Panaruu Community in the Diaspora Welcomes the IGAD Peace Deal!
12 min readPress Statement from the Panaruu International Coordination Commission (PICC)
September 6, 2015 (SSB) — The Panaruu Community in Diaspora under the global-umbrella Union of the PICC leadership would like to takes this preliminary opportunity to congratulate His Excellency, President Salva Kiir Miyardit and Dr. Riek Micar for the signing of the foreign-imposed peace agreement. Please do kindly and gratefully receive our communal acceptance and welcoming of this shaky peace.
It is a tremendous step to restoring national peace, unity, reconciliation, Stability, prosperity as the perquisites toward the permanent settlement of the war in South Sudan which had inflicted thousands of deaths, and had so far displaced thousand others internally and externally in RSS.
The PICC, an acronym for the Panaruu International Coordination Commission is the global Panaruu liaison leadership in charges of brokering the general affairs of the Panaruu Diaspora and back at Homeland in all aspects. Therefore, the PICC takes this initial step to express and emphasize the inclusive views of the Panaruu citizens across the world after having conducted the intensive surveys, assessments, consultation, and statistical evaluation pertaining to peace.
After the lengthy research of the public opinions of the Panaruu citizens in their respective whereabouts in every continent of their residency, the PICC came to the conclusion that they do welcome and accept the peace cordially for the sake of peaceful stability and tranquility of RSS.
However, having affirmed and welcomed the foreign-imposed IGAD-PLUS Peace Accord does not mean that Panaruu Jieeng is wholeheartedly satisfied with the signed peace agreement. The Panaruu Community accepted and welcomed the peace accord between Salva Kiir and Dr Riek Micar with much reservation and conditions as will be elaborated further in details later.
Panaruu Conditional Reservations over the imposed peace Accord.
His Excellency, President Salva Kiir Miyardit, Panaruu Community had petitioned you several times since the establishment of South Sudan in 2011 about the granting of the State for the Ruweng Dinka (Jieeng) for many reasons narrated to you numerous times by this community. Ruweng Jieeng in Unity State had undergone serious, suppressive experiences under the systematic -institutionalized Nuerism discriminatory policies in the Unity State.
The social, economic and political grievances face and encounter by the Ruweng Jieeng under the oppressive-rule of Nuer majority in Unity State is chronically untold in many forms, although most of it had been brought to your attention, and mad crystal-clear to your presidential ruling elites as well through numerous petition letters in the past which were overlooked. Since the current peace was imposed against the will and interests of the South Sudanese generally, Panaruu Jieeng believes that her people would be the severest loser of this peace more exceptionally than all the stakeholders for many reasons to be illustrated.
Panaruu Community, having critically and analytically evaluated the peace accord , came to the anonymous general consensus through numerous series of intercontinental teleconferences conducted to measure and collect the public opinions ( popular consultation) that Panaruu and Aloor ( Ruweng Jieeng) in Unity State will no longer be part of the Unity State under the upcoming interim State and National Unity Transitional government under Taban Deng Gai and Riek Micar respectively.
Panaruu Jieeng had undergone through several eras of Nuer imperialistic, institutionalized tribalism, and oppressive marginalization silently for four decades in Unity State. This exclusive Nuer ‘s discriminatory policies toward minority Jieeng of Aloor and Panaruu (Ruweng) had been entertained and continues to be harbored habitually today by Nuer ruling elites.
The practical manifestations and illustrations of these suppressive Nuer policies can be attested by the summary narratives of the following grievances of experiences by the Ruweng Jieeng:
The first Phase of Silent, tribal Massacre of Ruweng Jieeng started in 1980s under Dr. Riek Micar when he was the SPLA Zonal Command of the Western Upper Nile ( Unity State old name by then). In 1986, Dr. Riek Micar denied the inalienable rights of the Ruweng people to the humanitarian medical supplies and clinical treatments of their patients during the Era of Kalazaar epidemic in Unity State by then in 1980s. Riek as the zonal commanding officer chose to concentrate all the medical clinics and dispensaries in his hometown areas of Leer and Duar, and denied the erections of mobile clinics in Panrieng and Biemnom areas as a matter of his discriminatory policy against Jieeng in Unity State by then. Thousands of Ruweng patients died miserably under an appalling medical condition of Kalazaar epidemic in the areas. This was the initial mayhem.
When Dr. Riek Micar later defected from the SPLA and SPLM in 1991 while still in charge of the zonal command of the Unity State, he continued to blockade and deny the Kalazaar patients access to the medical care and treatments in Duar and Leer. As the result of his oppressive denial and segregative tribalism toward Panaruu by then, thousand patients more died with Kalazaar epidemic while those who had attempted desperately to trek on foot to bring their loved ones to Nuerland for medical treatment were later arrested and massacred in cold-blooded summary execution mercilessly. Some patients who made it to Duar and Leer were left on clinic stretch to die alone.
