Articles and Analysies
Has Deng Yiech Bachech convinced us about SPLM-DC? By: Zechariah Manyok Biar, USA
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Jun 29, 2009 - 7:07:55 AM

Has Deng Yiech Bachech convinced us about SPLM-DC?

By: Zechariah Manyok Biar , USA

On June 26, 2009 , I watched Fox News political debate about the recent extra-marital affairs of South Carolina Governor Sanford. Some commentators wondered why Democratic Party and the media always turn the wrongdoing of one Republican Party’s official into the wrongdoing of the whole Republican Party when on the other hand; the wrongdoing of one Democratic Party official is treated as individual and not party problem. One commentator said that Democratic Party officials don’t pretend about their social moral life. Republicans are known for their claims about leading a moral living in the US .

Some parties in South Sudan want to appear holy in words but not in deeds. They don’t know that when you set yourself higher in moral issues, you need to stick to it. Many people evaluate politicians according to what they say and do.

A member of SPLM-DC Deng Yiech Bachech, who calls himself a political analyst and SPLM-DC Representative, recently takes on South Sudan intellectuals.   Bachech believes that all South Sudan intellectuals lack critical analysis.

He writes, “However, constructive intellectual debate is terribly lacking particularly in South Sudan , to say the least. This is why when one is not confident in oneself, lacks any substantiated facts or intellectual ability to back up his/her claims, resorting to name-calling, character assassinations, threats and intimidation are often the cheapest tools used to defend his/her alleged position. Therefore, this absence of critical thinking and consciousness in political engagements has led to some violent confrontations between groups with conflicting ideological and political orientations” (Southsudannation.com, June 27, 2009).

Notice that Mr. Bachech accuses South Sudan intellectuals of resorting to name-calling and character assassination, things that he calls “cheapest tools used to defend his/her alleged position.” However, Mr. Bachech’s article of 26 paragraphs contains about 29 abusive words.

The abusive words that Mr. Bachech uses in his article include false, irrelevant, trivial, superficial, baseless rhetoric, lack of competent leadership, cheating, ineffective, inefficient; idleness, impaired intellectual reasoning, jealousy, pretentious, shallow claim, pretexts, miserable failures, scapegoating, unapprised, self-serving, misleading, absurd maneuvers, scaremongering; bogus claims, tyrants, dictators, selfish-gains, misrule, and ignorant masses.

If these words are not name-calling, then I wonder what Mr. Bachech regards as name-calling! And if they are name-calling, then Mr. Bachech would join the intellectuals who lack constructive intellectual debate, as he puts it.

When it comes to his points about character assassination of leaders, Mr. Bachech says this: “This tactic of challenging the personality of a leader, not issues, is simply a resort to committing abusive fallacy.” However, Mr. Bachech never hesitates to call the President of South Sudan and Chairman of SPLM party, Salva Kiir, as tribal figure.

Mr. Bachech’s moral claims stop short when he uses this argument without acknowledging the first person who made it not long time ago: “Furthermore, why is the SPLM-DC becoming so a nerve-racking matter for the SPLMers when in fact we have USAP 1 and USAP 2 in the legislative assembly of the southern government? Can they (SPLMers) also ask themselves about the existence of Ummah Party of Sadiq el-Mahdi and Ummah Reform and Renewal Party of Al-Fadil?”

We know that on June 20, 2009, Dr. Justine Ambago Ramba made a convincing argument in the following two paragraphs in defense of SPLM-DC name:

“Two Umma parties i.e. the Umma mainstream (Sadiq al Mahdi) and the Umma for Reform and Renewal (Mubarak Al Fadil), these will come to Juba, while the Umma National Party of Masar will remain n Khartoum and is an ally to the NCP.

“The SPLM shall also be a host to the many factions of the Baa’th Party which are: the Sudanese Baa’th Party, the Socialist Baa’th Party, and the Pro-Syrian Baa’th Party, while within the south the SPLM and its supporters worldwide should have already acquainted themselves with the USAP1 and USAP 2” (South Sudan Nation, June 20, 2009).

It is the same argument that Mr. Bachech parrots without acknowledging the original source or the author, and he does not fear to attack other intellectuals for being unprofessional!

In his answer to why SPLM-DC was formed in Khartoum and not in Juba , a question that many people use to link SPLM-DC to NCP, Mr. Bachech says, “The answer is that, SPLM-DC has no link with NCP, it is simple as that. Nonetheless, if we may ask, why was the SPLM/A revolutionary struggle initiated and announced in Ethiopia ? History tells us that most political parties or revolutionary works are primarily formed and waged in exile, especially when the challenged system is an authoritarian, a totalitarian or a dictatorial regime or combination of the three” (Sudan Tribune, June 26, 2009).

Mr. Bachech thinks that his readers need “simple as that” answers. One of the readers, who calls himself Wiseman, who commented on Mr. Bachech’s article says that Mr. Bachech is indirectly acknowledging the link between SPLM-DC and NCP by comparing the formation of SPLM in Ethiopia with the formation of SPLM-DC in Khartoum.

Mr. Wiseman’s point is that it does not need a rocket scientist to figure out that the example Mr. Bachech gives about the formation of SPLM in Ethiopia links SPLM-DC to NCP because SPLM was getting support from Ethiopian government when it was formed in Ethiopia.

SPLM-DC members might be convinced by the argument that Mr. Bachech makes in his article. But they must also know that we expect more from them because we cannot banish Dr. Akol’s political records from existence. Mr. Bachech claims that the “competent” leadership of Dr. Akol “will not betray the hopes, expectations and goals exceedingly harbored by the marginalized masses of the Sudan .”

But the fact is that Dr. Akol did betray these issues less than 20 years ago. That is why we are careful this time.

Zechariah Manyok Biar is a graduate student at Abilene Christian University, Texas, USA and a regular contributor to NSV. He can be reached at [email protected]