Opinion: Open Letter to the SPLM/A-IO Kitgwang Declaration Leaders

Leave the Mere Political Talks and Only Prepare for Guerrilla Warfare!

By Mak Banguot Gok (Makjohnson),

Oct 2, 2021 — With intention to reach the office of the SPLM/A-IO C-IN-C & Chairman- Gen. Simon Gatwech Dual Hoth; the SPLM/A-IO D/C-IN-C- Gen. Johnson Uluony Thabo; the SPLM/A-IO Director of Information- Brigadier Gen. William Gatjiath Deang; the SPLM/A-IO In Diasporas; and the entire SPLM/A-IO Military and Political Structures. Dear. Comrades in Struggle! First of all, I would like to pass on my revolutionary salutation and gratitude to the Kitgwang leaders and indeed, my fellows’ revolutionary men and women all over the country and overseas. This latter is attended to by the SPLM/A-IO movement’s leadership in its subcategories and spectrum. It is my personal privilege to take hold of this golden prospect and bring to the thought a need for practical actions after the Kitgwang Declaration. Time is running short, and it shouldn’t be wasted on theoretical squabble and/or in a political debate.

My Dear Comrades in the revolution! The SPLM/A-IO’s Kitgwang Declaration ‘Leaders and supporters of the movement’s new revolutionary format still have a tough and unpredictable journey ahead. The more we delay and pursue talks with the same government in Juba, the more the Declaration is dooming for botch. One of the SPLM/A-IO movement’s objectives was the total liberation of the people of South Sudan. What the SPLM-IO movement means by totality was a military campaign! Unfortunately, this prime’s intent has been compromised in favor of the former SPLM-IO Chairman’s Self-serving political interest.

The leaders (kitgwang) are to put in order for a military campaign instead of wasting valuable time, resources, and the people’s enthusiasm on persuading a non productive political arena. Meanwhile, the SPLM/A-IO movement’s new revolutionary formula was clear as embodied in the Kitgwang Declaration. Security Arrangement and so on are the majors contentious that, Juba will never reach concession of faithful and unconditional security arrangement.

My Dear Comrades in the revolution! A political negotiation with Salva Kiir and his tribesmen in Juba is always proven unworthy for the ruling tribe’s entrenched tribalized political antagonism. Whatever thoughts of a political arena with Juba is likely to lead the SPLM/A-IO movement’s military and political leaderships falling into the same crash of Dr Riek Machar. The fact will remains as that, “no matter what an atmosphere of the political parley with the tribalized prearranged political demagoguery, a durable decision-making processes will never be by any mean of peaceful settlements.Knowing that, any form of a political engagement with Salva Kiir or Dr Riek Machar will never solve the country’s complex political breakdowns, the leaders of Kitgwang Declaration in order to successfully exploits the people ‘outrageous stand against the corrupt system in Juba, they should consider an embarking on a military scheming and be militarily equipping whilst preparing for the battlefield agitation. This is because; the shore up mountings on Kitgwang Declaration by the movement’s potential supporters is more coupled with the people ‘enthusiasm for only success through battlefield democracy. People believe that, only the continuation of a military contrives that, the objective of the revolution is achievable. We are certain and aware that, the rogue political organism in Juba will get solution only through an armed dissent. Majority of the Kitgwang Declaration ‘enthusiasts have only that specific stand amongst these so many others pressing issues. 

First, we the SPLM-IO members have identified the wiles of a Political engagement as that weakened Dr Riek Machar’s political endeavor to the relapse. Any peace agreement is always abrogating without exception. If talks were to resolved the country’s political deformation, Dr Riek Machar would have been the one to won the battle. Nonetheless, neither Machar nor Malong achieved anything out of the talks with Salva Kiir Mayardit. Likewise, Tut Keaw Gatluak or Benjamin Marial are not for Peace Agreement in any form. My dear Comrades! Kitgwang Declaration was a remedy for the reorganization of SPLM/A-IO movement to somewhat mysterious and effectively able to fight its good fight onto the right enemy. The SPLM-IO movement under Kitgwang leaders needs not to fritter away with the time for all these nonessential engagements. Either Dr Riek Machar or Salva Kiir has the solution for the conflicts in South Sudan, but to carrying on an intensive reorganization of the revolutionary army into a conventional revolutionary fighting force.

Therefore, we are to be giving an opinion not to take note of the nonessentials delaying tactics and disillusioned initiatives on political consultations with Machar or Kiir. There will never be a political conciliation that shall provide the SPLM/A-IO-led revolution with anything of an equal opportunity to the country ‘political system. Consequently, I am obliged to bring to a shoreline some of the superfluous anxieties that are indeed leading the Kitgwang leaders and cohorts to a laird political mediocrity. Nevertheless, this time is for a speedy reorganization and redeployment of the SPLM/A-IO movement not on infertile political chitchats. And, any sort of political engagements and mere talks with any concerned stockholders, including Dr Riek Machar’s political camp will make no sense by any means of justification at this time. Kitgwang Declaration also means that, an abuse of the people’s power (i.e. whence not utilized people’s support and energy by Dr Riek Machar shall cease). Revolutionary leadership structuring to reconsolidate the strength and steadfastness of the struggles should be the priority of the Kitgwang Declaration. 

