Nuer and Equatorians condemn Pagan Amum and Dr. Nyaba

Press Release

Equatoria Professionals in Europe (EPE), Equatoria Solidarity International (ESI) and Union of Nuer Community in North America (UNCONA)

March, 1^st, 2007

After reading the public statement of Foreign Minister of Sudan, Dr. Lam Akol, the leaders of the above-mentioned communities met and discussed the SPLM infighting. Some of the members of our organizations are members of the SPLM party and the leadership is therefore obliged to state its position concerning the accusations labeled against Dr. Lam Akol.

After making some enquiries from SPLM leaders in Juba who attended Yie Meeting of the SPLM leadership council, it became clear that the accusations against Dr. Lam are unfounded and were engineered by SPLM members who have personal problems with him. Our organizations also consulted the leadership of Modern Southern Front (MSF) and discovered that it is students’ organization whose objective is to promote the right to self-determination of South Sudan. Based on the words of MSF’s leadership, the accusation that it is a militia organization as claimed by SPLM’s Secretary General, Mr. Pagan Amum, is unfounded and should therefore be considered as smear campaign to weaken the quest of the people for self-determination.

It is therefore advisable for the leadership of the SPLM to form a committee that will investigate the source of false accusations against Dr. Lam Akol, who is a senior leader of the party. If the committee found out that Mr. Pagan Amum is the one who orchestrated a charge that the Foreign Minister is supporting a militia organization which does not exist, it would be prudent for Salva Kiir to discipline his Secretary General to behave professionally and avoid making statements that would appear that the SPLM leadership in the South is collapsing. Orchestrating a false accusation against a senior member of the party is something that should not be left unpunished.

It appears that the SPLM leadership is experiencing unprecedented split which is partly driven by personal hatreds. The article written by Dr. Peter Adwok Nyaba in the Citizen Newspaper on Feb. 28^th, 2007, demonstrates delinquent expressions of personal animosities against Lam Akol. Instead for Nyaba to minimize the damage brought about by false accusations against a member of his party, he added fuel to the fire by accusing Dr. Akol further without substantiating his allegations with strong evidence. The unprofessional writing of Dr. Nyaba is something that should compel Salva Kiir to impose professional conduct on SPLM members. It is a shame to all Southerners, including non-SPLM members, for senior leaders of the SPLM to exchange personal insults in the media. Personal animosities are things that are always discussed in private domains rather than public sphere. Although we dismissed false accusations which alleged that Mr. Pagan Amum and Dr. Peter Adwok Nyaba have drinking problems, the unprofessional conducts they have shown in the media is a disgrace to South Sudan.

As a ruling party, the SPLM leadership should behave itself in a way that does not show to the whole World that it is disorganized and lacks code of conduct to regulate personal problems between the party members. Although members of the National Congress Party have their own problems, it is very rare for President Omar Bashir and Vice-president Taha to engage in exchanging insults in the media. There are senior leaders of the NCP who cannot sleep in one room; however, they don’t advertise their differences in the media the way Peter Adwok Nyaba did by writing an article in the media accusing Lam Akol delinquently. Nyaba always behaves emotionally as it is shown in his book. In “The Politics of Liberation in South Sudan”, Dr. Peter Adwok Nyaba insulted Dr. Lam Akol personally without adhering to professional writing most academics employ. If that hatred against Lam is also carried to national media, people may wonder whether the SPLM is capable of leading the whole Sudan. National leaders are people who do not behave unprofessionally.

We therefore urge Vice-president Kiir to salvage his own image by imposing discipline on Pagan Amum and Adwok Nyaba. The accusations they orchestrated against Dr. Lam Akol would damage the image of the SPLM party and South Sudan in particular. Northern Sudanese may think that SPLM is composed of children who attack each others emotionally before the whole world. True leaders are people who do not lose control even in a very hot situation like that of Sudan. Amum and Nyaba are a disgrace to the people of South Sudan.

Signed,

Dr. Luka Odiong, Chair of EPE

Victor Charles Adeba, Spokesman of ESI

Capt. John Gatluak Kam, President of UNCONA

Contact: equatoriaprofessionals@yahoo.com