Juba Govt Already Shattered The August 2015 Compromise Peace Agreement!

By Chuol Kompuok, PhD

April 13, 2016(Nyamilepedia) —– Salva Kiir Mayardit, the president of the Republic of South Sudan one time said, “the compromise peace agreement is neither a ‘Bible’ nor a ‘Quran’ that cannot be abrogated.” The remarks of the president cast a lot of doubts on the implementation of the peace agreement signed by the two rival leaders, the president Salva Kiir and vice president designate, Dr. Riek Machar. The remarks of the president gives courage to his entourages such as Paul Malong Awan, the Chief of General Staff and Michael Makuei Lueth, who double as the spokesperson for the government in Juba and Information and Broadcasting Minister to speak loud and clear against the coming back of the SPLA/SPLA-IO leadership to Juba declaring war without hesitation. Should SPLM-IO come back with their heads buried deep down into the sands expecting to enjoy peace dividends, then there are potential evident that the agents of doom will stabbed them head on instead from the back with serious knock on effect to the entire population of South Sudan.

Different statements uttered by Juba government are indicative of reneging on the compromised peace agreement where South Sudanese citizens and many international actors put their hope for the stability to return to already fragile state of South Sudan. Indeed, the subversive activities the government in Juba and Jieng Council of Elders (JCE) conducted in the recent past shows that we are for another disaster pending the touch down of the first vice president designate, Dr. Riek Machar. The issue of 28 states decreed by the president Salva Kiir Mayardit in October 2015 followed by operationalisation of states in question, is a clear message to all South Sudanese who are the victims that the president’s decree is not reversible and let go the land of your birthrights. The question one would ask the IGAD, the UN and the Troika countries mediating the compromise peace agreement is what next possible action they would take given the total insubordination of the government in Juba to implement the peace agreement signed and witnessed by your representatives? The international actors suspended the operationalisation of the 28 states in their deliberaton a month and half ago to give peace a chance and let the question of 28 states be addressed after the formation of the Transitional Government of National Unity (TGoNU) where by a boundry commission is established to help create the needed number of states. In the event that no consensus reached, the number of states will revert back to 10 states which the agreement was based on and fully recognised, but the Juba government turn it’s deaf ears and blind eyes on the matter and continue with the song of 28 states, a song that is outdated.

In the back of the mind of the writer of this article, Republic of South Sudan is a country with the president, Salva Kiir Mayardit, however, the Chief of General Staff, King Paul aka Malong Awan who is the right hand man of incumbent president appears to be the shadow president by all accounts issuing statements amounting to physical threats to the lives of all ordinary citizens as he did in December 15, 2013 where more than 50 thousands Nuer and other South Sudanese losses their precious lives. The culprite is still at large and nobody held him accountable for all the attrocities comitted at the watch of International Actors. To that effect, most of the remarks he made during the recent days where the South Sudanese including the entire world awaiting the peaceful returns of first vice president designate, Dr. Riek Machar, the self claimed president King Paul Awan, had shown total disrecpect for and by and large waging war against SPLM/SPLA-IO, IGAD, UN and Troika countires (United States of America, United Kingdom and Norway) in a broad daylight. Ostensibly, the 45-member Jieng Council of Elders (JCE) currently the add-hoc advisers to the government of Salva Kiir back up the demands of Paul Malong Awan making them more aggressive to ensure no single stones left unturn assuring their false beliefs that Dr. Riek Machar comes to Juba dead or else as a captive and would rest their case. Its to be noted with the great concern in the contemporary society that no sovereign state in the world except South Sudan where national matters decided by village elders, the so-called Jieng Council of Elders (JCE) before the face of 63 ethnic groups. Thus, the reality dictates that Dr. Riek Machar wll go to Juba alive and will take oath of office as the first vice president, upon arrval on April 18, 2016 if he decded to go to Juba as a lives saver. The compromise peace agreement tasked the first vice president, designate to oversee the implementation of the peace agreement in its totality and then report the challenges and recommend to the JMEC head, Festus Mogae possible course of action for the full realisation of peace.

