What is the meaning of SPLM?

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness-That to secure these Rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just Powers from the consent of the Governed, that whenever any form of government becomes destructive to these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its Foundation on such Principles, and organizing its Powers in such Form, as to them shall seem most likely to affect their Safety and Happiness."
-Thomas Jefferson, The Declaration of Independence

Juba, South Sudan - When I first read this passage in school, it reminded me of my war ravaged homeland and all the members of my family that were fighting for freedom in the bushes of Sudan. I always thought this very passage was the embodiment of why the SPLA took up arms against our oppressors. With the signing of the CPA came jubilation and thanks for the cessation of hostilities and an end to the war. As a young man from the southern portion of the great country of Sudan, what am I supposed to believe now? I am confused by the infighting and current chaos that is in the daily paper, on the internet, and what I am faced with as a youth. I thought that SPLM stood for Sudanese Peoples Liberation Movement. How can a people liberate themselves from one another? What are we doing amongst ourselves?

If the current problems we face as a nation of people, that are struggling as a third world country (even though we are the biggest country in all of Africa) can come to petty infighting and corruption on a staggering scale, then what is the point of calling myself a proud Sudanese?

I have been utterly confused and disgusted by what is going on in this country of ours. How dare our leaders mislead and confuse us in this new world order. I understand that politics is a dirty game, but is this really the time for us to fight so shamelessly amongst each other while the true enemy is using this time to recuperate and sharpen his claws? Is this the time for our people to be bickering instead of focusing on the bigger picture of what is coming in 2011? I can hear our enemies laughing at our stupidity and prematurely dividing up what rightfully belongs to the people of Southern Sudan. What is the point of waging war against people so oblivious of their obvious plight if you can leave them to fight amongst themselves? Why not let them do all the hard work for you, then clean up and divide the spoils of war? This mentality of tribal division is eerily similar to the slave-mentality induced by the Willie Lynch Letter and will bring us nothing but grief and pain. (Go online and read this letter carefully, you might find the content quite interesting in the least (http://www.finalcall.com/artman/publish/article_2167.shtml).

Sudan is supposed to be a leading force in these tired and tumultuous times for the whole continent of Africa. We have managed to stop the war, but what do we do next? Where are we going as a people? So many of our people have died to bring us to this point, dare we forget their sacrifices and waste the precious gift of peace and freedom that they have attained for us?

I have always believed in the enduring trend that we should follow our elders. But what do we do when our leaders appear as petty fools that are after their own gains and ends? I have never understood the Southern Sudanese mentality of tribal separation. Wasn't this the very thorn in our side that made us lose the conflict for so long? When are we going to realize that this is a great source of misery, and a strategic disadvantage in the art of war? What I fear the most is that this pattern that will take many years to break and by then it will be too late for our children. We would be to blame for their shortcomings and suffering. In times where the rest of the world is moving at an ever faster pace, we simply cannot afford the time or blood to continue on this heinous path. If the people of this country can ever hope for a better future, we need to think ahead. Our cantankerous leaders need to stop and reexamine the ridiculously precarious predicament we are in right now.

I call on all Sudanese that hope for a better future to stand as one. Because united we stand and divided we shall surely fall. This is a new world that has no mercy for the weak and incompetent. What are we going to do? How can small countries with no definite resources become world powers? It is due to strong leadership and a united vision for what the country should be. We have resources, what other excuse do we need for our lack of cohesion? I refuse to go quietly into the night because I am Sudanese. The term should mean more than just the name of our country. It is quite pathetic that our people should go hungry in the streets and countryside of this oil-rich nation while few grow fat and buy houses in developed countries. In the streets of Juba I see Land-Cruisers, fancy hotels, an increasing number of bars, and private planes while the citizens are starved for food, education, and clean water for their children.

