By Akol Madut Ngong
The Sudan People’s Liberation Movement and Army in Opposition (SPLM/A-IO) Deputy Chairman, Nathaniel Oyet has reiterated his party’s commitment to cling onto the Peace Agreement whether it’s being implemented or not, stressing it’s meant to transform the Country.
Nathaniel Oyet who is the First Deputy Speaker of the Reconstituted Transitional National Legislative Assembly (R-TNLA) made his party’s vow over the weekend during the launch of the SPLM/A-IO party’s registration at its national secretariat in Juba.
“I want to assure you that the peace agreement which was negotiated and internationally brokered, we shall not throw it away, the agreement remain valid, remain important, yesterday, today even after the six months as long as it’s implemented or not, we shall never throw the agreement which is meant to transform this Country away,” Oyet declared his party’s position.
“The change will come, the change has come, it will come and it will be there and I want to assure you with the brave young people, the change for South Sudan is here, our issue in South Sudan is political space, you have reach the peace agreement, we have sign security arrangement, permanent ceasefire though is being violated” he added.
He underlined that they are under the weight of the peace agreement and they are left with less than six months to end of the transitional period, and the peace agreement implementation.
“The implementation is lagging behind, we haven’t been able to move in chapter one, chapter two, chapter three and in all chapters, some of you are questioning, after six months what next, this must be your question and this must be the question on the streets” the SPLM/A-IO deputy chairmen pointed.
Oyet said they cannot cheat neither themselves nor cheat the people of this country who suffered since when Sudan was still one. He stressed that since they took up arms during the Anya-nya one and Anya-nya two during the SPLA/SPLM they were able to achieve Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) and attained the independence.
Meanwhile, speaking about the launch of the SPLM/A-IO party mobilization, registration program, Oyet stated that the exercise marked the beginning of their movement transformation.
“Today function which mark the beginning of a very long journey in this country, we are in the process to transforming a movement that was establish out of the ashes, of a bitter struggle, a bitter conflict, a bitter war that befell the country in 2013,” Oyet asserted.
He emphasized that they are transforming from war to peace and their transformation is in line with the Revitalized Peace Agreement which was brought to Juba to be implemented in letter and spirit.
The SPLM/A-IO deputy chairman cited that it was way back, in 2013 when we were one SPLM, there was no blue, only red but the blue came out of the red when they decided not to live in contradiction, when they decided to be born again in this country.
“There was no reason to live in contradiction, to cheat the citizen, others didn’t we want to listen specially our colleague, we leave them behind on the 6th of December 2013, Comrade chairman and colleagues from the political bureau of the then SPLM, decided to make it to be known to the world. Nathanial Oyet lamented.
“The grievances’ was around the country, and the grievances’ within the party by then SPLM, and the need to achieve a just, a variant, peaceful, equal and prospers country, this was declared in the SPLM house, it was at that point that shock disagreement emerged within the SPLM and later on skim in the arms forces leading to struggle of which we regrouped in Nasir and establish a movement call SPLM/SPLA-IO and this is our short story,” Oyet highlighted.
Oyet said they had three main objectives when they establish the SPLM/A-IO, “One was to stop the war, the war which destroy the country, which was killing the people, destroying the properties and displacing our population, we had to stop it by ensuring that the peace process which was on going under the auspices of IGAD, goes ahead and it was concluded as soon as possible to stop further bloodshed”.
“Two is to make sure that upon signing the peace agreement, implement the agreement in letter and spirit because the agreement was meant to address the root causes of the conflict which emerge in 2013, finally was to pedal the country to a free, fair and democratic election.” Oyet outlined.