A Statement by Collo community on Presidential decree of the Establishment of 28 States
Collo community in Sudan, on Presidential Decree of the Establishment of 28 states
Address to IGAD plus chairman
October 18, 2015 (SSB) — We ,the Collo community leaders, Church Leaders, Women Representatives, Youth representatives, Professional and civil society representatives in Khartoum state, hereby issued this statement to reject and protest against the unconstitutional Presidential decree Order No 36/2015 AD. In general the division of Upper Nile state into Eastern and Western states is tribally and ethnically motivated in particular.
On Friday 2nd October 2015, The President of the Republic H.E Salva Kiir Mayardit, issued the Establishment Order Number 36/2015 AD, that divided the Country into 28 states and that it shall come into effect after 30 Days of its issuance.
Principally, the Collo Community has no objection on the Order as it stand, however we believe that it would have been better if various Communities of South Sudan were involved in the decision making, through direct dialogue and consultative meetings, particularly those directly affected by the Order in disputes areas in Upper Nile State for that matter.
The newly issued Establishment Order has divided the Shilluk Kingdom among the Two newly Created States namely West and East Nile. Unfortunately, Collo areas on east of the Nile and south of the Sobat Rivers were annexed to the Jeing Counties without their conscience like the case of Pijo county, which was rejected by Collo community. So the Establishment Order in Upper Nile state in its form has prejudice, favoritism, exploitation, discrimination and misused power.
Moreover, the Establishment Order is going to kill well ground established administrative and counties boundaries and also will abort and abrogate previous rules and governing norms in affected areas that were backbone for peaceful co-existence and tranquility in the whole state of Upper Nile. Therefore, the Establishment Order is clear indication that President Salva Kiir wants to appease Jieng community in Upper Nile state.
Historically, the Upper Nile Province was divided in 1975/6 into Upper Nile, Jonglei and Unity Province, the boundary between Upper Nile and Jonglei Provinces was fixed at a point of 8 miles south of Khorfulus Stream, which is one of the tributaries of Sobat River. The boundary stretched westward passing through Jebel El Zeraf and touch to the White Nile at Wathkec and to Lake No.
However in 1979, the Apadang Dinka of Fangak District in Jonglei Province petitioned the High Executive Council in Juba claiming that the boundary should have been fixed at the middle of Sobat River to the north and the middle of Bahr El Jebel and requested relocation of all Chollo to west of the Nile.
The government of H.E Abel Alier rejected it together with late Hilary Paul Logali, the Regional Minister of Regional Administration, Police and Prisons. Again, the Dinka petitioned to the President Joseph James Tumbura and was rejected by H.E Charles Kuot Chatim, the Minister of Decentralization. As a result of such unfounded claims, the area has witnessed series of conflicts between the Jeing and the Collo Communities up to 1981, whereby Collo Intellectuals wrote a Petition to the government of the High Executive Council under H.E Abel Alier requesting his government interference to solve the dispute peacefully, in order to avoid unnecessary bloodshed and loss of innocent lives among the two neighboring communities.
Indeed the Government of the High Executive Council sent a team of Surveyors to the disputed areas with the objective of identifying and demarcating the boundary between the Kodok District of the Upper Nile Province and the Fangak District of the Jognlei Province as it stood on 1st January 1956. The Survey Team did its Task successfully and ended up confirming that the disputed areas were indeed Collo Areas within the Kodok District of the Upper Nile Province.
During the SPLA war for liberation and particularly from 2000 to 2005, many communities in South Sudan were forced to abandon their villages and homes to safe areas and locations within South Sudan and abroad. The Collo were not exceptional, as a result of this, some communities took advantage and started to occupy the deserted Collo area and further claimed ownership to those areas.
In 2003, All Communities leaders were called for Consultative Meeting held in Panyagor, Jonglei State under late Chairman Dr. John Garang. The Jeing Community of Upper Nile brought up again the issue of their ownership to Malakal and the disputed areas, but due to the wisdom and righteousness of the late Leader Dr. John Garang, these claims were dismissed as false and unfounded, and he advised that such motives should be avoided, for it will provoke conflicts and create more divisions among the different communities of South Sudan.
The late Chairman Dr. John Garang confirmed his position by issuing the Establishment Order for establishing the Four Counties in the Shilluk Kingdom namely Panyikango, Makal, Fashoda and Manyo on October 2003.
In fact Jeing Community of Upper Nile claims for the Collo areas in east of the Nile have never stopped, but continued throughout the CPA era up to the Independence and after. These have resulted in concurrent conflicts and wars between the two communities manifested in different ways and aspects, which claimed many lives unnecessarily.
So the Collo Community is deeply concern and more afraid that this new Establishment Order may escalate the situation and open more doors to unnecessary bloody wars between the neighboring communities who are in need for a peaceful coexistence now more than before. The Government in Juba was supposed to focus on resettlement of the displaced and the refugees, and rehabilitation of the already disintegrated social fabric between the two communities as well as all communities of Upper Nile State in general.
