Calls for the Secession of Equatoria Rattle the Jieng 

First Published: January 2022

The Jieng have gone hysterical. Why? Just watch their Facebook/Meta run fora: Concerned Citizens of South Sudan, Rumbek Broadcasting TV, Lakes State Media, Jieng De Padang media and so on and you will not miss the anxieties on display. In the last quarter of 2021 some Equatorian fora like Equatoria Free forum hosted by Ithaca and Silvio Ladu’s personal page, emerged with strong calls for separation. Their message is that it is impossible to live with the Jieng. Plethora of written and published material are being waved as references to Jieng horrific behaviour and expansionist policies across the board. These are being highlighted as the reasons for secession by South Sudanese separatists seeking to break up South Sudan. One document in particular is sending jitters in the Jieng community, and it is titled: ’Ethnocide as a tool of state -building: South Sudan and the never ending war’ (https://martinplaut.com/2019/04/10/south-sudan-the-dinka-plan-to-use-ethnocide-to-create-their-own-state/) written by Carol Berger.

In my article, ‘The Capitulation and Demise of Dr Riek Machar: What it portends for the opposition’  (https://pachodo.org/latest-news-articles/pachodo-english-articles/21844-the-capitulation-and-demise-of-dr-riek-machar-what-it-portends-for-the-opposition) I referred to Dr Berger’s work in relation to Jieng ethnic nationalism that has been tearing the country apart. The Jieng are now all up in arms against her. The latest are ‘Dr’ Aldo Ajo and Joshua Dau Diu. Unfortunately for them, neither of these so called heavy weights have managed to present any credible case against Dr Berger’s scholarly work. Their rebuttal is nothing but tittle-tattle. Please see ‘Jieng council of elder Dr Aldo Ajou Akuey speaking in ClubeHouse today 12/25/2021’

(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h-jgoO0TEj4&list=TLPQMjkwMTIwMjIjJh_xQt-pSg&index=3) and ‘Joshua Dau Diu speaking in Clubhouse’ (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=95UDtoak_6g)

The loud calls for secession have made some Jieng intellectuals such as Dr Jok Madut Jok, Abraham Awolich, Peter Biar Ajak etc who played a huge role in building up the obnoxious Juba regime to change tact. They are now coming out forcefully to lay the blame of Jieng mismanagement of the country squarely on President Kiir alone and asking for unity of the South Sudanese people. To acquaint yourselves with this new perspective you can access their interviews at Lakes State Media, RBC TV (The voice of Rumbek people network), and Jieng De Padang Media.

To understand the anxieties of the Jieng it is necessary that we examine their call for unity, as well as the calls for secession by Equatorian separatist. The Jieng Council of Elders (JCE) on behalf of the Jieng people started their game of supremacy openly in 1970s. Most of the 45 current JCE members played a negative roll in sowing the seeds of tribalism. Their songs until recently have been: ‘We are born to rule’, the Equatorians are foreigners. The Equatorians are Ugandans and Congolese. By then they were known as Abel Alier’s group. Abel was the President of the High Executive Council of Southern Region. He promoted tribalism openly then which led into what was called Kokora. Fed up with Jieng abuses, the Equatorians called for division of the south into three regions which President Jaafar Niemeri of the Sudan decreed. This annoyed the Jieng. In 1983 Dr John Garang formed SPLM/A on the back of Kokora. South Sudanese including Equatorians joined SPLM/A en masse to liberate South Sudan. During the war the Jieng committed heinous crimes against Equatorians in revenge for Kokora.

When the comprehensive peace agreement was signed in 2005 the Equatorians had hoped that a true government would be in force in Juba and all the abuses would stop. To their shock, they were awakened to a nightmare situation of Jieng oppression and colonialism that is now the norm. Like the Arabs in the Sudan who tried to force Arabism and Islam as the core of Sudanese identity, the JCE is trying to mould South Sudan in their image so that to a large extent South Sudan’s identity becomes synonymous with Jieng identity. The Jieng argue forcefully that they liberated South Sudan. Luka Biong promoting this line of argument claims in his interview with Jongkor that they are the ‘gun class’ and it is the Jieng and Nuer who liberated South Sudan. He dismissed the other South Sudanese as non-participants in the struggle. Please see ‘Concerned Citizens of South Sudan is Live with a heavy weight politician Dr. Luka Biong. Topic: Khartoum peace agreement and SPLM reunification’. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cL7aspoaMSY )  

Although Shamelessly Biong audaciously asserts so, his arguments do not hold any water. In late 1990s Khartoum was on the verge of announcing victory over SPLM/A after defeating the latter all over South Sudan save Nimule. Dr John Garang gave up and went to Uganda depressed. Were it not for the gallant non Jieng SPLM/A officers like General Thomas Cirillo, General Oyayi Deng Ajak, General Augustino Jadalla, General Elias Jada etc South Sudan would never have achieved independence. These gallant officers calmly strategized and mobilized the SPLA deserters from the refugee settlements in Uganda and Congo and launched a successful counter offensive that rolled back Khartoum gains leading to resurgence of the SPLM/A. This crucial victory that brought back SPLM/A from the dead has been conveniently forgotten by the Jieng after they hijacked the state of South Sudan on 09/07/2011. So, since independence the Jieng have consistently and relentlessly abused the ‘other’ people of South Sudan to the point of helplessness. As common sense has it, nobody can for ever accept abuses.

Now Jieng oppression has given rise to Equatorian separatists and this is psychologically becoming a serious problem for the Jieng, simply because it reminds them of a possible permanent Kokora. It is this background that has rattled the Jieng leading to their calls for unity. No matter what the Jieng intellectuals and the so called elites do to try to pull the wool over peoples’ eyes, eventually reality will catch up with them. No one can destroy a people and country and expect to get away with it scott free by singing unity and attempting to push all the blame to their sword happy wielder President Kiir. The Jieng are not exceptional in their inability to live peaceably with other peoples, this dynamic is not unique to the Jieng, however their collective behaviour epitomises it.

