Colonel John Garang's message to all units of the SPLA, the SPLM, the civil authority, and to the residents of New Sudan
1. Today, the sixteenth of May 2002, marks the nineteenth anniversary (of the founding of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement/Army - Translator). As we begin our twentieth year of heroic struggle, I salute all the heroes and martyrs who fell in the process of struggle for Sudanese dignity before and after independence and throughout our history and now in the struggle for a new Sudan... a Sudan of democracy, freedom, justice, human rights and prosperity for all Sudanese. I commemorate those heroes and martyrs because they were not martyred in vain. The legend and spirit of their struggle will always be a guide to us and to future generations.
2. On the occasion of the nineteenth anniversary, I congratulate all the officers, the civil authority, the men of the People’s Army and the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement, the civil authority and its cadres for their resistance and defeat of the 2001-2002 drought season attack launched by the enemy, which is now coming to an end.
3. As stated in my multiple messages to all units, the dry season attack was concentrated in Western Upper Nile (the oil region) and Bahr el Ghazal. In Western Upper Nile, the enemy mobilized units of 7,000 regular soldiers, Popular Defense Forces, and various tribal militias, all supported by armored vehicles, helicopters, MiG fighters, and Antonov bombers. The goal was to push our forces and residents away from the oil fields and then continue to exploit the oil to build their economy and military capabilities. The enemy planned to seize Gogrial, Warrap, Thiet, Al-Tunj, Rumbek, and Yirol in Bahr el-Ghazal, thus establishing control over the entire region and adding more protection to the oil fields.
4. The drought season attack launched by the enemy in Western Upper Nile approximately two weeks ago ended in a real disaster for the enemy, which suffered more than two thousand deaths during the three months of the attack, in addition to the loss of a lot of equipment. Two oil companies, the Swedish Lunden and the Austrian OMV, suspended their operations and withdrew their crews to Khartoum as a result of the defeat suffered by the enemy. The enemy sent a joint force of 1,000 men to central Upper Nile under the command of John Kulang Piot, a dissident member of the SPLM Supreme Command, in a failed attempt by the National Islamic Front to establish a regional government in Ayod with Kulang as its governor. The campaign was annihilated and Kulang was killed in battle defending the National Islamic Front regime. Currently, our forces, together with the forces of the Fifth Front in Eastern Upper Nile, are making progress in establishing their control over the region and moving towards Al-Nasser. A million congratulations to all the soldiers, officers, civil authorities, and the civilian population of Western, Central and Eastern Upper Nile on those great victories.
5. The dry season attack launched by the enemy in Bahr al-Ghazal was the most ambitious. The enemy aimed to control the entire region, starting with the city of Gogrial. Our valiant forces on the Third Front presented a glorious gift for the nineteenth anniversary and taught the National Islamic Front a lesson that it will not forget. The enemy's attack on Gogrial was decisively aborted yesterday, May 15, 2002, as the enemy was forced to withdraw to Kuasjok, on the eve of our nineteenth anniversary. The Martyr Kakum battalion sent by the enemy and the battalion that arrived to support it will eventually be annihilated, and this defeat will become the mother of all calamities for the enemy. A million congratulations to all the soldiers, officers, civil authorities, civil authorities, and civilian residents in Bahr el-Ghazal for their great victory in defeating the enemy’s attack on Gogrial.
6. In summary, our military situation as a whole is strong with great prospects on all fronts. Now that we have defeated the government's dry season offensive, the enemy deserves a counterattack from the SPLA, and that is what they will get.
7. On the political side, we achieved important political victories, as I indicated in my various messages to all units. The past year has been rightfully declared a year of peace, reconciliation, and unity. We have achieved integration and unity with the Sudanese Popular Front for Democracy and the Sudanese Alliance Forces, and this process will continue and will translate into victories on the ground. At the international level, we implemented a successful diplomatic campaign in the United Kingdom, Europe, and the United States of America. Everywhere we went, she presented one unchanging message consisting of five points:
(1) The Islamic Front regime in Khartoum has not changed, cannot change, and will not change despite its cooperation with the United States of America on issues of international terrorism. They are cooperating with the United States of America because they fear, after the events of September 11, that they will receive a blow like the one that struck the Taliban. They argued that the Islamic Front regime cannot be reformed. They are so distorted that reform is difficult and therefore they must be removed, not reformed. I called them the “African Taliban,” and that was on all media channels.
(2) The second message is that there is an alternative to the National Islamic Front regime, which is the National Democratic Rally, which consists of the SPLM/A and northern opposition parties that hold moderate Islamic visions. Accordingly, we called for support for the National Democratic Rally so that it develops a strong and successful alternative to replace the Islamic Front regime.
(3) Thirdly, despite the above two letters, we (the SPLM/A) do not mind and are ready to negotiate with the National Islamic Front regime through IGAD mediation and on the basis of the Declaration of Principles outlined in the IGAD DOPs initiative. We suggested that the most successful solution is confederation during a transitional period as a form of interim unity to solve the problem of religion and state (Sharia), followed by exercising the right of self-determination at the end of the transitional period to choose between (a) maintaining the confederation, or (b) complete independence. In the confederation there will be two constitutions, one for each state, and a third constitution for the confederal authority, and this last constitution is the one that will be the subject of negotiation. The confederal model would be a legitimate and just solution, as long as we would not be required to accept a form of “sharia,” for example, “exception to sharia” or so-called “special status” for the South. It will be legitimate and fair for the National Islamic Front because they will not be required to abolish Sharia, with the exception of the capital, which must necessarily be secular. The confederation model gives unity a chance during the transitional phase, in addition to providing the option of secession at the end of the transitional phase, and thus this model will satisfy all stake-holders.
