Press Releases
Pagan Group low-key Coup Against President Kiir
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Oct 27, 2007 - 9:06:55 AM

Pagan Group low-key Coup Against President Kiir

Press Release

SPLM/A Veterans Against Corruption and Nepotism

October 25, 2007

What is "Awlad Garang" undertaking these days after they have failed to inherit their father�s throne? In fact who are Awlad Garang and what is their agenda? Awlad Garang are former associates of Late Dr. Garang whom very many people within the SPLM do not realise their manoeuvres that late Garang entrusted the affairs of the SPLM/A to them. The majority are not Southerners in the geo-political sense because they hail from the political North. Even now that they are overrepresented in both GONU and GOSS this is only a violation of the CPA itself. Second, most of them are former communist party outcasts who found no political playground in the mother party and made the SPLM as a breeding ground for their hidden agendas. Third, most are relatives either by marriage or blood relationship. What is the agenda of this group? Their agenda was divided into stages and each member from the group was given specific assignment.

After the tragic death of Dr. Garang, this group thought mistakenly that the time was ripe for them to cease power. They despised both Salva Kiir and Dr. Riek Machar as defectors. Unfortunately, for them they had no military strength and had to reluctantly accept Kiir and Dr. Riek as Chairman and Deputy Chairman respectively in accordance with the party hierarchy before Garang died. Since the formation of the GONU and GOSS, the group showed hidden dislike of the personalities appointed. In GONU, the appointment of their arch-enemy Dr. Lam Akol as Foreign Minister was heart-breaking for them. The dropping of Dr. Mansour Khalid and Yasser Arman from the cabinet was even worst news for them. Realising the potential danger of being left out of the political game, they developed a political strategy, which worked in fact. The first strategy for them was to swallow their dignity and gossip against their comrades. The first proof of these reviling gossips was the accusation against their fellow comrades that they were bought by the NCP. The second strategy was to capture decision making corridors. Therefore, using the same dirty tricks, they managed to install Dr. Luka Biong (a non academic PhD holder), in Kiir�s office in GOSS. Although his appointment was completely unconstitutional in the sense that Dr. Luka is not a southerner until the Abiey people vote in the coming referendum, Southerners kept quiet.

To add insult to injury,   Dr. Luka and his cohorts went to work to undermine Kiir�s government. First, they made sure they paint Kiir as an incompetent leader. This was done through writing of bad public speeches that do not raise the hopes of Southerners, in fact an agitation of the public against Kiir. Second, Dr. Luka misadvised Kiir to usurp the powers of the States knowing very well that the essence of people�s empowerment and participation in government is enshrined in a decentralised system of governance. But the hidden objective was to paint Kiir as a dictator who did not respect the constitution and the states� constitutions.

In the GONU, Dr Luka�s uncle Deng Alor made sure he embarrassed the SPLM partner to the maximum as a prelude to breaking the partnership and hopefully a return to war. Personally, Deng had neither a sharp apatite for being a Foreign Minister although he had neither experience nor academic credentials for that. Having spent three years in a college for translation does not qualify him for that portfolio. Yet he had the guts to aspire for the Foreign Affairs. Even now that he had been nominated for that post, the chances are that it will be a disgrace for the SPLM in particular and the Sudan in general. Mr. Deng has weaknesses which if exposed could lead the SPLM to lose the coming elections. Have you not heard that he kept the Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe waiting for six hours to meet Garang in Addis Ababa in 1990 because he forgot to inform the latter of the appointment? Have you not heard that he forgot his four year old child in the Jomo Kenyatta Airport and went home? Such �false prophets� should be hidden away where to avoid embarrassment. Many of his likes are hidden in the SPLM proposed list and it will not be long before they are confused by the complexities of modern governance.

The third front is the one waged by Pagan Amum, the SPLM Secretary General and an in-law of Deng, Luka Biong. So is Yasser Arman, who is also an in-law. Pagan is another disgrace for the SPLM. The first assignment he failed was when he was sent to Cuba to be in-charge of the SPLA Red army Brigade. In fact, there are so many unfortunate children who suffered Pagan�s incompetence. He could not solve any of their burning issues in Cuba let alone spending most his time in Bars. At last, the Sudanese boys in Cuba under his command resorted to self help. Many of them became frustrated, home sick and eventually most became alcoholics and could not continue with their training. The late Dr. Garang gave him a lot of money for their welfare but he used it for his benefit. Pagan is a very ambitious young man who dropped out of University because he wanted to liberate his people. But he sometimes forgets this objective and instead loots the little they have. Pagan has not yet shed off his communist skin and believes strongly in the vision of new Sudan although he sometimes offends his potential supporters from the North with such derogatory statements like �we will destroy the jallaba state�. Pagan, although a communist, lives like a bourgeois. He recently bought two houses, one in Colorado (USA) and another in Melbourne ( Australia ). Do you remember the $60 million scandal in which Pagan was in the centre of it? Pagan has a deadly ambition for power.

