Jieng Council of Elders

Following South Sudan's independence, 45 prominent Jieng (Dinka) politicians and elders formed the Jieng Council of Elders, which is chaired by a former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court Ambrose Riiny Thiik.[1][2] The JCE is a tribal advisory committee to South Sudan President Salva Kiir,[3][1] and it has been accused by Justice Deng Biong of advising Kiir on "divisive ethnic policies".[4] The JCE is often accused of being behind hardline SPLM policies,[5][6][7] and radicalisation of young Dinka.[8]

The King of the Shilluk Kingdom, Kwongo Dak Padiet, claimed his people were at risk of physical and cultural extinction.[9] He claimed the SPLA razed down several villages and that his lawyers were preparing a case before the International Criminal Court against senior SPLA staff and members of the JCE.[10]

The JCE opposed the Intergovernmental Authority on Development's (IGAD) 2015 peace agreement that was supposed to end the South Sudanese Civil War between Kiir (Dinka) and Riek Machar (Sudan People's Liberation Movement-in-Opposition which advocates for Nuer people’s interests),[11] and demilitarise Juba.[12][1] In addition, the JCE advised Kiir to undermine the agreement.[1][13] Also, the JCE has misrepresented the United Nations' work and intentions, leading to incidents where attacks on UN personnel occurred.[1]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d e "Letter dated 19 September 2016 from the Panel of Experts on South Sudan established pursuant to Security Council resolution 2206 (2015) addressed to the President of the Security Council" (PDF). United Nations Security Council. 2016-09-19. Archived (PDF) from the original on 16 December 2023. Retrieved 18 March 2024.
  2. ^ Boswell, Alan (2021). Conflict and Crisis in South Sudan’s Equatoria (Report). US Institute of Peace.
  3. ^ Czerep, Jędrzej (September 2016). "Jieng Council of Elders, a parallel government in South Sudan?". ResearchGate.
  4. ^ SudanTribune (2018-01-06). "Sayed Bona Malwal: A Sudanese Desperately Dreaming of Re-annexing South Sudan to Sudan". Sudan Tribune. Retrieved 2023-07-20.
  5. ^ "Dinka council of elders welcomes Kiir's decision firing ministers allied to Machar". Radio Tamazuj. 4 August 2016. Archived from the original on 15 March 2017. Retrieved 9 March 2017.
  6. ^ "Jieng Council of Elders caused "coup" in SPLM-IO: official". Sudan Tribune. 24 July 2015. Archived from the original on 12 March 2017. Retrieved 9 March 2017.
  7. ^ SudanTribune (2017-12-10). "Is Jieng Council of Elders responsible for South Sudan crisis?". Sudan Tribune. Retrieved 2024-03-21.
  8. ^ Thiong, Daniel Akech (2016-07-22). "Politics of fear in South Sudan". open Democracy.
  9. ^ "South Sudan experiencing ethnic cleansing, UN report says". Star Tribune. 7 March 2017. Archived from the original on 8 March 2017. Retrieved 9 March 2017.
  10. ^ "South Sudan experiencing ethnic cleansing, UN report says". Star Tribune. 7 March 2017. Archived from the original on 8 March 2017. Retrieved 9 March 2017.
  11. ^ "South Sudan • Africa Elects". Africa Elects. Retrieved 2024-03-21.
  12. ^ "[southsudankob] Jieng Council of Elders reject IGAD proposal on S. Sudan". www.mail-archive.com. Archived from the original on 18 March 2024. Retrieved 2024-03-18.
  13. ^ Post, Sudans (2021-02-22). "FULL-TEXT: Jieng Council of Elders statement on South Sudan crisis". Sudans Post. Retrieved 2024-03-21.