The capital of Southern Sudan is turning into (the biblical) Sodom and Gomorra before our very eyes yet we do nothing. What are we doing with the massive and plentiful wealth and bounty that our beautiful country has so generously provided? That is the question we truly need to be asking ourselves, and wondering why the very people that shed blood for such a noble ideal as freedom are being ascribed as traitors and troublemakers today.

I assure you that men like Talar Ring and Aleu Ayieny and Lam Akol are not men that wish to see the SPLM asunder, and are merely being used as a clever smokescreen to divert attention from what is truly going on behind the scenes of this grand heist. The problem with these men is that they hold their tongues for no man which is the main cause of their troubles. If you wish to hang these men, accuse them of corruption. Accuse them of buying houses in foreign countries with funds lifted from the coffers of the Southern Sudanese people. Accuse them of assaulting innocent students on the streets of Sudan. Accuse them of not performing their duties to their fellow countrymen. Accuse them of starting companies with funds that appear out of thin air. Accuse them of squandering the resources of the people of Southern Sudan. Accuse them of violating SPLM laws of jurisprudence. If you can find a shred of evidence showing them to be nothing more than sacrificial lambs for the real despots in this deplorable scheme, I shall tip my hat to you. These men fought bravely during the struggle and should be honored for their efforts. Why is it that no one is pointing the finger and crying foul to the real perpetrators of this shameless caper? No one seems to be talking about the elephant in the room. For those of you so quick to judge the situation from afar know the facts before you speak. Rest assured there is no room for error in this high stakes game of cat and mouse. Know your enemy. Because what is at stake is bigger than any one man or group of men. It is a battle for the very essence of who we are as a people. Martin Luther King once said that "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere."

SPLM should not stand for a captious political party steeped in nonsense, but a change from the sad current state of affairs that we face as a people to a better future for our families and future generations to come. We should stand as a nation of one, undivided by the truly petty differences that have made us weak and utterly defenseless against our enemies from the offset. How dare the leaders fail us like this?

President Kiir is not perfect, no man on this planet is. But he should remember that on the Day of Atonement, no one will be spared the guillotine, especially the dangerous people he has chosen to surround himself with. We should ask ourselves what is truly to be done in such a critical time in our history. The answer to this question is imperative to our well being as a people and weak indecisive leadership will unequivocally be our undoing. A power struggle is a cog in the machine of government and democracy, but there is a time and place for everything my fellow countrymen.

We need to prioritize because 2011 is not in the distant future, but right around the corner. We ask for self-determination? We can't even exercise self control let alone operate an autonomous state. The very resources that are imperative to realizing our dreams are being looted and squandered before our very eyes. Yet we do nothing but point fingers and squabble like children. Instead of carping one another, we should be settling our differences and absolving any obstacles that might hinder us from reaching a clear objective.

Once peace has been attained, one must prepare for both war and stability. I challenge our leaders to come to terms with these truly pathetic forms of thought and change the current state of affairs. This is not about the south and the north for the time being. It is about the PEOPLE of Southern Sudan. If we continue on the current path we are taking as a nation, then the children who will replace us are absent in blame for the current and future state of the country.

As strong Sudanese, we should start our own movement, challenging the current state of affairs and re-establishing what we believe we have not only earned but what we are entitled to as a growing and independent nation in the world.

I urge us all whether young or old to stop the stupidity and locate the cohesion that we so desperately need at the advent of the crucial hour. I refuse to accept anymore blandishments for they will be the ruin of us all. Open your eyes my countrymen, I plead with you. For woe is the man that uses an axe to remove a fly from the forehead of his friend. We are better than this!

*Aduot Aleu Ayieny Aleu is son of Former State Minister of the Interior Mr. Aleu Ayieny Aleu. I was born in Wau and joined the SPLM at the age of three in 1984. I was in Itang during the war and eventually fled to Kenya before eventually making my way to the United States of America . I returned home in November of 2007 and am hoping to complete my education and re-assimilate here in Sudan.

You can reach him at aanyeng@hotmail.com and Demosthenes2011@yahoo.com