Africa-Press – South-Sudan. South Sudan liberators are celebrating the 40th anniversary of SPLA Day at Malual Chaat Military Barracks, Jonglei State, in what is another low-key function for a rather hyped national event.
Speaking to The City Review yesterday, the SSPDF Spokesperson, Maj Gen. Lul Ruai, said the government had not planned for the event, but individuals and organisations had chipped in to help the citizens and veterans commemorate the day.
“I was told that there would be no official celebration by the government,” Lul said, adding there was no reason cited.
But on the sidelines, surviving veterans of the liberation struggle who have cherished the day as it reminds them of the struggle that yielded the youngest nation on the continent are unrelenting.
Amb Sitona Osman recounted how she joined the movement in 1985 with the aim of achieving independence for South Sudan.
“We are happy because we have fulfilled the promise of having the nation, and we are grateful to give the flag of the nation to the young people of the country,” she remarked.
She recalled how several people died in the line of liberation, paying the hefty price of their quest for freedom from mistreatment by the Khartoum regime.
“We have lost millions of our colleagues during the movement, but it never stopped me as a woman… “When I saw colleagues defecting from the SPLA movement those years, I felt bad, and the struggle continues,” she said.
According to Osman, the significance of the day cannot be buried in the layers of the many years that have passed since the fight. Hence, they decided to take their celebration to Jonglei to reminisce about the role they played in creating this country.
“We can’t forget the day just like that. I and some of the SPLA liberators decided to celebrate the day, and now we are in Jonglei for the celebration of May 16 SPLA Day. I wish all the SPLA liberators a happy SPLA day.”
Sitona said, “We have to liberate the land; there is no need for us to destroy the land, and we need to develop our South Sudan.
She said the aim of the celebration was to remember the contributions of the heroes and heroines who fought for the country during the Anya Anya movement.
The Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) commemorates its 40th anniversary with events across war-torn South Sudan. The celebration is made for the liberators who liberated the country on May 16, 1983.
The formation of the SPLA started during the second civil war in Sudan, which continued for 21 years and led to the killing of more than two million people. In the course of it, millions were displaced, but it led to the independence of the world’s youngest nation as part of a peace agreement signed in 2005.
On May 16, 1983, a group of soldiers from the Sudanese army’s 105 garrisons in the Bor area mutinied. The mutiny was followed by 104 garrisons in Ayod, Akobo, and Pochalla. The defection of southerners in the Sudanese army affected the 1972 Addis Ababa peace agreement, which was abrogated by former Sudanese president Jaafar Nimeiri.
Source: The City Review South Sudan
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