Riek Machar

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Riek Machar Teny Dhurgon (born 1952), a Dok Nuer, is the current vice-president of the autonomous Government of Southern Sudan.[1]

Contents

[edit] Biography

He was one of the earliest members of the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLM) under John Garang (1984).[2] Then the leader of the South Sudan Independence Movement (SSIM) (1994 - 2000) after splitting from (SPLA/M) in 1991 with Lam Akol and Gordon Kong Chuol to form SPLA-Nasir with the intent of overthrowing leader John Garang.

It was during this time, in June of 1991, that Riek married Emma McCune, a British aid worker, whose life with the SPLM/A leader is described in the book "Emma's War". The marriage caused controversy both among Riek's SPLA colleagues and the NGO community in Sudan. McCune died in a car crash in Nairobi in 1993.

Riek signed the Khartoum Peace Agreement in 1997, forcing the National Islamic Front to adopt a democratic constitution.[3] After the signing, he was the leader of South Sudan Defense Forces (SSDF, the newly named SSIM) (1997 - 2002) The Khartoum Peace Agreement offered the South self-determination on paper and made Machar the Assistant to the President of the Republic of the Sudan and the President of the Southern Sudan Coordinating Council (August 7, 1997 - January 31, 2000).

Machar received a Doctor of Science in robotic engineering from the University of Bradford.[4]

[edit] Controversy and criticism

[edit] War crimes and human rights abuses

According to a 2005 report by Amnesty International [5], Riek Machar was in command of the SPLM-Nasir troops who carried out the 1991 "Bor massacre", in which more than 2,000 Sudanese civilians died. The same report alleges that Machar's forces have more recently conscripted children into their ranks, and that thousands of civilians have been forced to flee their homes by fighting between Machar's militia and rival groups. Machar has not to date been arrested or charged with any of these alleged crimes.

[edit] Mediation with the Lord's Resistance Army

In June 2006, Riek Machar was filmed meeting the leadership of the Ugandan Lords Resistance Army [6]- a rebel group proscribed as a terrorist organisation by the US State Department in December 2001[7], and whose leaders were indicted as war criminals by the International Criminal Court in October 2005 [8]. The film shows Machar handing over bundles of cash to the LRA leadership [9]. Machar is the lead negotiator of the Juba talks between the LRA and government of Uganda.

[edit] References

  1. ^ "Riek Machar, What a leader: Records Of Corruption, Manipulation, and Scandals", Sudan Tribune, 8 May 2006. Retrieved on 2006-10-01.
  2. ^ Sudan People's Liberation Army/Movement
  3. ^ Riek Machar
  4. ^ Rachel M. Gisselquist, WPF Report 26: Sudan: Policy Options Amid Civil War, World Peace Foundation, 2000, , p. 7. Note that some sources, notably Manyang, Mayom. "Sudan SPLM leadership Bio-data and profiled", Sudan Tribune, 26 December 2005. Retrieved on 2006-10-18. erroneously list the university as diploma mill University of Bedford.
  5. ^ "Sudan: Who will answer for the crimes?", Amnesty International, January 18, 2006.
  6. ^ Kony, Joseph. "UGANDA: LRA rebels ready to talk peace", Integrated Regional Information Networks, May 25, 2006.
  7. ^ Office of the Coordinator for Counterterrorism. "Terrorist Exclusion List", United States Department of State, November 15, 2002.
  8. ^ "Ugandan top rebel leader indicted", BBC News, October 7, 2005.
  9. ^ Hartley, Mick. "Bundles of Cash", June 4, 2006.

[edit] Further reading

  • Douglas H. Johnson (2003) The Root Causes of Sudan's Civil Wars (African Issues), Indiana University Press, ISBN 0-253-21584-6
  • Deborah Scroggins (2004) Emma's War Vintage Books USA - Academi, ISBN 0-375-70377-2

[edit] Links

Preceded by
Salva Kiir Mayardit		 Vice President of Southern Sudan
11 August 2005 – present		 Incumbent
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