Expert calls Jieng Council of Elders peace ‘spoilers’

JUBA – A South Sudanese political analyst on Tuesday disputed the claim by Jieng Council of Elders that the 2018 peace agreement has failed, saying the group of tribal elders is acting as key peace spoilers in the world’s youngest country.

This comes after the Jieng Council of Elders issued a statement on 26 January 2021, claiming that the peace agreement has failed and its breakdown should not be attributed to Jieng or Nuer communities, but failure of the parties ‘contending’ for power.

“Well the criticism from Jieng Council of Elders saying that this peace will fail, I can say that they are acting as spoilers and in this case, they are  not supposed to be talking about the failure of this agreement. They should be talking on how to make peace work,” professor of political science at the University of Juba, Abraham Kuol Nyuon, told Sudans Post in an interview on Tuesday.

Nyuon accused the group of elders of working against the peace agreement saying they are working behind scene to make sure that they are proven right by failing the revitalized peace agreement.

“Their voice of saying the peace agreement will fail is that they might be working behind the scene as a key spoiler of the current peace agreement  because despite the fact that there is low implementation of the peace agreement, there are indicators showing that these leaders are working together,” he said.

“In my own opinion this peace agreement will not fail per say but it shows that it is going to be implemented beyond the timeframe that was given but there is high chances that these groups will  not be able to fight one another again,” he added.