(4) Fourth, the fourth message is our vision and program for peace through development. The argument is that as we negotiate with the NIF regime to reach a political settlement (Track 1), and while building the National Democratic Rally (Track 2) to replace the NIF government, we must initiate and continue socio-economic development in the areas we control (Track 3). Our children cannot wait for peace to go to school; They should go to school now. Taking into account that this war has been raging for nineteen years while the Anyanya-1 war lasted seventeen years, we will leave more generations of our children languishing in illiteracy if we continue to wait for peace to enable them to go to school. USAID, through the STAR program and other programs, has committed $42.5 million, twenty million of which to education and the remaining twenty-two and a half to agriculture over the next five years, and this may double or increase. Three times, according to developments.
(5) The fifth message is the growing unity and strength of the SPLM/A, as represented in the south through the merger and unity of the Sudanese Popular Front for Democracy, and in the National Democratic Rally through the merger and unity with the Sudanese coalition forces. This growing unity further demonstrates that the National Democratic Rally is a successful alternative to the National Islamic Front regime. Connected to this growing unity is the growing role of the Sudanese diaspora (immigrants or diaspora, as Al-Sadiq Al-Mahdi - the translator called them), which was announced by the Seventh Front. In the United States of America, during my visit I addressed no less than twenty thousand Sudanese Diaspora in about twelve cities in the United States of America. The Sudanese Diaspora needs organization to play its role in the struggle.
8. Finally, my dear comrades, I am full of confidence that fundamental developments will occur in our struggle during this twentieth year of struggle, and I would like to conclude by summarizing the program of the SPLM/Army over the coming year. This program is similar to the one whose plan I presented in the previous anniversary speech. Our program for the next twelve months consists of the following central points:
First: The SPLM/Army will work hard to hold the Second National Convention before the subsequent anniversary, despite all the difficulties. This should be a conference of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement with the primary goal of building a political wing for the movement, so that the SPLM becomes firmly established throughout the new Sudan.
Second: The SPLM/Army will continue its struggle to achieve a settlement and the unity of our people, to strengthen internal unity and cohesion within the framework of the SPLM/A, and to reach out to our brothers and sisters who have abandoned the movement since 1991 and welcome them and any others to join or re-join the movement in accordance with the spirit of the Lavon Declaration, the Winlet Agreement, May 2001 and the Lier Agreement of January 6, 2002.
Third: The SPLM/A will continue to seek peace through the three paths, with special emphasis on path (3), peace through development, so that we build a successful liberal economy by improving civil structures for good governance, encouraging and empowering civil society, and by creating the necessary environment to achieve peace and stability in the countryside. The third track program must enable our people to produce enough food for themselves as well as cash crops, enabling them to generate profits for themselves and their families. The ox-drawn plow in particular will be an essential pillar of peace through development, and all SPLA units and civil authorities must take this seriously.
Fourth: In the content of peace through development, the new Sudan must see its own currency during this twentieth year of struggle. Our currency, the New Sudanese Pound (NSP), was supposed to be in circulation by this nineteenth anniversary, but this was not possible due to technical difficulties, including meeting the expenses necessary to print money. Our Economic Committee is working hard to solve these problems. I am aware of the controversy surrounding the currency issue. I assure you that decisions regarding the use of the currency will not be made by a few people, but will involve broad grassroots discussions.
Fifth: The movement will continue to build a civil authority for the New Sudan in all liberated areas, as the executive body of civil society responsible for implementing the policies of the Popular Movement and the New Sudan. This will develop into a government for the new Sudan as we gain more sovereignty.
Sixth: The SPLM/A will continue to reorganize and rebuild the structure of the SPLA, qualitatively and quantitatively, to become an organic liberation army with sufficient capabilities to accomplish its tasks and contribute to building a new Sudan in peace and war. In this context, the movement will continue its policy of opening fronts for the SPLA in any part of Sudan wherever this is practical. The SPLA will develop into the official army of the new Sudan as we gain more sovereignty.
Seventh: We will continue to build the Popular Movement into an effective political movement that leads the struggle, now during the war as well as after the war in a new, peaceful and stable Sudan. In this regard, we will activate the political presence of the Popular Movement in Khartoum and other urban centers throughout Sudan. In this context, New Sudan Radio will begin broadcasting during this year, and will greatly help in stabilizing the popular movement.
Eighth: At the international level, the SPLM/A will continue to reap the fruits of friendly relations with all countries of the region and with the international community in general. The movement will continue to seek humanitarian relief aid, while doing everything necessary to achieve food self-sufficiency in the new Sudan, as well as seeking development aid and access to regional and international markets. We will continue to cooperate with the United Nations and other international organizations in the areas of human rights, relief and other areas of interest to the Sudanese people.
Ninth: The SPLM/A will continue to negotiate with the National Islamic Front regime through various initiatives on the basis of the Declaration of Principles for the Ibad Initiative, and will continue to respect Danforth’s proposals aimed at building trust on a mutual basis.
9. Finally, on the occasion of this nineteenth anniversary, I once again salute our martyrs to whom this day belongs, and I salute and congratulate you all, wherever you are, on the victories achieved over the past twelve months. I assure you all that the movement will be loyal to the goals of the struggle and adhere to them. The SPLM/A will never betray the people's cause. I assure you that, while the SPLA is waging armed struggle, the goal is political, to achieve freedom and secure justice and dignity for all, that is, to achieve a new Sudan. I assure you that the SPLM/A is seriously committed to peace and settlement among our people and to their unity, and to the unity of the liberation movement. I wish you all well as we enter the twentieth year of our struggle. May God bless you all, SPLM/A! National Democratic Rally Oh! What a great new Sudan! Victory to the SPLM/A, the National Democratic Rally and the people of New Sudan!
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Background painting: The ruins of the palace of the King of Sennar as painted by Caio in 1821