By Sirir Gabriel Yiei Rut,
August 30,2014(Nyamilepedia) — As a broad-based and popular people’s party, the SPLM-IO led by Former vice president Dr. Riek Machar Teny, has taken the south Sudanese political landscape by storm since its formation in January, 2014.
For the first time in the political history of post-independence south Sudan, the SPLM IO presented the most lethal and formidable opposition to the former revolutionary party, SPLM –Juba faction.
A short eight months after its formation, the SPLM IO has emerged as the biggest and most popular political party in south Sudan today.
It has re-defined the south Sudanese political architecture; bringing along with it a refreshing aura of dynamism and excitement that can only make SPLM-Juba faction green with envy.
The allegation that the SPLM-IO does not have a concrete ideology is a myth. The bedrock of the SPLM IO ideology is social democracy; a tantalizing mixture of firebrand trade unionism, student activism and a sprinkling of intellectual vibrancy.
The miss-informed and ill-schooled have shamelessly tried to portray the SPLM IO as a party that is made up of contradicting and opposing social classes and interests. This argument is fallacious.
It is dead in the water simply because there can never be homogeneity in any political grouping. By its very nature, society is composed of different and in some cases, antagonistic social classes. Thus; it is completely impossible to find a political party whose membership is solely composed of workers or peasants, for instance.
What is crucially important is the undeniable fact that the SPLM IO; as a social democratic party; generally shifts to the left of center.
Put simply; the SPLM IO is a party for the downtrodden working class; the hugely under-estimated youth and students; the poor peasants in the villages and small farms throughout the length and breadth of south Sudan.
The SPLM IO is a party for the people and of the people; it represents the present and the future of south Sudan politics. Unlike SPLM-Juba faction whom is imprisoned in history and locked up in yesteryear political glory; the SPLM IO derives its legitimacy from the generality of the people of south Sudan who now appreciate that we cannot feast on the past without engaging the future and seeking to positively influence the manner in which the country is governed; going forward.
As a popular movement of the toiling masses of south Sudan; the SPLM IO is, inevitably, targeted for demonization by those elements of society, few in number as they are, who are desperate to stop the wave of change and who are hell bent on clinging onto their ill-gotten loot.
This is a desperate and vicious grouping of women and men who see the collapse of the status quo as marking the inevitable annihilation of their lifestyle of greed, corruption and kleptocracy.
You can rest be assured that this group of people will fight against change; to the bitterest end. To them change means a return to normalcy; to a situation where people will get rich through sheer, honest hard work.
These people are anti-work. They are pathologically lazy and they know that they have no snowball’s chance in hell of succeeding in a country where merit and hard work determine one’s success in life. These people have grown fat on a diet of profligacy, patronage, nepotism and corruption.
They suffer from a debilitating deficit of honesty, decency and integrity. The SPLM IO is not a party of puppets. We are patriotic and hardworking sons and daughters of south Sudan. We have entered into politics in order to save our beloved motherland from the path of gloom and doom that SPLM-Juba has set to walk along.
We love south Sudan so dearly it pains us to just sit back, relax and watch as SPLM-Juba drives our beautiful little country to total oblivion. We will continue to strongly fight for the people’s right to achieve real positive change in their lives.
The SPLM IO is not about to disintegrate. Those few people who still believe SPLM-Juba’s stale propaganda to the effect that the SPLM IO is faction-ridden will believe anything. They will get the shock of their lives come next election time.
Whilst SPLM-Juba is busy believing its crude propaganda cobbled up by the thoroughly discredited Gurtong newspapers and the SSTV; the SPLM IO is quietly busy at work throughout south Sudan; mobilizing for popular support and scoring spectacular winners each and every day.
Those of us who want to dwell in SPLM-Juba’s fools’ paradise are welcome aboard! The SPLM IO led by Dr. Riek Machar Teny is here to stay; make no mistake about that.
While SPLM-Juba uses intimidation, threats and violence to seek the people’s support; the SPLM IO uses a charm offensive.
We know what the people want to hear and want to see in their day to day lives. We do not have to whip them into line; neither do we have to rape them and torture them to make them support the people’s movement.
We talk the people’s language; we mix with them and we identify with them. We are the people and the people are the SPLM IO. We are acutely aware of the fact that SPLM-Juba is terminally ill and that nothing will save that moribund and faction-ridden party from total electoral annihilation come next election.
As a people’s project, the SPLM IO is ready to deliver the sucker punch to SPLM-Juba at the next elections. The SPLM IO is getting stronger and more united each and every day. We are loyal to the people; we are loyal to our leadership and most of all; we are loyal to our conscience. We shall neither retreat nor surrender on our march to a New Federal Republic of South Sudan.
The SPLM-Opposition is united, winning and ready for real change!
The author is student of political science and currently working as the SPLM Youth league acting chairman in Egypt, you can reach him through sirirgabrielyiei3@gmail.com