After peace Agreement between SPLM/A and the Government of Sudan, Shilluk community was eager to go back to own villages to start new life, but unfortunately they were prevented by the commander of Division 6, George Athor, under gun threat in the eye of regional state Governor of Upper Nile, arguing that Collo villages are still army operational zones, and contrarily Jieng community were building in those villages.
During CPA era the Apadang Dinka of Fangak in Jonglei state was given county named Khorfulus, but unfortunately the creation brought a tag-of war between sub- Jieng clans of Khorfulus and Paweny of Atar Ardeba, and many innocent lives perished. Instead, of the President Salva Kiir to resolve the issue on Jonglei state ground, he created more conflict by giving the Collo land in Pijo in Upper Nile state to Jonglei state. Officially, H.E President Salva Kiir approved ungrounded claim of Jieng which was rejected by previously Government in Juba and also late Chairman Dr. John Garang.
Ironically, it became crystal that Dinka was interested in Collo land without people. That creation of Pijo County coupled with the fatal attacks on Collo villages that angered Collo Youth to organize themselves to form Collo Land Defense Force, in order to protect the giving away land. Another fact that provoked Collo community angrily against GOSS was intentional disarmament of entire Collo land which was applied wrong by using various intimidate inhumane methods of tortures, gang raping, and burning down villages.
Terrible and serious scenario scheme the Government in Juba employed was putting up army barrack in every Collo village to terrorize them, in order to compel them to evacuate their villages and to allow invaders to occupy it. Yah, the occupation of Jieng to Collo land forced young people to Join Defense Forces because they saw the danger of their land being grabbed in their presence. The establishment of huge garrisons in Collo land during the peace era was intended to inflict agony, frustration on Collo community to stop their resisting to the invader communities which were backed by the National Government SPLA.
It was long term plan to pressurize Collo community to evacuate their ancestral land under gun threat, and in future there will be no one to claim those areas back. Look those soldiers moved into mentioned places with their families, and they constructed houses and put up Lwaks and were not ready to go back to their original places again. The intention was to eradicate the Collo from ancestral land, by employing affliction, hardship, imprisonment, sleeplessness on daily base and all sorts of institutionalized socio-political life of deprivations.
The socio-political life employed by Jieng backed by the Government in Juba assigned to Collo was cruel, awful, distorted and unjust and inhuman that cannot be compatible with the sort of life that Christ offers to humanity.
People bear inhuman oppression and discrimination with the hope that after independent all those evils practices will disappear. We could conclude that at this juncture the cruel oppressive system that denied the rights of people and meaningful life has been clearly employed by H.E President Kiir himself. Indeed, the cruel and distortion system applied in South Sudan by President Kiir was the manifestation of human existence sin in form of old Adam. Indeed, the Establishment Order will create poverty, injustice, hatred, racism, oppression and denial of freedom which are manifestation of the fundamental sin of falseness.
In 2009, tribal conflict emerged between Shilluk and Jieng on 4th CPA celebration in Malakal, on the question of which community supposed to lead procession, and previously it was led by Shilluk in honored of being inhabitants of town, but during mentioned celebration the organizers wanted Jieng to lead procession to indicate that Malakal belongs to them. Then War break out between two communities and they were dispersed by police. The incident occurred in present of the President Hassan Omer El Bashir, his vice Slva Kiir and Dr. Riek Machar.
It was plan action and at the same night Jieng massacred Shilluk in Anakdier and Abanim. The state Government or Goss never challenged that heinous killing. The President Salva Kiir never intervened to resolve the matter, but when Kurfulus and Ater Jeing were fighting each other, the President Kiir came to resolve that conflict wrongly by giving Collo land to Jieng in Pijo.
Now, the Establishment Order for creation of 28 states was meant to eliminate Collo in their ancestral land in the East Bank of White Nile and Sobat River by instituting eastern Nile State in which H.E President Salva Kiir grouped the Dinka in Jonglei with one in Upper Nile and give Collo land without including inhabitants of land in that unconstitutional decree. Obviously, it has becomes very clear that the intention of liberation war was the establishment of Jieng dynasty in South Sudan.
It is not mistaken for Collo community to argue that H.E President Kiir is implementing the agenda of Jieng Council of Elders, for decree issued recently was the same one issued by JCE in response to the Declaration of Compromised Agreement that gave Upper Nile and Unity state to the Opposition during interim period.
Therefore, we would like to bring to attention of all citizens in the South Sudan that the unilateral decision of the Establishment Order for institution of 28 states after the Compromised Peace Agreement which was concluded base on the 10 states would have serious implications on major provisions of the peace deal and open up the agreement for renegotiations that would drag the country back to square one.
Strongly, we Collo community in Sudan denounced the Establishment Order issued by H.E President Salva Kiir for it is declaration of tribal war and violation of the law, and the Transitional Constitution of 2011, which establishes only ten states.
H.E President Salva Kiir must be aware that the community he wished to appease in Malakal will be a real victim, for people of land will not give them rest. Instead of President Salva Kiir works for peace, reconciliation and unity among bleeding communities, he decided to add more hatred and enmity among co-existence communities. We thought that the President is guidance of nation who supposed to lowdown the rising tension, and to restore broken relationship created by baseless war.
