---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Philip Aguer <[email protected]>
Date: Tue, 29 Aug 2017 13:25:52 +0000 (UTC)
Subject: Re: [southsudankob] THE ANNIVERSARY OF THE GLORIOUS NASIR
DECLARATION - Dr Lam Akol
To: "[email protected]" <[email protected]>
Dr Lam AkolGreetings.Yes Nassir Declaration have some points in
Self-Determination as a principle but Zero in Human rights and
democracy otherwise how do you explain the massive attacks on civil
population in Duks, Twic East, Bor and close to Nassir in Balliet and
the rapid disintegration of the Nassir Faction grouping within three
years? Philip Aguer Panyang
From: Elisabeth Janaina <[email protected]>
To: [email protected]
Sent: Monday, August 28, 2017 11:25 PM
Subject: [southsudankob] THE ANNIVERSARY OF THE GLORIOUS NASIR
DECLARATION - Dr Lam Akol
THE ANNIVERSARY OF THE GLORIOUS NASIR DECLARATION“The only way a man
can remain consistent amid changing circumstances is to change with
them while preserving the same dominating purpose.” Winston
Churchill, British Statesman (1894-1965). Today, the 28th of August,
marks the 20th anniversary of the glorious Nasir Declaration. On this
day in 1991, three members of the SPLM/A Political-Military High
Command, Dr Riek Machar, Dr Lam Akol and Cdr Gordon Kong, issued the
Nasir Declaration to all units of the SPLM/A. The declaration
signalled a clean break with the Movement’s policy of unconditional
unity of the Sudan in favour of advocating the right of
Self-Determination for South Sudan. The Nasir move adopted other
important policy matters that were of concern to the Movement at that
time: respect for human rights, establishment of civil administration
in the liberated areas and to build the SPLM into a strong political
party to lead the struggle. These matters would have been discussed
and resolved within the Political-Military High Command, the only
known organ of the Movement, but many requests for the convening of
that body fell on deaf ears. Hence, the split was unavoidable. In
fact, the first meeting ever of the PMHC took place after the split.
Attempts to subdue the Nasir Move by the force of arms led to military
confrontations in which many civilians lost their lives. It also
happened that both sides of the divide committed mistakes that took
the lives of many innocent comrades for no reason other than belonging
to a particular tribe. These incidents are abhorrent and regrettable
but the responsibility for them lies squarely on the shoulders of all
the leaders of the SPLM/A on both sides. In a meeting of the SPLA
officers of Upper Nile Region in Kongor in 2004, I addressed the
officers that the bloody events that accompanied the Nasir Move are to
be regretted and the SPLM/A Leadership, including myself, have to
accept responsibility for that. That position cannot and should not be
taken to concern particular leaders or a community or two. It applies
to all, for no community in South Sudan has not been at the receiving
end of the SPLM/A actions or that has not lost their loved ones, and
there is no one ‘holier than thou’ in that fratricide. It is a chapter
we need to close with a genuine spirit of forgiveness and
reconciliation that does not make some of us feel as if they are on
top of others. Labouring under the propaganda of the adversaries, the
SPLM/A-Nasir leadership failed to live up to some of its commitments
and suffered from internal rifts and schisms. All that was the
unintended dark side of the Naisr Move. The brightest side is that,
the Nasir Move changed the political calculus in Sudan drastically.
Self-Determination, long buried by the northern political parties in
1965, resurfaced again like a phoenix from the ashes. To the South
Sudanese, Self-Determination has never been a second option nor one in
a “spectrum of objectives”. It has always been the sole objective, and
they kept their eyes fixed on the ball. We believed that only an
agreed peaceful democratic process could avail the opportunity for the
Southern Sudanese to choose the political system that accords with
their national aspirations. We were vilified and scorned as the
separatists, but we persevered for we know the tide of
Self-Determination was unstoppable. Soon the government of Sudan
signed to it in Frankfurt 1992, the SPLM/A-Torit adopted it in
Chukudum in 1994 and the National Democratic Alliance gave it a nod in
Asmara in 1995. Thus, by the close of 1995, all the political parties
in North and South Sudan have pledged themselves to granting the South
the right to Self-Determination, a great victory which could not have
been possible if there were no change of policy within the liberation
Movement in 1991. Also, at the close of the century, the gap on the
other issues of difference in 1991 were getting bridged; the
violations of human rights in the SPLM/A were acknowledged and being
addressed, administration in the liberated areas was beginning to take
shape and the SPLM as a political party was emerging. On the other
hand, at about the same time Khartoum had shown signs of reneging on
the right to Self-Determination for South Sudan that it had promised
in Frankfurt and The Khartoum and Fashoda Peace Agreements and
enshrined in its 1998 Constitution. These were the factors that led to
the reunification processes at the beginning of the new millennium,
which in turn made the conclusion of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement
possible. This spirit of coming together was misinterpreted by some as
“rejoining” rather than reunification of the Movement. This is how the
point was missed, causing unnecessary friction within members of the
Movement after the agreement. Today there are people who claim to
have alone brought about the independence of South Sudan, when we know
that even last year they were dubbing anybody who called for the
separation of South Sudan to be “suffering from inferiority complex”.
Success has many fathers, and failure is an orphan! But, it is our
collective responsibility to ensure that those adept in stealing
revolutions do not do it this time round. The intense propaganda from
opponents made some leaders of the Nasir Move to feel contrite and
walk with heads down. What is to be ashamed about when your dream has
come true? What is to be contrite about when what you demanded twenty
years ago is now a reality? You cannot be ashamed of your own
achievement. Instead, you should walk tall with shoulders high for our
achievement is great and historic. Great events in history come about
because of a leadership that looks beyond its nose. The 20th
anniversary of the glorious Nasir Declaration acquires a special
significance as it comes at a time when the South Sudanese are
celebrating their independence in a new state of their own. They
deserve to be proud of themselves for it is a culmination of their
long struggle over the decades including their votes in the
referendum. They liberated themselves, and nobody whosoever can claim
to have liberated them. We bow our heads in salute to our martyrs, and
pledge, once the opportunity avails itself, to take care of their
families. This is the least we can do for them. The Nasir Movement may
have had its ups and downs, but on Self-Determination it never
faltered. Long live an independent Federal Republic of South Sudan!
Dr Lam Akol, Former Member of the Political-Military High Command,
SPLM/A.--
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