When majority of Panaruu declined to pledge the military supports toward Dr Riek Micar against his factional split toward SPLA, Dr. Riek Micar unleashed his forces and White Army to invade Panaruu and massacred innocent women, children, handicapped disables, burnt them alive and scorched to ash all their properties and traditional huts. Raping and looting was rampant and synonymous of his forces constantly throughout the conflict. This was the second phase of Dr Riek Micar ‘s systematic massacre.
Institutionalization of Bentiu, Unity State as the Nuerland ensues: During the intensity of the conflict throughout 1990s after his defection, Bentiu Unity State was therefore declared as Nuerland, and that the State shall be named as Liech State as a justification that it is the cradle land of all Nuer descendants and ancestral origin. Therefore, an exclusion of Ruweng Jieeng was justified and overriden with overwhelming majority.
In Unity State, every Nuer believes in the exclusive policy of segregative isolation of Ruweng Jieeng. This stereotypical-prejudice of Nuerism is self-manifested in every Nuer who enchants and entertains that Nuer supremacy and superiority over Ruweng Jieeng is an acceptable policy worthy practical promulgation throughout Nuer dynasty in Unity State. Ruweng Jieeng had endured, persevered, and tolerated it in silence for a decade.
During the gubernatorial tenure of Nguen Monytuil and Taban Deng Gai in Unity State from 1997 to 2002 when they were still under the successful collaboration and treason with Sudan regime, political assassinations against the Ruweng Jieeng prominent intellectuals and politicians was rampant and holistically horrendous under both successive Nuer governors.
Paulino Matip was responsible for carrying out all these heinous criminal acts against the ethnic cleansing of Ruweng Jieeng under both Taban-Nguen. When both Nguen and Taban were successive governors of Unity State, under the Sudan regime, they were able to confine all State budget and developments to Nuerland only with the exclusion of Ruweng Jieeng counties.
Following the post-CPA and post-Referendum or independence secession of South Sudan, Taban Deng Gai was still appointed as the State Governor of Unity State. During his tenure from 2005 to mid 2013, his first preliminary policy was to continue the oppressive marginalization of the Ruweng Jieeng and expanding the Nuer imperialistic superiority against Ruweng by grabbing their indigenous land and occupied it for his Nuer resettlement and occupation. He forcefully occupied Wanh-danluel and later annexed it to his Guit County as fertile land for commercial farming as well as reserving some plots for his future mansion and real Estate business. During his gubernatorial tenure he recruited and trained thousands of Jikeny-Nuer White Army and deployed them locally in Manga to deter and keep away Panaruu Jieeng local natives whom he had grabbed and occupied their ancestral land illegally through his power abuse.
During the gubernatorial tenure of Taban, the educational scholarship program was established to award the Unity State students who had performed excellently and exceedingly with academic excellence for further higher studies elsewhere. Ruwenv Jieeng students were excelling exceptionally in educational institutions. Unfortunately, when those chances came, Taban did not abode by the State policy to award the scholarship programs by the merits of student performance, and so he resorted to the discriminatory policy of sponsoring only Nuer Students including those who had underperformed poorly in the State education system to the secondary schools, colleges and universities in Uganda, Kenya, Ethiopia, Egypt, Malaysia, other nations. No single Ruweng Jieeng Student was ever awarded a scholarship under Taban State Scholarship Programs due to his Nuer institutionalized-discriminatory Policy.
In the State Workforce, employment discrimination was rampant and ubiquitous during the tenure of Taban Deng Gai. The professional hiring policies which stipulate that every job applicant shall be vetted and hired in accordance to his and her qualification and experience merits was abused and appallingly ignored by Taban Deng Gai, as he is indoctrinated to propagate his systematic, chronic Nuerism marginalization policy and segregation toward Ruweng Jieeng minority to keep them downtrodden and poor institutionallly throughout the State. The few who made it were lucky few who were accommodated by their Nuer friends in the State ministerial portfolios. The hiring nondiscriminatory policy by the competence of meritocracy was thrown away.
When Taban Deng Gai was relief by Salva Kiir ‘s presidential decree in mid 2013, he was summoned to Juba and stay there until the crisis of political calls to transform the SPLM party democratically within the inner circles began to heat up in Juba, and Taban was suspected to be among the ringleaders behind the calls for the removal of Kiir. While Taban was politically disgruntled and upset by his removal by President Salva Kiir, he started to issue dubious order to his Jikeny-Nuer White Army which had already trained and equipped prior to his gubernatorial relief by Kiir to unleash a tribal attack and terrorism against the local natives of Panaruu over the land he had grabbed forcefully and had occupied illegally.
Taban ordered his militias to wreck havoc in the villages of Manga and Agarak, resulting in his militias to kill women and children in May 2013. Tension flared between the southern Ruweng Payams and Jikeny-Nuer of Taban until Nguen Monytuil who succeeded Taban came to rescue and curb the tribal tension.
