South
Sudan and international community that no ceasefire has ever been
declared between our Movement and government in Juba.
On July, 7, 2011, former head of SSLM/A Military High Command, Maj.
Gen. Peter Gatdet Yak, left for Jordan under the pretext of going for
medical checkups. He was later joined by the former Spokesperson Col.
Bol Gatkuoth Koal and both secretly met with bodyguards of President
Salva Kiir Mayardit.
Maj. Gen. Peter Gatdet was supposed to return to SSLM/A Headquarters
of Mayom on July 25th as per confidential correspondences between him
and the High Command. However, he didn’t show up at SSLM/A General
Headquarters in Mayom and went straight to Nairobi accompanied by Col.
Bol Gatkuoth. In Kenya, they were engaged in secretive negotiations
and deals with President Salva Kiir Mayardit’s security personnel
while being monitored closely by SSLA’s External Security agents.
On August, 1st, the duo struck a deal with Salva Kiir Mayardit which
offered Maj. Gen. Peter Gatdet $3 million dollars plus a villa in
Nairobi’s suburbs in exchange for assisting Salva Kiir in neutralizing
Garang’s boys within the SPLM who have plans to stage a coup against
the president of the Republic of South Sudan.
We would like to inform the people of South Sudan that, contrary to
allegations Col. Bol Gatkuoth stated in the media, what took place was
not a peaceful negotiation to end rebellion in South Sudan because
there is no peace process that could be negotiated by two people. But
it was a deal between Salva Kiir and Peter Gatdet in which the latter
is needed by the former to assist him in neutralizing Garang’s boys
who have plans to overthrow Kiir’s government. The statement of former
Spokesperson Col. Bol Gatkuoth that a ceasefire was declared is a
political deception to cover-up a deal aimed at eliminating Majak
Agok, Pagan Amum, James Hoth Mai, Nhial Deng Nhial, Kuol Manyang Juuk
and Rebecca Nyandeng Mabior.
We would like to inform and educate the Southern public that former
head of SSLM/A High Command, Maj. Gen. Peter Gatdet, joined the
Movement that was already in existence on April, 11, 2011 while he was
accompanied by his friend Col. Bol Gatkuoth Koal. They chartered a
plane from Nairobi to the headquarters of SSLM/A on March, 28, 2011.
When they joined the SSLM/A, they didn’t bring a single soldier along
with them except their SPLA’s military uniforms. Prior to their
defection to SSLM/A, our Movement was well organized with 780 officers
and a force of 5,000.
When Maj. Gen. Peter Gatdet joined the Movement, we made him the head
of Military High Command as an honor although we knew what SPLA’s
Chief-of-General-Staff, Lt. Gen. James Hoth Mai, said about him that
he was a man who could not stay in one place for more than three
months. Despite the fact that we knew he would one day return to SPLA
based on his defection records, we accommodated him thinking he was
genuinely motivated by objectives of liberation. Little did we know
that Maj. Gen. Peter Gatdet’s personality has not changed with age and
experience as many people in the South would assume. On August, 03,
2011, he and his friend returned to government of South Sudan through
Nairobi Kenya, the same route that they once used to join our
Movement. We are not surprised for his return back to Juba because he
came with his friend Bol Gatkuoth and they have now returned via the
same way but unfortunately without taking their SPLA’s uniforms with
them.
We would like to inform the public that Maj. Gen. James Gai Yoach is
now the head of SSLM/A Military High Command. He was the head of
SSLM/A before Peter Gatdet joined our Movement and has now resumed his
duties after Gatdet returned to Juba with his friend Bol Gatkuoth. It
is important for the public to disregard false allegations Col. Bol
Gatkuoth made because the return of Maj. Gen. Peter Gatdet to Juba has
not affected the SSLM/A. He joined the SSLM/A in April with his friend
and has now returned to Juba with him without taking a single soldier.
Maybe President Salva Kiir would prove James Hoth Mai wrong regarding
the fact that Peter Gatdet cannot stay in one place for more than
three months. Based on his record, it is possible that he may defect
again to SSLA without surprising anybody.
