Press Release
Union of Nuer Community in North America (UNCONA)
Jan 21 2006

The UNCONA is hereby warning SSDF’s negotiating team in Juba that whatever protocol they signed with SPLA needs to be ratified by SSDF’s Leadership Council. The SPLA is spreading false propaganda that Paulino Matip joined the SPLA.

According to the words of SSDF’s Deputy Chief, Gen. Gordon Koang Chuol, the SSDF’s negotiating team in Juba will return to Khartoum after the negotiation and present the whole agreement to the leadership council. There is negotiation still continuing between SSDF and SPLA technical committees. The SSDF’s Leadership Council has a prerogative to amend any protocol signed by Matip. SPLA should not rejoice prematurely that the name “SPLA” will be used by the two armies. Majority of SSDF military leadership preferred the suggestion of the Chairman of South Sudan Democratic Forum, Gordon Buay, that the name of the unified army must be “SPLA-SSDF”.

The UNCONA agreed with Democratic Forum that Juba Declaration is flawed and needs to be amended so that everyone becomes a winner. In any conflict resolution, there has to be a middle ground for opposing groups to compromise. “SPLA” is not appropriate name of compromise between SPLA and SSDF.

The Supreme Council of UNCONA would like to warn SSDF’s negotiating team under Paulino Matip not to ignore tribalism of Salva Kiir. The recent nomination of under-secretaries for GOSS demonstrates that Salva Kiir is uncompromising Dinka tribalist. Out of 18 under-secretaries, nine are Dinkas. There is only one Nuer from the list. The nomination is an insult to SSDF’s negotiating team in Juba and it is tribalism as usual. What will be the work of “political committee” stipulated in the Juba Declaration if Salva Kiir is continuing to fill the GOSS with Dinkas from Bahr-El Ghazal?

The UNCONA is also warning the SPLM Party that the propaganda they are spreading will jeopardize the negotiation process in Juba and may even lead Juba Declaration into dustbin like all the declarations which have never been implemented. Making an impression that SSDF has surrendered to the SPLA will backfire terribly. SSDF is a huge armed group which has internal regulations. Paulino Matip could make a concession in Juba, but it doesn’t mean that it is the final position of SSDF. That is why Paulino Matip will go back to the rest of SSDF leadership for the ratification of the declaration. The current SPLA propaganda will make the declaration not to be ratified by the SSDF. The SSDF’s moderates are being made hardliners by the SPLA’s propaganda.

John Gatluak,
President of UNCONA
E-mail:[email protected]