To be more precise on the challenges ahead of peace implementation; the insistance of the government in Juba to operationalise the defunct 28 states in the face of poor economic performance with meager resources available is a clear violation of the compromise peace agreement. This in a sense to accentuate the Dinka supremacy over all South Sudanese, a project unachievable where the benefits will not be realised either in the short-term or in the long term. More so, the council of ministers’ rejection of JMEC proposal to arrange the first meeting of the two rival leaders in Juba was another time bomb and ill intention of Juba government toward SPLM/SPLA-IO. The dragonian beast with its security operatves has shown it’s true colour by arresting and torturing members of SPLM-IO from media and print team while sensetising the public on the reception of the deputy Chairman of SPLM-IO, Gen. Alfred Lado Gore upon arrival on April 12, 2016. The circumstance in a blink of an eye plunged almost the two rival forces into full scale confrontation in Juba, a scenario that would have trashed the peace to zero level.

The militerisation of Juba is a recipe for another problem. Credible evident shows that tens of thousand armed youth in uniforms and non-uniforms were ferried to Juba on two occassions. The first batch from northern Bahr El Ghazel was flown to Juba over the night of April 8, 2016 with four trucks followed by a nother batch from the same state of Bahr El Ghazel hometown of Gen. Paul Malong Awan on eight trucks, full to the brim, on April 11, 2016 to await the arrival of the First Vice President,  Dr. Riek Machar Teny, to launch full scale military operation against the SPLM/SPLA-IO. These operations will be administered by non other than Gen. Paul Malong Awan to capture alive or dead Dr. Riek Machar. The short sighted Gen. Paul Malong in colaboration with JCE thougt once Dr. Machar fall under their custody, the SPLM/SPLA-IO will come to an end not knowing that there many like minds of Dr. Machar outside there who at any eventuality, but God forbid the movement can be moved forward with the same vision and mission without changing any single word or text in the SPLM/SPLA-IO manifesto. But we do believe nothing will happen to Dr. Riek Machar and the rights of all South Sudanese shall prevail.

In conclusion, I am attesting to all peace loving South Sudanese to keep watch on what Salva Kiir government busy doing by coordinating another war on the day the first vice president designate Dr. Riek Machar arrives Juba. The militerisation of Juba shouldn’t be considered as the normal routine for the government in question but a ticking time bomb awaiting the arrival of Riek Machar to explode at the zero hour. International community shouldn’t keep their mouth shut seeing many issues going wrong including non-lifting the state of emergency, the 6p-6a curfew in Juba and many dangerous state of affairs taking place in Juba. The article reminds them (the UN, IGAD and the Troika countries) their lameduck claim to be the watchdog of African affars and partners to the compromise peace agreement of the dark days ahead. The circumstance takng place in Juba nowaday amounting to real threats not only to the life of Dr. Riek Machar but also to the entire public of South Sudan who are now at the crossroad. It’s to be noted with great concern, South Sudan as a country is becoming another Somaliland in the Africa continent if the international actors are not serious about taking proper action against the government in Juba. Last but not least, the General Headquarters (GHQs) of the SPLM-IO in Pagak should issue a very strong worded statement lamenting all the hurdles created by the government in Juba to block the arrival of Dr. Riek Machar to the world body and peace partners unless all the blockages are removed toward peace implementation, then there is no need for Dr. Riek Machar to return to Juba in an uncertain circumstances surrounding his arrival on April 18, 2016 until further notice. Let us be mindful of Nyundeng Bong prophesis at this very critical juncture though the writer is not a Messiah; two things will likely happen without further elaboration if the advocates of doom insist and not desist from the war propaganda. To this end the writer rest his case!

Chuol Kompuok, hold a PhD (Economics) at the University of Dar es Salaam (UDSM) and a concern South Sudanese in United Sates of America and can be reached at ckompuok2014@gmail.com

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