The office of the Minister of Defence and Veteran's Affairs (MODVA) has said they are concerned about the trending attacks on social media against defence minister, Angelina Jany Teny, by some aggrieved SPLM/A-IO cadres over continued attacks against their forces in training centers.
Colonel Lam Paul Gabriel, the press secretary to defence minister Teny said in a press release over the weekend, “much as the minister is opened to any constructive criticism, it should be noted that subjective criticisms meant to tarnish her image as a person is not welcomed.”
He defended the minister by saying she understands the pain caused by the violations against the security arrangements, not only in Moroto but all over South Sudan, “These violations are real threats to the R-ARCSS. However, it is important to know which body or structure is responsible for command and control of the forces.”
“Article 2.4.2. of R-ARCSS states that 'The JDB shall be formed at the level of Chiefs of Staffs and Directors General of National Security Services, Police and all other organized forces to exercise command and control over all forces during the Pre-Transitional Period", Lam said.
During an interview with Radio Tamazuj Lam said some people are not happy with the way the peace agreement is being implemented because since defections started, SPLA-IO bases and training centers have been attacked. “Starting with Maiwut when Ochan Puot defected, he went and attacked our cantonment center there. Until now nothing has been done about it.”
“A similar thing happened in Moroto which is a training center. So there are people who seem to think that because Angelina Teny is the Minister of Defence and Veteran Affairs, she has not done much to stop these attacks from happening. And yet in reality this is not the work of the minister of defense because she does not have command of the army,” he added.
According to Lam, if people had read the peace agreement properly, they would know that the body which has command and control is the Joint Defence Board (JDB). It compromises members from the SSPDF, SPLA-IO, and SSOA.
“This is the body in charge and not the defence ministry. The minister deals with laws and policies of the ministry, not command and control,” he pointed out.
“The minister is open to criticism but unwarranted attacks are not welcome. If you are criticizing you must be genuine and tell the truth not based on rumors. We have heard people saying that she is the wife of Riek Machar etc. Angelina Teny is a person who knows how to work and was the chairperson of the security committee. She is an educated and learned person with a lot of experience. She has already achieved more than her predecessors in the ministry,” according to Lam.
He said the minister has been reacting to and even visited some of the places where these attacks happened.
“She went to Moroto and got there before some of the bodies were even buried on 7th September. She went and talked to both SSPDF and SPLA-IO soldiers on the ground there. She told them we are in peacetime and they should not clash. When she got back to Juba she directed the JDB to bring the perpetrators of the fighting to book. Is this a person who is not serious? So if the JDB has not done their job, is it the problem of Angelina?” Lam asked.
He said during the recently held SPLM-IO conference in Juba, the violations and attacks were condemned.