Jan 11, 2022 — History is important, and particularly a correct history —- no matter how insignificant it may look. Below is a brief history of how Bilpam — which carries the name of the current South Sudan army General Headquarters in the capital, Juba, was founded as a base for subsequent liberation movements since mid 1970s. Here is a fraction in the journey of our history in the liberation struggles which many people did not know.
It was my humble and Christian dad, Elder John Dak Lampuar —- who after the Akobo mutiny in 1975 — selected and laid the foundation of Bilpam with his own hands in order to become the base for the Anya-Nya II movement in 1976, which then later on became the General Headquarters for the SPLM/SPLA movement in 1983.When the Addis Ababa Agreement of 1972 was abrogated by Khartoum, a number of South(ern) Sudanese officers stationed in Akobo town — of the present day Jonglei state — led by late Benson Kuany Latjor, mutinied and decided to match out in protest towards Ethiopia in 1975.Â
After reaching Ethiopia in Itang town and subsequently meeting Ethiopian authorities from Gambela region, they were after a period of time finally welcomed and were then directed to find a suitable site for their base — around the area of Nyigol and Puldeng villages — near the Ethiopian border with South Sudan.
The would-be founders of the Anya-Nya II movement were specifically directed to meet my father, Elder John Dak Lampuar, who was/is the church leader in that area, to host and guide them on the selection of a site for a base.Â
Elder John Dak Lampuar welcomed the four officers, namely, Benson Kuany Latjor, Michael Waat Latjor, James Tap Liah, and Bol Kur.Â
My father told them about two possible sites to choose from as a base: Bilpam and Chotkuach!
However, my father strongly recommended Bilpam to them because it was a beautiful hilly site, with dense forests and a lot of coconut trees, and a river around it for easy access to water, and many different kinds of eatable wild animals living inside its vast forests, while it had no human inhabitants at that particular time.
Elder John Dak Lampuar took them to see Bilpam site, which was just a few kilometers away from his church and the surrounding villages. When they arrived, Benson Kuany and his colleagues liked the site.
Benson Kuany asked my dad as the host and spiritual elder in the area to symbolically cut and clear the first grass and shrubs in the center of Bilpam —in a ceremonial manner and to bless it with a prayer and officiate the founding of Bilpam. My father did exactly that by praying and cutting the grass, and Bilpam was declared established or founded as the base!Â
But the officers went back to Itang and it took them a period of time to prepare before they could actually begin to build their houses or barrack in Bilpam.
Elder John Dak gave them a bull which they slaughtered for the event.
Benson Kuany Latjor then brought about 50 of his men from Itang who cleared the bushes of Bilpam and gradually began to erect houses and their barrack around 1976, until 1983 when the SPLM/SPLA took over the base.
Gordon Koang Chuol and Paulino Matip Nhial plus many other leaders joined the Anya-Nya II leadership after Bilpam was already founded.Â
In brief this is how Bilpam was founded in mid 1970s!
For about 9 years, my dad continued to support the Anya-Nya II leaders, with all he could possibly provide.
When the SPLM/SPLA took over Bilpam in 1983, under the leadership of Dr. John Garang de Mabior, and also made it the General Headquarters, my dad and our village chief, continued to support the new liberation movement. He was supporting the administrator of Bilpam at the time, Chagai Atem, with all the material, spiritual and moral support he could mobilize, and realized harmonious coexistence between the liberation army and the communities around Bilpam.Â
An interlude! Some of the Anya-Nya II leaders whose names I have mentioned above, or were among the 50 men during the founding ceremony of Bilpam, including uncle James Tap Liah, are still alive today. Actually I met one of them in Juba in 2020 and he reminded me again about the whole thing. I met another founding member in Khartoum in 2019. He even still remembers the colour of the bull which my father gave to them —-surprisingly after more than 45 years of that event. He was so excited!
My dad had passion about the liberation of South Sudan. Since I was an adolescent I would from time to time hear him in our house chatting with any visiting Anya-Nya II leader, including Benson Kuany Latjor and Gordon Koang Chuol, etc.Â
Because my dad moved his family to Malakal — the then regional capital of Upper Nile — after the Addis Ababa Agreement was signed in 1972, he saw by himself the oppression inflicted on South(ern) Sudanese people inside Malakal town, and hence he saw the ne
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2 comments
“A FLASHBACK: Who founded or co-founded Bilpam?”
Mr. James Gatdet Dak Lampuar, you can damn try you Nuers ke Nyantoc piece of shits, try another damn lie and get away away with it you pieces of trashes can get away with it. Does it matters if you Nuer piece of cowards, foreign puppets/stooges and traitors created Bilpam
Here in Bor, Jonglei, people who created Bilpam, we know them, they were not damn father. Anya Anya one, Anya Nya two, we know them from A to B. Our Nuers ke nyantoc don’t how much we sick of them with children-like-human beings, they think, they are on par with the Jaangs/Muonyjaangs/Jiengs/Jenges/Dinkas. And thus, If Jaang say A, then Our Nuers ke nyantoc says A, B, then our Nuers ke nyantoc will also say B. Piece of shits have been allowed to bog down our country and our people for a long times, their child-like game is over.
