A faction of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-in-Opposition (SPLM-IO) led by Amb. Stephen Par Kuol on Tuesday inaugurated its headquarters in Juba, describing the move as a significant milestone in strengthening the party’s presence.
The headquarters, situated at Hai Malakal, was officially opened by Amb. Par, the interim chairperson of the breakaway faction of the SPLM-IO, and Agok Makur Kur, interim secretary general, during an event attended by senior party members and supporters.
Speaking at the event, Par said the new office would facilitate coordination of party activities, civic engagement, and preparations for the upcoming elections.
“Today is a historic day, not only for our party, but for our nation. In this journey toward peace and democracy,” he said. “Today, in this grand occasion, the grand opening of the SPLM-IO headquarters in Juba, in our national capital, is not just an opening of another administrative office of our party.”
Par, who is also the national peacebuilding minister, urged political leaders to abandon violence as a means of resolving disputes and instead embrace peaceful dialogue to address political disputes.
“It should not always be about confrontation. This culture of war and political violence must end. We have been a fighting nation for a long time. Our mission now as SPLM-IO is that this nation must be a talking nation, not a nation that just fights over everything, every time,” he said. “Our political mission, and this is what I tell my comrades in other parties, especially the SPLM partners, is that we must democratize politics. And we must democratize the political process.”
He said the SPLM-IO is committed to the unification of forces and security sector reform, arguing that South Sudan does not need tribal militias to govern the country but a unified, professional national security force.
“We, as leaders of the SPLM-IO party, do not need a tribal militia to govern this country. That is why we are committed to unification of forces and security sector reform, to produce a different national security sector, disciplined with national character,” he said. “That is our political mission. This country cannot live in violence forever. We are a nation that has been resilient for a very long time. And our people have suffered.”
James Mawich Makuach, speaking on behalf of the SPLM-IO executive leadership, said the party is prepared for the upcoming general elections and urged all stakeholders to ensure the polls are conducted in a transparent, free, fair, and credible manner.
“The other message that I want to send is the issue of elections. People are talking about elections. Yes, we are for elections. People of South Sudan, they are for elections. But there is no election of one party. There is no tribal election,” he said. “We need to have fair and transparent, credible national elections. To have this, comrade chair, we need to have a political parties dialogue. We need to have an election.”
Meanwhile, Sarah Cleto Rial, a senior member of the breakaway faction of the SPLM-IO, said women played a vital role in the movement and urged leadership to ensure women are given greater representation in leadership positions.
“On behalf of my colleagues, especially on behalf of the women, I want to mention that let us not forget the role of women. We should not only be considered for certain duties. We are here as members of the SPLM-IO, we are South Sudanese, and we are ready to serve,” she said. “We as women, more than 60 percent of our population, we stand, we give to the interim leadership, and we encourage them to work and move forward. And from here, not only inside the General Secretariat, but we as women in all states and all administrations, we have a big role to play.”
The SPLM-IO was established in 2014, following tensions within the ruling SPLM Party that escalated into a full-scale conflict in December 2013.
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