المثقف الجنوبى ..

Quote: The formation of the SPLM/SPLA and the leadership question Following the arrival of hundreds of refugees, it was time for the leadership to meet and decide first the question of who would lead a united movement. This was very necessary because they should meet the Ethiopian authorities as one group in order to seek political and financial support. Importantly they would need logistics for effective launch of the Movement. But before various groups could meet to elect the leader of the group, Akuot Atem, after receiving reports that the Ethiopian authorities were already in contact with Colonel John Garang and suspicious that the Ethiopians may impose Garang on the refugees as the leader suggested that a government be formed before meeting the Ethiopian authorities. Despite the fact that most of the people thought that it was not yet time to do so, Akuot assuming that he had the majority of the refugees went ahead and formed his cabinet. He made himself Chairman, his friend Samuel Gai Tut Minister of Defense, Joseph Oduho Foreign Affairs; Martin Majier, Legal Affairs and Justice and John Garang Chief of Staff. In order to meet the Ethiopian authorities to enable them launch their Movement and despite sensitivities already expressed by Akuot Atem behaviour, the Sudanese met and a delegation headed by Akuot Atem de Mayen was formed and in the membership of Joseph Oduho, Colonel Dr John Garang de Mabior, Samuel Gai Tut and Captain Salva Kiir Mayadit. The meeting was then arranged in order to meet the Ethiopian Chief of Staff General Mesfin who would subsequently arrang for the group to meet Chairman Megistu Haile Mariam to sanction the launch of the Movement. General Mesfin asked the group to write its manifesto as a precondition of meeting Mengistu. The group came back and Chairman Akuot Atem was asked to write the position paper which he did. Akuot's paper contained the following conditions: That the Movement was a socialist oriented Movement fighting for the total liberation of the Southern Sudan. When Akuot paper was presented to General Mesfin it was turned down. The group was told in no uncertain term that the Socialist Ethiopia would never favour the breakup of a sisterly state as stipulated in the African Unity Charter. The Group went back to the main refugee camp of Itang dumfounded and unable to comprehend what the Ethiopian wanted them to do as a precondition for soliciting support from her. The most elderly Joseph Oduho made special appeal to Colonel John Garang to write a position paper that would be acceptable to the Ethiopian authorities. Colonel Garang accepted and wrote the paper that later became the SPLM Manifesto. Garang paper stated that the Sudanese Movement about to be launched should fight for the creation of a socialist oriented united secular Sudan and that all the scattered rebel forces including the Anya Nya Two be grouped to gather in order to start the liberation struggle of the whole country. When this document was presented to Chairman Mengistu it was accepted and the Sudanese were asked to launch their Movement. Thus the name of the Movement was to be called the Sudan's People Liberation Movement and Liberation Army SPLM/SPLA. And John Garang as the Chief of Staff for the Movement about to be launched, was asked to remain behind to in order to work out logistics requirements before the official launch was inaugurated. But when the group arrived back at Itang Refugee Camp an incident happened that upset the smooth launching of one movement and which would lead to the start of the beginning of the war as two movements instead of one. The incident was that, Colonel Kerubino Kuanyin Bol has just shot dead a refugee by name Marial Alek, allegedly for insubordination and impudence to his most senior commander. The death of this innocent refugee set the refugee camp ablaze and would have spread into seemingly sectional violence. On hearing of this incident in the refugee main camp, the Ethiopian Security acted fast and sent a force in order to maintain law and order there. Chairman Akuot Atem, already suspicious that the Ethiopians' request to keep Colonel Garang behind to solicit logistics requirement told his supporters that the coming of the Ethiopian security personnel to the camp was an attempt to impose John Garang on them as an absolute leader of the new movement to be launched. As if that was what he wanted; Akuot Atem ordered his supporters to collect their belongings and moved back to the Sudan where they would launch the People's Revolution for the liberation of the Southern Sudan there. Thus all and sundry in the Bukteng Camp and some from the Itang Camp moved to Bilpam Camp to join Gordon Kaong soldiers. To make things worst, Lt Colonel William Nyuon Bany who had just arrived with his forces from Ayod, attacked Bilpam and dislodged both Gordon Kaong and Akuot Atem groups from Bilpam. After some skirmishes with William Nyuon Bany forces, Gordon Kaong and his forces followed Akuot and Gai forces to Bukteng Camp inside the Sudan border. They remained there till they later launched an alternative Movement they would also call SPLM/SPLA. The rest of the Anya Nya Two and those who disagreed with Akuot Atem and Samuel Gai Tut went to Itang where they joined John Garang de Mabior Group. It was against this background that John Garang de Mabior was elected by the group that remained loyal to him in Itang in August 1983, as Chairman of SPLM and Commander in Chief of the SPLA