Therefore, we asked the President Salva Kiir to nullify the Establishment Order for sake of peace, harmony and tranquility among different communities. The President Kiir should be alert that question of land is life and death, without land not person and this is why the Palestinian and Israel are still fighting among themselves up to this moment.
- E. President Kiir, your action for creation of 28 States in the Republic of South Sudan is crystal violation of the constitution and it demands amendment of the Interim Constitution of the Republic of South Sudan. The Article 161 had cited that the territory of South Sudan is composed of ten states. The constitution gives the Council of States the authority to alter state boundaries or names but nowhere gives you power to create new states or eliminate existing ones.
Mr. President Salva Kiir your intentionally action had broken the oath you took as President of Republic South Sudan, how by failing to present your hidden unconstitutional decree to the Legislative Assembly and the Council of Ministers that are representatives of the people of South Sudan. Indeed, the imposition decree of creation of 28 states is unconstitutional, knowing that the amendment of the Constitution for creation of new states can only be carried out by the Parliament, and not by the President himself.
The Collo community in Sudan called your decree as violation of the recently Compromised Peace Agreement, and we requested IGAD, IGAD-Plus, Troika and United Nation to intervene to save the peace, for no right to warring parties to issue decree without conscience of other. The people of South Sudan have not been consulted on such an important and major issue of creation of new states.
The unconstitutional decree of giving Collo land to Dinka on East Bank of White Nile and both side of Sobat River without compromised from inhabitants Collo is deadly mistake that will cause chaos and anarchy in Upper Nile state and you are widening conflict gap between communities that need healing.
H.E. President Salva Kiir with unfortunate decree, instead of protecting the interest of your community in expense of Southerners, you are victimizing them. So please could you suspend your decree to ensure security and peace which is real matter of concern of all citizens in South Sudan. Mr. President Slva Kiir previously you had ignore Collo petitions presented to you on sad episode of giving Collo land to Jieng in Pijo. Now, the situation is different which you need to take note of.
Being partial leader is great sin, and now you instituted a new state in East Bank of White Nile by grouping all Jieng in North Jongeli state and whole Jieng in Upper Nile state in one state and you excluded the inhabitants Collo to appease them. You are not favorite them but victimizing them, because they will not have peace on that land unless you swift away all Collo in the South Sudan which is impossible.
We strongly condemned your partial deplorable decision and irresponsible behavior in favor of Jieng community in expense of other communities. You real encouraged Jieng community to manipulate national affairs and take law in their hands because you backed them. In case you failed to hearken to this voice, and then be assured that you will plunge Upper Nile state into chaos state.
H.E President Salva Kiir, you need to be reminded about what happened in other African countries like Rwanda, Kenya, and so on, you must learn a lesson from that and you must take decisive actions to avoid escalation of terrible tribal war between Collo and Jieng. President Kiir you have obligation to protect all citizens regardless of their tribes. Otherwise you will be failing in your duties and responsibilities. Indeed, it is necessary to take courageous and bold decision to nullify your decree for the sake of peace.
Conclusion
- The Collo community has inhabited both Bank of White Nile and Sobat River in present areas of residence since time immemorial; this can easily be found in the records and has always been proved by different governments Investigation, Assessment and Survey Teams.
- The Collo Community has never claimed nor has it ever shown any interest in the land and areas belonging to their neighboring Communities along their history.
- The Jeing Community of Upper Nile started in early 1970s and continued to claim ownership part of Collo land, especially in eastern side of both White Nile and Sobat River, yet they have never been able to substantiate such claims neither historically nor demographically or anthropologically.
- The Collo Community thinks and strongly belief that the newly issued Establishment Order is ill-intentioned and the Community feels deeply aggrieved by it, as it takes away parts of their beloved ancestral land and gives them to the undeserving neighbors turned rivals, the Jeing of Upper Nile State.
- The Collo Community entirely stand firm as a block to denounce and reject the annexation parts of the Shilluk Kingdom to the newly created Jeing East Nile State. Hence, we would like to make it clear that the community would stand firm against this and is ready to defend its position under any circumstances as deem necessary.
Recommendations
In order to correct the situation and put things right, the Collo Community would like to recommend the following:
- That H.E the President should consider redefining the boundary between the two newly established states in the Upper Nile State, namely the Eastern and Western Nile, by returning back the areas taken away from the Shilluk Kingdom to their right owners especially within the Collo Land.
- The Government should subject issue of establishment of more states in South Sudan to a wider consultation that must involve all the communities and the people concern, such that to narrow differences and reach consensus on the matter, given the delicate period the country is now in and to create a conducive environment that may reduce tension and promote peaceful coexistence among the already polarized communities.
Signatures are representatives of the Collo community leaders, church leaders, women representatives, Youth representatives, professional and civil society representatives in Khartoum state.
CC: Secretary General, UN Headquarters, New York
CC: IGAD Member countries, (Sudan, Kenya, and Uganda, Ethiopia
CC: Troika member countries (USA, UK and Norway)
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