Public Statement
South Sudan Democratic Movement/Army (SSDM/A)
Jebel Boma, South Sudan
May, 02, 2013
The gallant forces of South Sudan Democratic Army are seriously advising civilians and NGOs to leave Kapoeta and Pibor towns within a week. Our struggle against the regime in Juba is not over until all the conditions of the SSDA are met. The SSDM/A led by David Yau Yau is not part of the rebel force that gave itself up at Mayom in Unity State on April, 26.
In order to bring to an end to the suffering of our people, arrest the collapse of our nascent nation, and to rid it of the dictatorship gripping it now, a popular revolution must take place so as to achieve the following:
1. The dissolution of the current Government of South Sudan to be replaced by Transitional Revolutionary Government.
2. The Transitional Revolutionary Government shall, within two years, hold general elections for the election of a constituent Assembly whose main function is to enact the permanent constitution of Republic of South Sudan.
3. The army of South Sudan shall be taken care of and transformation into a truly professional national army that includes within its ranks all qualified citizens regardless of tribe, region or religion.
4. Give special priority to the delivery of services to our people, including the provision of infrastructure.
5. Restructuring the civil service so that it is based only on qualification and experience.
6- Radical economic reform in policies and institutions and paying special attention to agriculture in order to provide food security and to serve as the launching pad to industrialization.
7- Make rapid legal and security reform to ensure good governance in the country.
8- The new government shall take swift action to resolve the tribal disputes by peaceful means.
9- Take legal means to prosecute all those involved in corruption and request the repatriation of the money embezzled from the countries where the accounts are kept.
10- Establish good relations with all the countries neighboring South Sudan for the interest of our people.
11- Establish good relations with countries of the world for mutual benefit and to maintain global peace and security.
12. Negotiate in good faith with the Government of Sudan on the outstanding issues between the two countries in the context of the sovereignty over its territories.
We rejected the “amnesty” of the dictator Gen. Salva Kiir mayardit for the following reasons:
1. We have genuine grievances that we presented to the Government of Southern Sudan by then. Lack of will from the government’s side to address these matters left us with no option but to take up arms , exactly for the same reason the SPLA did so when the successive governments in Khartoum turned a deaf ear to the just demands of the South Sudanese. These grievances are still outstanding.
2. We are not war mongers but are seeking a serious peaceful resolution to the armed conflict through dialogue and negotiations.
3. The “amnesty” declared by the President of the Republic on the 24th instant was made through mass media. There has been no communication with us before or after the public announcement on the government’s intention to pursue a peaceful resolution to the conflict. We are familiar with such amnesties made on the air waves. In 2011, Commander David Yau Yau responded to such an amnesty and ended up marooned in a Juba hotel. Generals Gabriel Tang Ginya and Thomas Mabor Dhol who believed in the “amnesty” are now languishing in SPLA detention cells. Hence, our experience informs us to take such “amnesty” with a grain of salt. Amnesty itself does not solve outstanding problems; it rather is an expression of good will to do so.
4. If the Government of the Republic of South Sudan is serious about a negotiated peaceful settlement to the current conflict in the country, then as the government of the day, they should address us directly on the matter rather than resorting to mass media. They know how to get us.
5. We are serious about the attainment of peace in our country. However, history tells us that peace without justice, equality and dignity is bound to be short-lived.
Col. Peter Konyi Kubrin
Spokesman of SSDM/SSDA.
Jebel Boma, South Sudan
E-mail: rsouthsudan@yahoo.com
Tel: +8821621907335