From Guerrilla Movement to Political Party The Restructuring of Sudan People’s Liberation Movement Øystein H. Rolandsen ISBN 978-82-7288-241-8 y 2007 From Guerrilla Movement to Political Party The Restructuring of Sudan People’s Liberation Movement in Three Southern States Øystein H. Rolandsen Centre for the Study of Civil War/International Peace Research Institute, Oslo (CSCW/PRIO) Oslo, July 2007 From Guerrilla Movement to Political Party This paper may be downloaded from http://www.prio.no © International Peace Research Institute, Oslo (PRIO), 2007 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without permission in writing from the copyright holder. ISBN 978-82-7288-241-8 Rolandsen, CSCW/PRIO · 2007 Page 2 From Guerrilla Movement to Political Party Contents Page 1. Introduction 5 2. Background 5 2.1 SPLM’s Political History 5 2.2 Brief Description of the Three States Included in the Survey 6 3. SPLM and Local Politics in the Southern Sudan 9 3.1 Current SPLM structures in the selected states 9 3.2 Power structures and processes of decision making within the selected 11 states 3.3 Mechanisms for influencing decisions and channels for influencing from 14 below 3.4 The position and influence of women and young people 16 3.5 General impression with regard to SPLM’s standing in the population 18 4. Conclusion 19 References 21 Rolandsen, CSCW/PRIO · 2007 Page 3 From Guerrilla Movement to Political Party Acronyms and Abbreviations CANS Civil Authority of New Sudan CPA Comprehensive Peace Agreement EEQ Eastern Equatoria GONU Government of National Unity GOSS Government of Southern Sudan IDP Internally Displaced People INGO International Non-Governmental Organisation IRI International Republican Institute NBEG Northern Bahr el-Ghazal NCP National Congress Party NDA National Democratic Alliance NDI National Democratic Institute PA Payam Administrator SPLA Sudan People’s Liberation Army SPLM Sudan People’s Liberation Movement Rolandsen, CSCW/PRIO · 2007 Page 4 From Guerrilla Movement to Political Party 1. Introduction In the period January - April 2007 a short survey of SPLM structures, capacity and processes of decision making was conducted in three out of ten states in South Sudan: Northern Bahr el Ghazal, Eastern Equatoria and Jonglei. 1 These states were selected because of their heterogeneity in terms of political, geographical and ethnical back- ground, but they may not be regarded as fully representative of all states in the Southern Sudan. 2 The study is based on a combination of extensive interviews in the field and the study of key SPLM documents. 2. Background 2.1 SPLM’s Political History Since 1983 SPLM has officially been the overall political body for the rebellion in the Southern Sudan. Formally, Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) has been its military wing, but in reality SPLA has been the dominant part. The leading figures in SPLM were also the leading commanders of SPLA. During the first decade of the war the SPLM as a political movement was most visible within the National Democratic Alliance 3 and in the Diaspora as national chapters in a number of countries worldwide. This changed in the mid-1990s when SPLM emerged as a more independent entity both in terms of repre- senting the Southern rebellion, but also as the civil authority in the areas occupied by SPLA. 4 This change was initiated through the National Convention in Chukudum in 1994 and followed up by a series of more specialised conferences in 1995 and 1996. 5 However, the reforms of the mid-1990s were partly reversed in 2000 when SPLM/A leadership realised that the Movement at that time could not afford the econ- omical costs and political consequences of the reforms. Civilian structures, often referred to as Civilian Authority of New Sudan (CANS), already partly established at the lower levels of government (county, payam and boma) were maintained but with extremely limited capacity. 1 The Norwegian People’s Aid’s South Sudan Programme staff has been very helpful in facilitating the fieldwork for this project and in providing documents and insights. I would like to give a special thanks to my research assistants in the three states surveyed. 2 The cases should be seen as examples of Southern states, and they should not be considered as representative of the three regions of the Southern Sudan. 3 NDA is a coalition of oppositional groups from both the North and the South. Its importance waned as the bilateral negotiations between SPLM/A and NCP gained momentum. 4 For more details on SPLM in this period: Øystein H. Rolandsen, Guerrilla Government: Political Changes in the Southern Sudan during the 1990s (Uppsala, 2005). 