Sudanese rebel leaders take steps to ‘rebuild the SPLM-N’

On Sunday, the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N) headed by Malik Agar, presented two discussion papers in order to rebuild the rebel group after it split this year.

Both SPLM-N President Agar and Secretary-General Yasir Arman presented proposals concerning the group’s new vision and renewed political and organisational structures.

Agar’s paper is titled “Bridging the Past with the Present – Renewing and Rebuilding the SPLM-North”, while Arman's paper deals with the “Second Birth of the New Sudan Vision – Issues of National Liberation in Today's World”.

The two papers are based on “a closer look at the changes that took place in the Sudanese political reality, especially after the secession of South Sudan, the changes in the regional and international situation, and the recent split of the SPLM-N in two groups,”

In an interview with Radio Dabanga broadcast today, Arman said that the SPLM-N as well “completed a detailed programme paper after four-years of efforts joined by scholars, experts, and intellectuals from all over Sudan”.

He described this paper as “a great achievement of the forces of change, because it details what is required in the sectors of education, health, identity, culture, economy, foreign policy, and governance structures”.

The paper will be discussed together with the proposals of Agar and Arman “to renew the vision of the movement and its structures, in an attempt to turn the disaster we experienced earlier this year into a benefit”.

Split

The SPLM-N leadership rift began in the Nuba Mountains, South Kordofan, in late March after the then Deputy Chairman Abdelaziz El Hilu submitted his resignation.

He accused Chairman Malik Agar and Secretary-General Yasir Arman of controlling the rebel movement arbitrarily, and not representing the movement in the AU-brokered peace talks, in particular concerning the issue of self-determination of the Nuba Mountains.

The SPLM-N’s regional political groups, the entire Nuba Mountains Liberation Council and a part of the Blue Nile Liberation Council then appointed El Hilu as SPLM-N chairman, relieving Agar and Arman from their positions. Various SPLM-N factions in Blue Nile state support the original leadership.

Khartoum is fighting the SPLM-N in South Kordofan and the Blue Nile, also known as the Two Areas, since 2011.