In the Fist formation of the SPLM Interim political Bureau, he managed to manoeuvre out Dr. Riek Machar and became the second man in the party. Things turned against him recently when Salva Kiir, perhaps realising the creeping danger by Awlad Garang, appointed three deputies essentially relegating poor Pagan to fifth place in the SPLM hierarchy. But Pagan is a man who can not give up easily. He cleverly filled the Interim political bureau of the SPLM with their supporters hoping to win any contest that may come by in the party. Pagan strategy like his friends is to agitate for change of Kiir in the name of democratic transformation. It is hardly unbelievable that the SPLM could transform into a democratic political party while the very agents for the desired change like Pagan himself aren�t transforming. His often loaded public statements against the NCP and sometimes against northerners are meant to cloud his real intentions of disrupting the CPA with the dream of starting the liberation over again with a new leadership. But this is a false hope that is impossible to achieve. Now that Southerners have known their intentions it is unlikely that they will get any followers. Pagan and group also know that this time round no one ever will fight the war on their behalf only to be deprived of the peace dividends like what is happening now.

Yasser Arman, another in-law of Deng Alor and Dr. Luka, fights in the fourth front through the media under cover of the SPLM with the same objective of ousting Kiir. The man has become so involved in the Southern politics that it is doubtful whether he is genuinely serious. He has also become so irrelevant within the Southern Sudanese circles that he looks like an infectious virus. But honestly, Yasser has something to worry about in the event of the separation of the South. First, he has killed his fellow northerners will fighting on the side of the SPLA. Second, he murdered a student while at the University before he fled to the bush. He fears retribution in case the South separates.

Dr. Mansour Khalid, an old political prostitute, throws a few stones here and there and claims knowledge of what Southerners want. So he seriously misadvises president Kiir even on issues concerning the South. Not contended with all the past portfolios he held, he also wants to be a Foreign minister at age 75! What a shame! The South has no cadres to run such a ministry? But the most amazing thing in the whole story is that our leader Kiir looks on while his empire is being dismantled. We are not sure what he fears from this group. The stories that are coming to us from Sudan paint a very weak and scared Kiir. Spectators fear the system may collapse at Kiir�s face because of this group�s malicious activities. Some spectators also say Kiir fears being assassinated. Pagan and group have hired two or more CIA operatives (notably Roger Winter and Brian de Silva) and are currently stationed in Juba . Roger Winter is the commander. In fact it is no secret that the American government is out to remove Kiir and Beshir in the name of democratic transformation. The people touted for their positions are Pagan and Sadiq al Mahdi. It is also amazing that while Pagan and group are playing with the destiny of our people southern intellectuals are looking on helplessly and hopelessly. These boys should be told in their faces to leave southerners alone. We did not fight for 23 years and lost nearly four million lives for democratic transformation of the North, nor for the weird vision of the so-called new Sudan . We must also make it plainly clear to Deng Alor and Luka Biong that we did not fight for 23 years and lost nearly four million in order to reclaim Abiey from the North. That is why the Abiey issue has a separate protocol. We shall not accept being led to war again for issues other our own.

Finally, I appeal to our leader Kiir to wake up and exercise his powers. You complained in the media that the north has robbed you of your powers but equally those of Pagan and group are robbing them in broad day light and you are doing nothing about it. President Kiir, we are greatly disturbed by what we are seeing � the misuse of the SPLM by Pagan and group for their own selfish interests. The SPLM was not fighting to restore Sadiq�s, Mansour�s nor Yasser�s lost glory. Nor did it fight neither to install a communist regime nor to reclaim Abiey from the Messeiriya. It fought to bring dignity and prosperity to our people. If this is not your program, please get out and let one Southern Sudanese son lead us. You should sack any minister that refuses to take oath.   The CPA will not collapse because of a few Northern friends of the SPLM who have decided to abuse our generosity by giving them ministerial posts they could never dream of had it not been for their association with the SPLM.

For Contact:

Executive Committee,

SPLM/A Veterans in Diaspora

London, UK

Email: [email protected]