The low lives and their foreign backers are going to be showned their out of country and over our people once and for all. Reasons, pure HATRED and RACISM. I will start from *Ayod, Mr. William Nyuon Beny country, Akoba has nothing to do with our Nuers piece of Shits, Akobo, belong to ‘our Anyuaks, Jokou, Pachalla, Panyudo, Gambella, Gillo, Dimmo, Jebel Raat one and Raat two (lightening of Koryom division). It was named ‘Raat’, because three ‘Jaangs/Muonyjaangs/Jiengs/Jenges/Dinkas ‘from the division of Koryom’ were stuck in ‘training camp at Jebel Bongo’. The Raat battalion was after three young boys who killed by ‘lightening’.
My father was one of the leaders of Koryom divison, he was from Raat battalion, he was killed in the battle roukon, a killiometres away from downtown, in 1992. The Mundaris from the division of ‘intifada/intifhada’ were well armed by our mighty SPLM/A. And were told to bomb the Mundukurus (Arabs of out their town. The Mundaris cowred and surrendered into Arabs, and the Jaangs/Muonyjaangs/Jiengs/Dinkas fights out with ‘mundukurus (Arabs), That is how my father was killed in Roukon. Jokou, Adiit battalion, bomb your Nuer Nyigats (out of Jokou), with a few cloned so-called Arabs of North Sudan. Jokou village was *bombed to nothing, to ‘Abac/Nil/nought/nothing/zero’, by Adiit battalion of Koryom (grasshopper/locust) division, honestly speaking, Mr. William Nyuon Beny of Nuers ke Nyantoc, a few men my village here in Bor, Mr. Mayen Akoba, Chol Riak, Akuany Makoi, Garang Akon, Nyok Acuk, Jogaak Dut and some others were ones who rounded up Arabs piece of trashes in Akoba, killed them and threw them into in the ditch to show them, the absolute contempt our people have towards the evils and went to Bilpamin, in 1983. Mr. James Gatdet Dak Lampuar. Mr. Tong (war) in Amuoumeth, tong (war) in Anyidi, Tong (war) in Paluer (just here in my village), Tong (war) Dacuek, tong (war) Pakeer or Auii, the later war; the Murles tried play games, tried in Central Bor, of Pakeer. They killed Koryom boys and they were cut down like grasses.
Anya Nya two, Mr. Pagan Amum, was even caught in tong Anyidi, He was ‘Tong (war) in Anyidi was ‘filmed by our cloned so-called Arabs of North Sudan and Bor Jaangs/Muonyjiengs/Jenges/Dinkas of the Sudan and Egypt, go and asked cloned so-called of North Sudan or here in Bor and you be shown, the records of who is who in South Sudan, North Sudan and our Egypt’
The Murles brazently tried take cattle from Anyidi Pi-bor [Water from Bor]>>>>>
Continued, they were hacked and killed like flies to death. Mac (fire) in Muonyjaangs/Jaangs/Jiengs/Jenges/Jongkoth language——-Mac, Bol born after the twins, Mac Bol, Pi-Bor, are Bor Muonjiengs/Jaangs/Jiengs/Dinkas countrie
Tong (War) Paluer, here in my home village. The Taposas, Nyangarua; went and be told lies that there are a lot cattle in Bor and they don’t have guns, and when they came to Abii, Nyichak and Paluer, they were WIPED OUT, a few of went back to Kapoeta and Nyanguara.
Our villages were well armed than them and know how to fight wars.
And That is how Mr. Pagan Amum comes in, he was a piece of shits, a terrorist, a thief, traitor and secret society of piece trash.
Mr. Riek Machar, Mr. Lam Akol, Mr. Aduok Nyabe, Ms. Rebecca Nyandeng, her son, Mr. Uyai Deng Ajak, Mr. Majak Agoot, Mr. Thomas Cirillo, have caught with their pants down.
Abesh (so-called ethiopia) piece of nonsense. Their Abiy Ahmed, Tigray piece of trashes, Kenya and North Sudan and their damned US states, their evil juus (so-called israelis) attack dogs, their gulf Arabs states’ terror exporters and financiers, their evil juus so-called israelis) attack dogs. Mr. Pagan Amum was taken to Kenya, by his handlers in 2014, after their 15/12/2013, foiled coup attempt in Juba, South Sudan.
Mr. Pagan Amum and his then so-called former dettainees were taken to Kenya, by their evil and secret societies handlers. Mr. Pagan Amum, is dead. Uhruru Kenyatta piece of drunk and Mr. Raila Odinga, loser, who even brags, that he is the the CIA agent in Africa. who does the loser really thinks, he is? his other secret soceities evils went and used them as their blackmails, bargaining chips and cards over South Sudan and the South Sudanese people, My arse. He went * to Colorado, US to go and asked the US army for weapon, to come and install him and his pieces of trashes into power in South Sudan. Good luck to them, Kenya and their US army
South Sudan the Nile waters, when you piece of trashes going come to South Sudan and then we will be your equals. That is not going to happen, not to day, not yesters and not in futures, look for a place to hide. We are the Ancient Egyptians. Follow us if you really can. Live over the backs of other people and their countries, has never been a good idea>>>