Calls for unity demand the Jieng come clean. They need to acknowledge the unimagined crimes perpetuated by the Jieng leadership in whole in the form of JCE and the government of President Kiir. Without engaging with their crimes and addressing them adequately through open acceptance and acknowledgement, their call for unity actually amounts to an affront on the people of South Sudan. Their calls simply say ‘those crimes are not serious’, and they do not acknowledge their aggression and the resultant injury on the people of South Sudan. This is not good because unity and peace comes through genuine and honest engagement. The aggressor takes responsibility for their actions to initiate the process of repair and healing.

The Jieng’s call for unity and peace, sweep their dirt under the carpet and they expect to be forgiven and rehabilitated without any accountability and justice for their victims. This is an insult and it is likely to scratch the wounds of the victims. Putting the blame on President Kiir alone is a non-starter. These very people calling for unity of South Sudanese are the very people who contributed massively in building the SPLM/A, the Jieng destruction machine called the government of President Kiir. They supported the Kiir regime to its hilt, right from 2005 through to 2013 and 2016. They are well aware of what they did while they were hand in glove with President Kiir. The question I ask is: why did they not resign from President Kiir’s government when this very government was killing the Nuer people in Juba in December 2013? Why were they quiet? Why did they support the government? Now, why are these so called peaceniks not calling their kith and kin out of their violently acquired settlements in Fertit land, Chollo land and Equatorian land? The expansion of Jieng into other peoples’ land is being done brutally today according to JCE’s plans. President Kiir is only the executioner but the brain is the JCE and Jieng intellectuals. Does this not constitute an important point for them to condemn and address? Where is the condemnation? The hypocrisy of this group of Jieng intellectuals will not help in the process of achieving unity they call for. If they truly want to achieve unity they need to genuinely empathise with the ‘other’ by taking full responsibility and be the agents of change through actively condemning Jieng obnoxious behaviour, Jieng criminality, Jieng uncalled for settlements throughout the country; and Jieng mentality of destruction. For building relation to achieve unity demand active participation and not empty shouts of unity! Unity! Unity! Preside Kiir is the problem! President Kiir is the problem! President Kiir is the problem! No!, President Kiir is not the problem. Jieng in its political collective is the problem. I give credit to Luka Biong at least for admitting that the Jieng are the problem of South Sudan. Please watch this interview video of Jongkor with Luka Biong, ‘Concerned Citizens of South Sudan is Live with a heavy weight politician Dr. Luka Biong. Topic: Khartoum peace agreement and SPLM reunification’ (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cL7aspoaMSY).

This prevarication of the Jieng is deployed to protect their interest being delivered by President Kiir’s regime. All of them are agreed to what President Kiir is doing to benefit them on an individual, community and state level. All of them are benefiting. What the likes of Aldo Ajo, Awolich, Joshua Dau Diu want is for President Kiir to be replaced by another Jieng who can continue with the truly intended and laid down policies of JCE in a different way. So, they want to take South Sudanese for another ride like Dr John Garang did through the SPLM/A.

The lessons learnt from the last 16 years clearly supports the proposals I made in 2014 that neither a Jieng nor a Nuer is suitable to take the South Sudanese presidency, because of their ethnic feud. The National Dialogue to a certain extent agrees with this view via its recommendation that both President Kiir and Vice President Riek Machar step down. The only downside is, it does not specify that the next president must not be from any of the two tribes for obvious reasons. If South Sudan is to be preserved as it is and for it to achieve peace and development, the next president must come from any of the remaining 62 tribes. Please see. Please see the reasons in ‘President Kiir, Riek and the SPLM are the problem of RSS’. (https://southsudanliberty.com/news/index.php/other-topics/193-president-kiir-riek-and-the-splm-are-the-problem-of-rss )

With the above, my question to the separatists is: why then should we the non Jieng give up this South Sudan whose struggle we paid for dearly. It is us the ‘other’, rather than the Jieng who fired the first bullets in anger against the Arab colonial rule in 1955. Then those who ignited the struggle sacrificed for the entire South Sudan in a 17 years bitter war. Should we give up our right saving a country we dearly paid for to liberate? No! It is only people who do not know and understand the history of South Sudan that can call for its break up. Ugly as it is, it is salvageable and it can be done. Are the Jieng strong to the extent that we the people abandon what we paid for in blood? No! The Jieng are not invincible. Can the Jieng be disempowered and disarmed? Yes! Surely, they can be if the rest of us are united. Can the Jieng be held accountable? Certainly, they can if the rest unite. The crimes they committed in the name of state in order to deter other tribes from participating in the governance of the country cannot be fobbed off. Am I against the separatist? No! The secessionists have the right to their opinion and to pursue their objective. However, I do not happen to agree that breaking the country is the right solution for South Sudan. What is needed is for the people of South Sudan to unite and take control of the country from the current tribal jokers called leaders and institute a good system of governance.

To conclude, the calls of the Jieng for unity while pitching themselves as the “natural leaders of South Sudan” will not work without them accounting for their destruction of the country. As for the separatists, I would say that you should make your calculations on how to quickly solve the problem at hand and choose the shortest route. As things appear, taking into consideration the local dynamics, regional dynamics and international dynamics, struggling for secession, I am afraid is a long, long, long road to an unknown future. Unity among South Sudanese is the solution to mount a sustained and effective struggle to realise a positive change.

[Truth hurts but it is also liberating]

Elhag Paul

elhagpaul@aol.com