عمر ادخل الحاج لام فى ورطة

Quote: JAN 21/2010, SSN; Some commentators have been making the rounds on the interview I made in Khartoum with the BBC, Reuters and AFP correspondents on Sunday, the 17th instant. The interview was about the decision of the Constitutional Court on the case we raised against the First Vice president, President of the Government of Southern Sudan and Chairman of the SPLM on the letter written on his directives by Dr Luka Manoja on the 9th of November to the Governors of the ten Southern States ordering them not to allow the SPLM-DC to operate in Southern Sudan. It will be recalled that the court ruled on Sunday that the order was null and void. The reporters asked me the question as to why I was contesting for the Presidency of the Government of Southern Sudan. Among the reasons I advanced, I said that the unity of Southerners was the sine qua non for the survival of Southern Sudan whether the Sudan remains united or the South secedes. I continued that the present GoSS has caused a lot of insecurity that contributed to more divisions among the Southern community and that is why it should be jettisoned out in the upcoming general elections. Then I added the comment that “under the present weak government in the South, calling for secession would be a call for Somalization”. The rest of the story is mere interpretation and not a quotation. Those who like to jump to conclusions that this statement is against secession should have given themselves time to go to the bottom of the same report where the reporters quote me to have answered when asked about my preference in the referendum that “my position will be dictated by the circumstances on the ground”. If that be the case, then it means that I have not ruled out secession let alone describing it as “suicidal”. In simple terms, secession is an option in the 2011 referendum on self-determination and nobody in his right mind can rule it out. But you must prepare for the eventuality not just to sit and wait for 2011 as we are always told by the apologists of the current GoSS. The method to reach an objective is as important as the objective itself. I meant to say that the present Government of Southern Sudan must be changed if secession is to achieve the very objectives Southerners want it for. You do not secede to be a failed state or get a license for self-destruction. Leaders who cannot work to avoid such a possibility under any guise are guilty of irresponsibility before their people. Those who claim to be more separatists than others should give themselves time to ponder how self-determination was reintroduced into Sudanese politics. Responsible writing demands careful reading. Dr. Lam Akol Ajawin Chairman SPLM-DC