Dear Comrades! Whence the SPLM-IO thought of wagging a new method for the continuations ofstruggles, itcame after we from the SPLM-IO movement have learned that, the former Chairman misdirected and abandoned the movement’s primes objective by turning people’s struggle into a Family Enrichment Project. Now that the decision has been already made, and the Kitgwang Declaration is being embraced as an alternative by the movement’s followers, what is the next step? Nevertheless, there was only one logical ground for the masses ‘insistence on continuance of insurgency. Hence! We were frustrated and unjustly humiliated by Dr Riek Machar who allowed the revolution supporters to be treated likewise by an enemy in Juba that thought of a political honeymoon with Machar. And, unlike the SPLM/A-IO movement’s former political and military formulation, the main objective of the Declaration was an outlining of a forward-thinking strategy.

That means the SPLA-IO revolutionary armies are to be simplified and make effective steps in revolutionizing matters of combat, command, control, tactics to adapt to the modern battlefields, and start to harness the myriad new technologies to effective military purposes. What is needed of the Kitgwang Declaration ‘leaders is not political propagation and exasperation. 

This is simply by adopting a sound and effective guerrilla doctrine. Kitgwang leaders must come to inevitable conclusion that, the movement’s guerrilla fighters are morally bound to revolution struggle and ready to sacrifices. They are likewise a social reformers who takes up arms responding to the angry disobedience of South Sudanese people against their oppressors in Juba; they are fighting in order to change the social system that keeps all their unarmed fathers, mothers, brothers, children and above all, the peace and freedom in ignominy and misery. The main disadvantage of the SPLM-IO movement is the inability to access more advanced military equipment due to economic, influence, and accessibility issues. And, the Kitgwang’s intrinsic phase of the reorganization should be to make sure that, the restructuring, re-equipping, and indoctrination of a sizable armed freedom fighters is reached.

Tactical reorganization (such as shifting the focus on command from the 100+ man company to the 10+ man Squad), supplying the freedom fighters with weapons such as, the submachine guns and automatic rifles that a single individual soldier could carry and use.The reorganization of the movement’s military rank and files. Restructuring and reformulation of the SPLM-IO movement’s political revolutionary front. Reformulation of the revolutionary struggles ‘radicalism by adopting zero compromise on the drastic reform and alterations of the South Sudan political system.

The SPLM/A-IO ‘Kitgwang should only uses these few months on training the freedom fighters in practicing a Guerrilla Warfare (i.e. is a form of irregular Warfare in which small groups of combatants, such as, the paramilitary personnel; an armed civilian and irregular force for the fighting forces. Guerrilla warfare is a type of asymmetric warfare and a competition between opponents of unequal strength. It is also a type of irregular warfare, that is, (it aims not simply to defeat an enemy, but to win popular support and political influence, to the enemy’s cost). Accordingly, guerrilla strategy aims to magnify the impact of a small, mobile force on a larger, more-cumbersome one. Guerrilla groups often depend on the logistical and political support of either the local population or foreign backers who do not engage in an armed struggle but sympathize with the guerrilla group’s efforts. If successful, guerrillas weaken their enemy by attrition, eventually forcing them to withdraw.

Tactically, guerrillas usually avoid confrontation with large units and formations of enemy troops but seek and attack small groups of enemy personnel and resources to gradually deplete the opposing force while minimizing their own losses. The guerrilla prizes mobility, secrecy, and surprise, organizing in small units and taking advantage of terrain that is difficult for larger units to use. For example, Mao Zedong summarized basic guerrilla tactics at the beginning of the Chinese Civil War as: “The enemy advances, we retreat; the enemy camps, we harass; the enemy tires, we attack; the enemy retreats, we pursue.”

Guerrillas usually work in open positions as armed units, try to hold and seize land, do not refrain from fighting enemy military forces in battle and usually apply pressure to control or dominate territory and population. Guerrilla forces principally fight in accordance with the law of war (jus in bello). In this sense, they respect the rights of innocent civilians by refraining from targeting them. Guerrilla forces principally fight in accordance with the law of war (jus in bello). In this sense, they respect the rights of innocent civilians by refraining from targeting them.

The movement’s guerrilla combatants are to be trained in use of military tactics including: ambushes; sabotage; raids; petty warfare; hit-and-run tactics; and mobility to fight a larger and less-mobile traditional military. And, as the rules of Guerrilla Warfare, the movement’s fighting forces are to be trained in a tactics of fighting a little and then to retreat (i.e. the guerrilla tactics are likewise focusing on avoiding head-on confrontations with enemy armies). That means, engaging in limited skirmishes with the goal of exhausting adversaries and forcing them to withdraw.

For more information, the author can be reached through email at johnsonmak61@gmail.com

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