Acting Secretary-General of Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) Anne Itto says that youth are central to the SPLM and also ‘the centre of this crisis,’ contending that more youth representation is needed in the party.

Itto delivered a speech on Thursday at the Political Parties Youth Forum, an initiative held in Juba as a follow-up to the Political Parties Leadership Forum. The event was attended by a number of other dignitaries including Dr. Martin Elia Lomuro, Minister of Cabinet Affairs, who represented the vice president, and Rt Hon Manasseh Magok Rundial, Speaker of the National Assembly.

The speech text transcribed below is presented verbatim, with some redaction for length. Sub-headings are an addition to the text and not original to the speech.  

Youth Forum speech, 27 February 2014:

It is indeed a great pleasure and honor to have the opportunity to talk to you on a subject that has become the center of debate of this nation. Moreover, many people who don’t know SPLM and where we came from – the whole thing is blamed on SPLM. Only last Wednesday, a clergyman very bravely went and started preaching to the faithful how SPLM should be dismantled, because it is responsible for all the death that has taken place. I really think this person must have lived somewhere else or may not really understand who SPLM is and what SPLM has done and what our nation is. And the fact (is) that we have a clear value system.

It is only those that cannot live up to the values and the principles of SPLM that could have done that kind of killing. It’s not SPLM. And because of that, I took it upon myself to be here today, so that I can be with you and explain, from the point of view of SPLM, what we are after. The fact is that we have not lost that vision, and we are still working for a just, peaceful, prosperous and proud South Sudan.

‘Youth are central to SPLM’

Coming back to the topic, I really want to start by commending the youth. I have been watching your programs on the TV. And you have stood out very clearly, and you have said no to war, no to rebellion, but yes to peace and unity of our people. That anybody can see, and I think that is very, very important.

But you have gone beyond that. Only yesterday I was watching the TV again, I saw some of the youth offering to wash the clothes of our wounded heroes. What greater service can you do to our nation apart from nursing the soldiers? I think that is a very, very honorable job you have done, that is an indication of how much you love your country. And please continue with that.

I want you to know how important you are and how central you are to SPLM as well as this great nation. It is often said that the most important resource of a nation is not gold, not silver, not diamonds and not even oil. It is its human resources. And the youth of South Sudan make up to 70 percent of our nation. What we reap tomorrow is prepared now. Because we need the necessary human capital to build the nation of our dream: engineers, doctors, nurses, entrepreneurs.

Party constitution

In recognition of that, in the SPLM, on December 15^th, what we passed in our new – uh, in our draft constitution – is raising the representation of SPLM youth from zero to twenty percent.

This is in recognition of the important role you play but also to make sure SPLM youth have critical mass in decision-making positions so that they can bring about the change that we are all hoping for. And that change will come from the youth, not from the old folks like myself.

‘Youth fuel the war, but are also victims’

With regards to the subject matter today, it is saying, what impact does the current political crisis have on the youth? We don’t have to search for this answer. It is clearly seen that youth fuel the war, but they are also the major victims. Youth are recruited in the army, and we’ve done that since 1983, but also they form the bulk of the rebel fighters – Yau Yau, and all those more than 90 percent of those who are fighting and dying on the front line are youth. And this is how the crisis affects you.

But also you are victims. The bulk of the people who die on the front line are youth. But they are victims because some of them are lured by money, and ranks in the army, that if you join me, I’m going to make you a lieutenant this, a lieutenant that. Or if you join me, I’ll give you ten thousand or more. Some are also lured because they see as being in the army or holding guns the only way to revenge on relatives that have been killed or tortured.

Some simply do not know, they are not aware that they have this state which they have to build. They are unconscious of the role they have to play. Others do not have the necessary skills to participate, so they feel left out of the game, so when they’re bored, they feel poor, they are idle, they easily join the fighting forces. So this is where the youth become victims of the situation. So you are both fueling but also most of the time you die unnecessarily because of lack of all those things that I have highlighted.

‘You are the centre of this crisis’

So you are the centre of this crisis, yet finding a solution for this will be the biggest contribution to whether South Sudan will become successful or not. So I personally would have suggested that the topic for today should be how we can prevent youth from becoming players and victims of all armed conflict in South Sudan. We should ask ourselves very frankly, how can we prevent our youth – how can we prevent the girls and the boys sitting here, some of them with skills, degrees, ideas – how can we prevent them from being left out?  Feeling useless?  Feeling helpless?  Feeling like they cannot do anything?

And this brings me to the point that my son has raised, that there is a big gap between the youth and the Crisis Management Committee. But I feel this is a reflection of what goes on elsewhere. We need to do a better job as government, as political parties, by creating forum like this, where you begin sitting together and planning on how to address the challenges of your nation, just like everybody else, not like kids but as responsible citizens who must learn now in order to prepare you for tomorrow.

You must be prepared now in order to be able to face the challenges of being leaders in the future. Because if it doesn’t happen now, how do you learn it? Even in the most traditional setting, as I was growing up, when I was five and my mother was going to fetch water, I would be given a sizeable container that I would follow my mother with to fetch water. As I grew up I was given a bigger pot, until I was carrying a pot the size of my mother’s. That is training.  That is what should happen even now.

Stand by Salva

So I conclude by saying seriously we reject what Riek and his group are doing. We reject it and we must convince everybody that this is not the way to go. Riek has all the peaceful options, if he wanted to be the leader of this nation. If he could not convince the SPLM leadership in getting the constitution he wants, he can opt out. He can go out and form his own political party. Because that is allowed for in our constitution. And contest against Salva, contest against anybody when election comes. But he chose a rebellion. He chose a rebellion. You and I elected Comrade Salva to be our president. And we must stand by him, and see him through until he gets to 2015, when the proposed election takes place.

Anybody else who wants to contest should come that time, not now. Because we are a democratic country. We are a politically plural country. And anybody who feels like they can present their programs and themselves to people, should wait for that process, not short cut like this has happened.

Secondly, the youth of South Sudan so many things are going on here and in Addis and people are going to be proposing a number of things – different things, some of which you have never heard before. But this is our country. We decide what goes on. And we must be strong enough, informed enough, conscious enough, loud enough to say, this is what will make sense and this is what will not make sense to us. If we don’t do that we’ll spend the rest of this year and the coming year between Addis and South Sudan. And that would prevent us the much needed time for planning our tomorrow.

Because we must begin now planning for tomorrow. What Riek did should not put the whole nation to a halt. We have a tomorrow to think about it is your tomorrow. It’s the tomorrow of the youth. We must begin thinking about tomorrow planning and working together. Like you have done. One nation, one people.

File photo: SPLM Deputy Secretary General Anne Itto (Reuters)

Related:

Transcript: Kiir’s ‘one people, one nation’ speech (16 Feb).

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