5 Among others, conferences for Civil Society and Senior Officers of the SPLA. Rolandsen, CSCW/PRIO · 2007 Page 5 From Guerrilla Movement to Political Party The signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) 9 January 2005 and the establishment of the Government of South Sudan (GOSS) demands that SPLM must go through another phase of change. SPLM has to change its current configuration as an all- compassing political movement and become a political party competing with other parties for the attention and support of the electorate. In doing this the Movement faces two major challenges. Firstly, to change its hierarchical guerrilla structures and move towards a civilian and democratic organisation. Secondly, it is necessary to make a clear distinction between government and party. A party structure was formally established 9 July 2005 together with the inauguration of the Government of South Sudan, but in reality this is a more difficult and long-lasting process. This task is made more challeng- ing by the predominance of one-party politics in the Sudan since independence and a tendency of merging government administration and political party under the notion of a “ruling party”. 6 In February 2006 the first steps towards establishing SPLM as a proper political party was announced. Interim Party bodies were introduced at the national, Southern Sudan level and at state level. In January 2007 a large meeting for the SPLM Southern Sector was held in Juba where Salva Kiir announced the year of SPLM and launched a campaign for organising party congresses at grassroots’ level and for recruitment of members. In February 2007 a SPLM leadership meeting was held in Yei where reso- lutions on crucial policy issues were adopted and SPLM’s commitment to unity of the Sudan and the New Sudan policy of John Garang was confirmed. 7 However, the first major test of SPLM’s ability to transform into a political party and open the field for multi-party elections will be the national elections which probably will take place in 2009. The transition into a political party comes within a difficult national context: There is a growing political distance between SPLM and National Congress Party (NCP).8 The war in Darfur and NCP’s lack of co-operation with the international com- munity drains government budgets; causes international isolation; and, obstructs the international contribution to the reconstruction of the South. 2.2 Brief Description of the Three States Included in the Survey Eastern Equatoria Eastern Equatoria (EEQ) is situated at the South-East corner of the Sudan and its population is divided into several ethnic groups where the Latouka is the largest one. The tribes of EEQ rely on a combination of agriculture and livestock herding. The state 6 Cf. National Congress Party and President Nimeri’s Sudan Socialist Union of the 1970s and early 1980s. 7 SPLM Interim National Council, ‘Communiqué’, Yei, 12 February 2007. 8 Alex de Waal, ‘The Wars of Sudan’, The Nation , 19 March 2007. Rolandsen, CSCW/PRIO · 2007 Page 6 From Guerrilla Movement to Political Party capital, Torit, is perhaps best known for being the site of the Torit Mutiny in 1955, which was an important pretext to the first civil war in the Southern Sudan (ca. 1963-72). 9 EEQ was heavily affected by the last civil war. Initially the local population of EEQ was not involved in the rebellion against central state in Khartoum and SPLA’s relationship with the local population was somewhat strained. This was partly due to a rather militaristic rule in the areas SPLM/A took control over in the 1980s. Later the Eastern Equatorians’ support for SPLM/A grew and a common purpose in defeating the “Arabs” of the North united them. The local political elite has still remained somewhat wary of what they per- ceive as a Dinka dominated SPLM and it is fair to say that their highest political priority remains local autonomy from Khartoum as well as Juba. Northern Bahr el-Ghazal Aweil is the main town and state capital of Northern Bahr el Ghazal (NBG). The majority of the population belongs to the Dinka tribe while a minority belongs to smaller tribes, commonly referred to as Jur, mainly living in the Western part of the state. Situated at the border to Northern Sudan and being both on a major north-south road to Bahr el-Ghazal and the railway line to Wau, Aweil has been strongly influenced by Northern culture and economy. The Northern influence is compounded by the fact that albeit besieged and shelled, Aweil was one of the few towns that was never captured by the SPLA during the civil war. The Government of Sudan used Aweil as a base of operation for both the regu- lar army and the Arab Murahalin militia. Despite an oppressive military rule during the civil war. NCP still wield influence in Aweil town and the Southern opposition parties appear to have a stronger foundation here than in Torit/EEQ and Bor/Jonglei.