It is important for general public and the international community to
note that South Sudan Liberation Movement/Army has never declared a
ceasefire with the government of South Sudan because the reasons why
we took up arms have not been met. We took up arms because we realized
that our nation had groomed a monster that would swallow generation
after generation in terms of bad leadership and extreme level of
corruption which poisons our values and tradition that rejects thefts
in our midst. What we saw in the last six years of the interim period
was a complete deviation from the path set by the CPA. There was an
absolute failure in the area of good governance. For instance our
entire nation had witnessed rampant corruption on the top echelon of
GOSS. It is shocking that only six years in government, the private
bank accounts of the leadership of GOSS in foreign banks rose from
Zero to tens of millions of Dollars! More than 20 billion dollars of
oil revenue received by GOSS could not be seen in terms of tangible
services delivery in areas such as health, education, water, etc. Our
children went without schools while the Children of our leaders
enjoyed the best education in foreign lands. Our people continued to
die from treatable diseases while those in charge and their families
visited the best hospitals abroad. In fact, the current leadership of
GOSS never felt the sense of belonging to the South for their families
continued to stay in their expensive mansion in east Africa, America,
Australia, etc.
In the ten states of South Sudan, the security has broken down due to
tribal and sectional fights gripping the entire South as the
traditional leaders are deprived of their traditional authority.
County commissioners have turned the counties into fiefdoms where
their misbehaviors have become sources of insecurity. On the political
level, the SPLM leadership continues to pursue the politics of
exclusion within itself and outside it. It denies the other Southern
political parties the right to propagate their ideas and present their
political program to the people. Above all, the SPLM leadership used
SPLA high command to intimidate other leaders in the South reducing
the level of our supposedly national army to a party militia.
The SSLM/A Military High Command would like to state, in no uncertain
terms, that bribing individuals to join the government in Juba will
not bring lasting peace in South Sudan nor would it end rebellion
against the illegitimate government in Juba. Right now there are three
Movements fighting the government of South Sudan such as SSLM/A,
SSDM/A and SSDF of Gordon Koang. We strongly believe that the solution
to end conflict in South Sudan is for international community to
mediate a comprehensive peace accord that shall settle grievances of
all Movements languishing in the bushes of South Sudan. We don’t
believe that striking deals motivated by monetary kickbacks will
indeed lead to peace in South Sudan, which is a divided society. Since
there is a deep mistrust between the SPLM/A and other groups in the
South, a higher degree of international mediation is needed. A
centralized dictatorship based on bribery and coercion would not
generally prove to be a viable means of state-building in South Sudan,
since centralized dictatorship could only be imposed through violence.
Therefore, the SSLM/A Military High Command, calls upon the IGAD, UN,
USA, UK, Norway, AU and all peace loving nations in the world to
advise Juba government to accept international mediation which would
achieve the followings:
1. The dissolution of the current government of Southern Sudan to be
replaced by a national broad-based government agreed upon by all the
South Sudan political parties, armed groups and civil society
organizations. The formation of a legitimate government is a necessary
condition for order and stability. Trust and confidence in a national
government can be gained through the establishment of democratic
principles reflecting an inclusive representation. A new government
needs to be formed where executive power can be shared among the
representatives of all political and armed groups through a grand
coalition in the cabinet.
2. A meeting of all the South Sudan political parties shall be
convened immediately to discuss and agree on the transitional process
and form a transitional government of South Sudan that shall prepare
the newly born state for free and fair elections. A South-South
Consensus on democratization and transition from conflict should
reflect a wide representation of groups. Representatives of major
political parties, armed Movements and civil society organizations can
work together toward forming a new political culture based on
compromise and negotiation. A negotiated democratic transition
requires political dialogue that can lead to easing of tensions over
the process. A more inclusive political climate will contribute to
popular support and legitimacy.
3. The transitional government shall carry out general election in the
Republic of South Sudan within two years to elect the Constituent
Assembly that shall promulgate the permanent constitution of the
Republic of South Sudan. Elections usually imply a step forward in
state-building and democracy with former adversaries pursuing their
opposing ideologies and interests in a non-violent fashion. We believe
that holding elections in two years time is only the first step toward
the establishment of a functioning political system and multiparty
democracy.
4. South Sudan must practice federalism because ethnic plurality can
be protected by the structure of federal government. Through
decentralization of government functions, a political system with
dispersion of power reduces the fear of domination by one group in an
ethnically diverse country like South Sudan.
Signed, 1. Maj. Gen. James Gai Yoach, Head of SSLM/A Military High
Command 2. Maj. Gen. Bapiny Monytuil, Deputy Head of SSLM/A Military
High Command 3. Maj. Gen. Philip Bipean Machar 4. Maj. Gen. Karlo Kuol
Ruach 5. Maj. Gen. Mathews Pul Jang 6. Maj. Gen. Kolchara Nyang
For media contact: Maj. Gen. Bapiny Minytuil Tel. +249-912150206 Tel.
+249-905-133596 SSLM/A Headquarters, Mayom
Information Department Email: [email protected]
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