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 The Impact of Pagan Amum
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The Impact of Pagan Amum
WedBy Steve Paterno
October 9, 2007 — First, it was the persistence and gallantry of the Sudan People Liberation Army (SPLA) fighting forces—their artillery shells and barrage of AK-47 fire—provided early tickets to some of the Jihadists soldiers of Khartoum to go meet with their creator in Janna (Heaven) and each to meet the seventy or so virgins, and even though others might have also had an early departure into Jahannam (Hell). Then, the trotting feet of the SPLA gallant forces, trampling from Ethiopian mountains and plateaus, into the sheering battlefields in Sudan, sent the Jihadists soldiers running into Khartoum for cover and agreed with the said infidels for a negotiated settlement. And finally, the triumphant touchdown of Dr. John Garang de Mabior, the chairman of SPLM/A in Khartoum in 2005, to be inaugurated as the First Vice President of Sudan sent a shockwave with incredible paralysis to the Jihadists and their allies, which its impact has made SPLM/A not to be ignored for years to come.
In light of these impacts, the Jihadists in Khartoum and their supporters are determined to reverse them and have taken the bull by the horn. Currently, there are intelligence reports of beefed-up armed groups and training of terrorists to destabilize the system in South Sudan, followed by the recent targeting of their peace partner political tool of mobilization, the SPLM. The scapegoat of blame came handy in the name of Pagan Amum, the SPLM Secretary General.
Interestingly, the recent smear campaigns against Pagan Amum from Khartoum sponsored press and their associates have nothing to do with Amum’s personality. Mr. Amum might have studied some out-of-date ideologies such as Communism, Leninism or Socialism in his earlier formative years as a revolutionary fighter, a thing Sudanese activists and movement leaders acquaint themselves with. Remember, the Turabi’s Islamists borrowed heavily from the communist organizational structure. Mr. Amum might have also been a follower of some idealistic pursuits with intentions of creating a utopian Sudan. However, of recent, Mr. Amum has turned a realist and pragmatist in dealing with the situations of Sudan. He started by rightful cognizance of the existence of two Sudans. He redefines the usual characterization of Sudan from the "one country two systems" into "two countries in one." Such redefinition is not just base on the unique arrangements that came about as a result of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA), but also on destiny and realism of political, social, economic, and geographical identities of the Sudan.
As one of the leaders of SPLM party, Pagan Amum’s speeches and declarations echoes the Sentiments and aspirations of the people ; SPLM/A supporters, particularly the people of South Sudan, the stronghold of SPLM party and the home based of SPLA gallant fighting forces. Mr. Amum understood that a political party can only do well by advancing the aspiration of its core members and supporters, and in SPLM case, that of South Sudanese people and their allies. In his official visit to the U.S., leading a delegation of Southern Sudanese government, he managed to free the South Sudan from the U.S. economic sanctions imposed on Khartoum government. In a public rally held in Washington, D.C. during the visit, Mr. Amum challenged all the political parties in Sudan for lack of a claim to uphold the unity of Sudan or to speak on behalf of the entire Sudan for that matter. The parties are regionally based as reflected in their make-up and none of them have the support of all, or at least the majority of the Sudanese people. He gave an honest account and even provided a realistic assessment of his own political party, the SPLM—that it cannot maintain the unity of Sudan if it suffers from short supply of membership and supporters in the North of Sudan. He could not have been more accurate by providing such an honest and realistic predicament faced by the main Sudanese political parties. These parties are claiming for the unity of the fragile and soon to be partitioned Sudan—and all are trying to be speaking on behalf of all the Sudanese people while in actual fact they lack the support of the majority of the Sudanese people.
Most importantly, Mr. Amum stressed on the significance of SPLM in safeguarding the referendum for South Sudan as is fought for, and aspired by the people of South Sudan. The Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA), which was signed in January 2005 between the SPLM and Khartoum regime, guarantees referendum for the people of South Sudan in the year 2011. However, the mechanism and business of making the referendum is a quite tricky and treacherous affair. As of today, about halfway through the interim period to the referendum, there are no laws out yet for the referendum of South Sudan. The laws for the referendum of South Sudan are supposedly to be drawn up after the elections of 2009. At stake, is that the party that will win a majority of the 2009 elections will have a greater sway and influence in formulating the referendum laws. In that; if the SPLM lost the elections, then the hopes of the Southern Sudanese and their allies are tossed. There are no any other viable political parties that can really safeguard the aspirations of the Southern Sudanese people for the referendum than the SPLM. All the Northern Political parties are opposed to the aspirations of the Southern Sudanese people; they are willing, in alliance or as individual parties, to do anything tragic through covert means to dash away those aspirations—ruined in the same manner they have consistently done. Other incredible Southern Sudanese parties and individuals are engineered solely for the purpose of spoiling the aspirations of the people of Southern Sudan.
Not surprisingly, the folks who opposed to the aspirations of the people of South Sudan did not want to only create their own spoiler political parties but ironically, they also want to lead the SPLM by infiltrating the SPLM with their Southern Sudanese as Northern surrogates. These Southern Sudanese supporters or Khartoum agents come in many shade of opinions, colors and ways without hiding their intentions and motives. Among their Southern Sudanese supporters is a certain Telar Ring Takpiny Deng. Mr. Deng, interestingly enough is currently serving as Minister of State for the Presidential Affairs in the Sudan’s Government of National Unity under the ticket of SPLM Party. Whatever the duties of the Minister of State for the Presidency are, it seems obvious that the job descriptions of Mr. Deng is that he must contradict statements and declarations made by Salva Kiir who is the Vice President of Sudan and President of the South Sudan as well as the Chairman of SPLM. Mr. Deng always dismisses President Kiir’s statements and declarations as mere personal opinions of Mr. Kiir, as if the opinions of the Vice President of Sudan, President of South Sudan and the Chairman of SPLM do not matter.
Mr. Telar Ring Takpiny Deng is among those Southern Sudanese who have long lost credibility through their acts of betraying the South Sudanese cause by choosing their allies, the regimes of Khartoum. They called themselves leaders, but they have no followers, making a mockery of the definition of a leader. In the case of Mr. Deng, he carries in his empty head, the Atuot Dinka clan that he juggles for a Dinka, Nuer or independent ethnic group for his personal political convenience, as his followers—but in actual sense he got the support of none. Among the SPLM, which he obviously does not belong to, his name is featured on the top of the list of the ministers to be fired. It is actually a matter of time before he is fired. His firing among others is being awaited with quite anticipation and anxiety by the people of South Sudan and SPLM members worldwide.
In a counter move, Mr. Deng shamefully nominated himself to run for the position of Secretary General of SPLM—a party that his actions made some its top Northern Sector leadership quit; like the revered Abdul Aziz Adam El Hilu of the Nuba Mountains/Southern Kordofan region. The challenges however remain for him to prove his membership of SPLM given that his nomination received shored up gestures from estranged quarters. However, the SPLM being a democratic party will allow him to run in spite of challenges ahead of him to win the position Khartoum pushed him to aspire for. Otherwise, in a set-up of Mr. Deng winning the position of SPLM Secretary General, it will mark an end to the SPLM party, and the entire South and its allies will have to bank on the SPLA. Hopefully the SPLA are on their boots and guards as this situation unfolds in their own very territory.
*Steve Paterno is a Sudanese residing in the U.S.A and the author of the upcoming book, The Rev. Fr. Saturnino Lohure: A Roman Catholic Priest Turned Rebel, The South Sudan Experience. He can be reached at [email protected]
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