SSDF MUST STOP OIL PRODUCTION IN SOUTH SUDAN

Press Release

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

April 26, 2007

The Nuer and Equatorians give their support to Lt. Gen. Paulino Matip’s SSDF forces that have been denied integration with the SPLA as stated in Juba Declaration of Jan, 9, 2006. As we stated in our previous release, there was no doubt that the arrest of Maj. Gen. Obuto Mamuor would be followed by the arrest of Paulino Matip. We congratulate the SSDF soldiers who unloaded food from barges by force last week because the arrest of Gen. Mamuor was the start of starvation for SSDF forces in Juba.

Our communities are deeply troubled by President Salva Kiir’s rejection of SSDF—SPLA integration as demanded by the Juba Declaration. On April 24, 2007, Lt. Gen. Salva Kiir told Lt. Gen. Gatwec Duel (Deputy of Lt. Gen. Matip) that the list of officers submitted by Paulino Matip to his office for integration before leaving for South Africa has been rejected. President Kiir argued that SSDF officers would be integrated into the SPLA unless their ranks are demoted.

The Juba Declaration states succinctly that SSDF forces that united with SPLA on Jan, 9, 2006, would not be demoted in order to be integrated into the SPLA. The current position of Salva Kiir is not supported by the Declaration and it therefore contravenes the principles of the agreement. The Declaration states that the SPLA and SSDF were different armed groups united to realize the implementation of the CPA. It is not written anywhere in the agreement that one armed group would be demoted while the other is not. Paulino Matip would not have signed the Juba Declaration had he known that his forces would first be demoted in order to be considered part of South Sudan Army known as SPLA. During the negotiation between Paulino Matip and Salva Kiir, the two leaders agreed that “SPLA” would only be used as a name of a unified South Sudan Army because changing the name would create problem with National Congress Party that would automatically say that the South unilaterally amend the CPA. Paulino Matip agreed to use the name “SPLA” because he wanted to see the smooth implementation of the CPA by the NCP.

The Dinka tribalists have now misunderstood Juba Declaration and thought that Paulino Matip was joining the SPLA like other groups that did before the signing of the CPA. That perception is wrong because SSDF forces under Paulino Matip signed an agreement with a belief that the two armed groups were coming together to realize the implementation of the CPA by leaving behind the differences of the past. There is a difference between joining the SPLA and forming a new army for the South. The Juba Declaration was meant to unify two armed groups that administered the South separately back then. If the ranks of SSDF forces are not being recognized currently by Salva Kiir, it follows that the Juba Declaration is dead. Paulino Matip would then command his army separate from the SPLA.

The leadership of the undersigned communities advises Lt. Gen. Paulino Matip not to rejoin the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF). Since Matip is a capable military leader that can achieve the aspiration of the marginalized people of Sudan, the SSDF forces under his command should take control of oilfields in Unity and Upper Nile Sates to end the reign of Omar Bashir. It is Omar Bashir who is giving oil revenue to Dinka tribalists in Juba. The reasonable way to stop humiliation of SSDF is for Matip to stop oil flow. SSDF should understand that their first enemy is Omar Bahir who is giving away oil revenue to tribalists in Juba. SSDF is therefore obliged to stop the oil and galvanize the people of South Sudan to end Arab domination which is the primary cause of problem in Sudan.

Since the Arabs in Khartoum are the ones who conspired with the tribalists in Juba to marginalize the Nuer as a divide and rule tactic, our communities will support SSDF militarily and financially to achieve the aspiration of the marginalized Sudanese. The only way to do that is to stop the oil and match towards Khartoum militarily to get rid of corrupt SPLM and NCP officials.

We call upon the Nuer ethnic group to reject being treated like the Ogoni of Nigeria whose oil is being exploited by others. The only way for the Nuer to end their suffering is to gain control of the oilfields militarily. There is a conspiracy between the Dinka and the Arabs in Khartoum that the Nuer must be used by both sides while their oil is being exploited without benefiting them. Paulino Matip needs to take note from the struggle of Darfuris. SSDF must reclaim the oilfields from the SAF if it wants to have its share of wealth. The only people benefiting from the oil are the SPLM Dinkas and the Arabs who are committing genocide in Darfur.

We therefore pledge our support to SSDF because stopping the flow of oil to Port Sudan is the only solution to marginalization in the South as well as an end to conflict in Darfur. Without stopping the oil in the South, true peace will never be realized in the Sudan. We call upon the international community to support the SSDF as a separate government that would administer areas under its control.

The Nuer and Equatorians fully support and recognize Lt. Gen. Paulino Matip as the only leader that will liberate the marginalized people of Sudan. The international community needs to deal with SSDF to realize peace in the whole Sudan. Peace is possible only when the NCP is completely wiped out of the Sudanese map. The only way for the UN to end Darfur conflict is to support SSDF’s objective of shutting down the flow of oil. Without oil, Omar Bashir will leave Khartoum in less than a week because the masses of Sudan would rise up through intifadha as they did in the past to overthrow Jaafar Numeri in 1985.

Signed,

Dr. Luka Odiong, Chair of EPE

Victor Charles Adeba, Spokesman of ESI

Capt. John Gatluak Kam, President of UNCONA

Contact: equatoriaprofessionals@yahoo.com