Nuer SPLM members lament community categorization as “friendly and hostile”
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The lawmakers clarified that the current conflict in the country is between armed opposition groups and the government, and not a single community
By Chuol Chanyong
SPLM members from the Nuer community in the Transitional National Legislature have condemned Cabinet Affairs Minister, Dr. Martin Elia Lomuro’s classification of the 16 Nuer counties into “friendly” or “hostile.”
“The members of the National Legislature from the Nuer community within the SPLM in Juba consider this misleading classification to be an irresponsible, reckless, and dangerous act,” the statement read.
“This not only affects the Nuer community in South Sudan but also the government of His Excellency President Salva Kiir Mayardit. This is a strategy intended to divide the SPLM.”
The lawmakers clarified that the current conflict in the country is between armed opposition groups and the government.
They added that the ongoing conflict has never been between a single community and South Sudan, as Dr. Martin Elia Lomuro claimed at the Saturday press conference.
“There is conflict across the country, including in Lainya County of Dr. Martin’s area (Wonduruba), where hundreds have recently been killed and thousands displaced.”
In the same statement, the parliamentarians highlighted the role and contributions of the Nuer people in the struggle for the country’s independence.
“The historical role of Nuer leaderships throughout the liberation struggle cannot be denied. It is a role that should not be questioned, let alone reduced to a mere ‘friendly’ or ‘hostile’ relationship with the government.
They further said that as leaders of the SPLM in the areas where conflict recently erupted, they need not emphasize that Nuer legislators played a key role in engaging with White Army youth leaders during crises, particularly in Ulang and Nasir.
According to the lawmakers, they had played a role in the formation of a rescue team that coordinated the evacuation and transfer of South Sudan People’s Defence Forces (SSPDF) personnel from counties in Upper Nile and Jonglei States to Juba.
“The Nuer people are not merely ‘friends’ of the Republic of South Sudan—they are citizens of South Sudan like everyone else. Their status in this country cannot be reduced to a relationship described as ‘friendly’ or ‘hostile.’
“This is unacceptable, and we condemn it in the strongest terms. We demand the immediate retraction of such a statement by Minister Martin Elia Lomuro or his dismissal from office.”
On Saturday, April 26, Dr. Martin Elia Lomuro, Minister of Cabinet Affairs and Secretary-General of the High-Level Standing Committee for the Implementation of the Revitalized Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in the Republic of South Sudan (R-ARCSS), read a document at a press conference titled “The Strategic Response of the Revitalized Transitional Government of National Unity (R-TGoNU) to the Nasir Incident.”
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In the document, he described the incident as an “unfortunate clash between the South Sudan People’s Defence Forces (SSPDF) on one side and the Sudan People’s Liberation Army-in-Opposition (SPLA-IO) and the White Army on the other.
He said the fighting that resulted in the death of the late Maj. Gen. David Majur Dak had killed about 400 SSPDF personnel.
He classified the 16 counties inhabited by the Nuer in South Sudan as either “hostile” or “friendly” to the government of the Republic of South Sudan.
“The members of the National Legislature from the Nuer community within the SPLM in Juba consider this misleading classification to be an irresponsible, reckless, and dangerous act,” read a statement from the lawmakers.
