S. Sudan’s Dinka elders protest global opposition to 28 states

May 30, 2016 (JUBA) – The Jieng Council of Elders (JCE) in South Sudan are opposed to any global pressure against last year’s presidential decree, which expanded the country’s number of states from the constitutionally recognised 10 states to 28.

The order is said to have contravened the peace deal signed with armed opposition under the leadership of the first vice president Riek Machar based on the 10 states.

“The Jieng Council of Elders (JCE) is alarmed and deeply regrets the recent respect to the status of the 28 States establishment order, (EO 36/2015). The UNMISS (United Nations mission in South Sudan) head said that she does not recognise the 28 states,” party reads the 26 May protest statement, which Sudan Tribune obtained.

It add, “Obviously, there are pockets of political opposition in the country to the creation of 28 states and so for her to take the same position, as the opposition, is an act of partiality and goes counter to the spirit of the agreement and inconsistent with the mandates of the institutions they lead”.

The JCE, comprising largely relatives and political allies of President Salva Kiir, accused the special representative of the secretary general of the UN mission in the country of allegedly siding with the opposition on the issue and must cease doing so.

“The UNMISS leader appears bent on encroaching deliberately into the affairs of a sovereign state,” said JCE.

“It may serve her well to stay out of South Sudanese politics and administrative matters and allow the South Sudanese to chart their course on these matters without prejudice. The council therefore advises the two institutions to adhere strictly to their respective mandates by avoiding unwarranted meddling in the affairs of a sovereign state,” it added.

The JCE reiterated that the establishment was a sovereign decision and should not therefore be reversed; asserting doing so would endanger the unity and social harmony.

South Sudan’s sovereignty, JCE said, is vested solely in the people of South Sudan and it is not amenable or subject to debates engendered from within or from without.

“The right of the people of South Sudan to govern themselves within confines of their respective diverse cultures ought to be held sacred and inalienable,” it said, adding the 28 states was in response to popular demand.

The statement had signatures of Ambrose Riny Thiik, chairman of the group and co-chair Joshua Dau Diu. Aldo Deng, another member of the JCE also signed the document.

(ST)