*Perhaps we need to retire the name, SPLM

The Sudan’s People Liberation Movement (SPLM) encompasses all South Sudanese. We all feel that we contributed and made the necessary sacrifices that resulted in our sovereignty in July 2011. That means that for us, SPLM belongs to each and every one of us.

After the CPA, SPLM was transformed into (what would be one of many)/ a political party.   This has raised questions– what happens to those who form or join other political parties, but still want recognition for their involvement in the liberation struggle?  How to form strong/ viable alternative parties to the SPLM, when we know that the majority of Junubin strongly associate with SPLM, and will therefore vote SPLM- regardless of whomever else is on the ballot? How does one begin grassroots political education to introduce other viewpoints? And lastly, how will we ever distinguish between the political party and Government when even ‘intellectuals’ mish-mash the two? (E.g. there is little distinction between the SPLM constitution – which governs the actions of SPLM party members, and that of the chairman – and the transitional constitution of the RSS, which governs the executive and, all of us, in a number of articles that I have read).

What we have seen instead - is a reluctance to part with the SPLM connection- instead we see various iterations of the name e.g. SPLM-DC and now (surprisingly) SPLM-iO.  Perhaps during every political crisis, there will be more of the same since this seems to be the trend – affix SPLM and this apparently gives some semblance of credibility.

Name-recognition is critical in politics.

Perhaps we need a new social contract. We are now liberated. We are the RSS. It is time to look forward, and not the time to continue relying on a legacy

(E,g. why keep asking - where were you during the war? We should be asking, where is your contribution to nation-building now?)

We need to honourably retire the name SPLM. I’m not saying forget the struggle or the SPLM – that would be disrespectful and ahistorical.

But this (I feel), will level the playing ground - it will mean candidates having to campaign at the grassroots level, to introduce their party name, politics, vision, etc. in order to get that recognition during the election process.  Instead of relying on the SPLM name.

We would also need to put an indefinite moratorium on party names that have ‘liberation’ (we are already liberated), ‘resistance’ (there are democratic means to settle differences- building strong institutions means that we need to follow these democratic processes- and allow for their existence.), ‘opposition’ (if you are not the ruling party- then you are automatically the opposition party. Putting opposition in your name does not make you more ‘opposition’)… and Im sure there are others we can start to list.

*The first time a friend mentioned that we need to give up the name SPLM – which was sometime last year – I was very annoyed at the suggestion. “What do you mean abandon the name? This is our legacy… never. Why should we give it up? I have since become convinced – especially because I now recognize that this is not the same as forgetting. I also fear that we will come a point in time when the SPLM name is diminished due to politics – I am thinking KANU after 40 years, and Moi’s regime.