Pagan Amum: SPLM Former Political Detainees are “Decided”, not “Undecided”

From Pagan Amum,

May 25, 2014(Nyamilepedia) — First and foremost, we are not undecided because we have already made up our minds that we can’t be a party to the killing, maiming and displacement of our people and the unwarranted destruction of our country. We are saying that there is more to a failed government under President Kiir and to the doomed armed rebellion under Riek Machar. The paths they have chosen only succeed in bringing more suffering and death and heartache to our people and shame on our new nation. Yes, we were allied with Riek Machar before December 15th in opposition to the creeping dictatorial tendencies of President Kiir who was taking (and has indeed succeeded) our country into the abyss.

It was a political alliance, but it was never the case that Riek Machar was our leader. Riek wants to be the president. Mama Nyandeng wants to run for the Presidency and I, Pagan Amum, too, aspire to that high office. Technically speaking, we were and still are political rivals because we are seeking the same office. But we all converged together in issuing the press release of December 6th not as Riek’s supporters but as senior members of the SPLM party who wanted to avert the then looming political catastrophe. We issued our joint statement not in the name of Riek Machar but in the name of those in the SPLM party dissatisfied with and worried by the way the President was running the country and the party. As founding members of the SPLM/SPLA, it was never our intention to overthrow the government because it was and still is our government. A military coup entails war, death and destruction and that was never our cause. (…)

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