December 2013 later emerged as the SPLM party political inner dispute over the leadership and the call for the democratic transformation. The party feud dragged on until it later escalated into a violent eruption in Juba. When Dr Riek Micar and Taban Deng Gai later escaped to safety, they later ordered the reserved local forces of Jikeny-Nuer white Army in Guit County Unity State, which was trained and equipped during Taban gubernatorial tenure to unleash an invasive attack against Panaruu villages of Agarak surprisingly on short notice. 38 women and children were massacred indiscriminately in a single operation.
Panaruu was not expecting any attack since the issue which broke hell in Juba was seen as an isolated incident to the national capital. Among these massacred women was a pregnant woman whose womb or stomach was cut open and his fetus infant baby taken out and similarly cut into pieces as a symbolic gestures of Nuer antagonism toward Jieeng irrespective of location. This gross human right violations sent a cruel and barbaric radical extremism of Nuer across South Sudan. This attack was done in coordination of the defection of SPLA Division Four commander who attacked the Panyang and Panrieng and killed dozen more civilians.
In late December 2013, the initial massacre of Ruweng Dinka started in Tharjath where all the teachers and intellectuals of Ruweng Jieeng who were working there as State employees were tied up and slaughtered and buried in mass grave somewhere in Koc County of Nuer, located south of Bentiu town. Later when the SPLA liberated Bentiu from the rebels occupation in January 2014, Peter Gatdet later recaptured in April 2014 from the SPLA, and massacred thousands more civilians of various nationalities including Ruweng prominent officials who were working for the Unity State government. If there is any Jieeng who had survived that day, then it was a miracle.
Given the overall statistical mayhem of Ruweng deaths ever since the era of Kalazaar in 19980s, 1991-Riek Defection era, Nguen-Taban teNuer era of governorship under the Sudan regime systematic political assassinations of Ruweng prominent politicians, and the overall summary of the 2013-2014 ethnic-cleansing genocide of Ruweng Jieeng, the tolls had heavily a climax of genocide and continue to be threatened more should Ruweng Jieeng continues to share the Unity State with Nuer supremacists.
Compelled by all the summarized grievances above, the people of Panaruu and Aloor (Ruweng) are eventually determined decisively to live in isolation exclusively from the Nuer upcoming transitional government in the State of Unity under Dr Riek Micar and Taban Deng Gai. Given the civil liberty and constitutional rights of every citizen, Ruweng people are therefore propelled and invigorated forcefully to seek their own State free of Nuer so as to avoid the future ethnic massacre by Nuer counterparts in case of future war or political conflict.
Given the citations and justifications narrated so far, chances are minimal for Ruweng people to be forced to live under those elements of oppression who harbor the habitual mindset of harming and terrorizing them on tribal basis in event of any national crisis. Ruweng is therefore appealing to Salva Kiir prior to the implementation of the accorded peace to grant us the State of Ruweng before the deadline.
The time is now to award the State of Ruweng to us before you form the transition national and State government with your political opponents, Dr Riek Micar and Taban Deng Gai. This request is critical for the sustainability of the signed peace in Unity State. Ruweng are law-abiding, peace-loving people who have great passion for unity, integrity, humility, tolerance toward the Nuer counterparts in general. But, given the underlying chronic conditions and impulsive threat and recklessness, madness poised against them by Nuer, it is inevitable to deter their secession from the predominantly-Nuer State of Unity for all the aforementioned reasons justified in the previous illustrations of this letter.
This makes our case more exceptional and unique to be given an urgent priority of immediate consideration and positive action under your presidential leadership now than later. It is a reflective nightmare scenario for Ruweng people worldwide and in South Sudan in particular to be denied this opportunity at this critical movement. Finally, Ruweng reached a binding Resolution not to be combined with any Nuer.
The PICC concluded by endorsing the general activities of the delegated commission by the community in South Sudan to vigorously pursue the Statehood for Ruweng until it is granted. Enough is enough, and Kiir should listen to our dire plea for the self-rule State of Ruweng.
The Ruweng people do not wish to make a unilateral declaration for their areas as self-rule State free of Dr Riek Micar and Taban Deng Gai without the backing of Salva Kiir Miyardit, but it is likely that Ruweng will not submissively succumb to the gubernatorial leadership of Dr Riek Micar and Taban Deng Gai, and Ruweng shall opt out unilaterally from Unity State and rule itself as Jieeng State. This is a political plebiscite by the people of Panaruu Diaspora globally. We will not accept to be united as one State with any other Nuer clans in Unity State either.
The PICC looks forward to hear the positive consideration and outcome of this petition appeal. Thank you abundantly in advance for your cooperation and merciful action over this request.
Cordially yours in friendship,
Panaruu Community in Diaspora.
Signed by:
Simon Miabil de Minyiel (the interim President of the PICC).
Michael Abot Tor (the President of Panaruu PCA in the USA).
Simon Tor Deng (the President of Panaruu PCA in Canada).
Charles Chol Dau (the President of Panaruu PCA in Western Australia).
Guor Kiir Kuacier (the General Secretary of the PICC).
Contact the PICC at gakiir@gmail.com for further correspondence for any concerns.
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