Jieng Council of Elders urges Kiir, Machar to listen to National Dialogue report and go home

JUBA – South Sudan’s Jieng Council of Elders (JCE) has urged President Salva Kiir Mayardit and his first deputy Dr. Riek Machar to respect the outcome of the National Dialogue report and retire from politics saying the National Dialogue is the only peace mechanism that has addressed the aspirations of the people of South Sudan.

In a statement on Tuesday, the JCE of Elders also said the revitalized peace agreement is worse than the 2015 peace deal and will only return the country to the civil war urging the regional bloc, IGAD, to reconsider the revitalized peace agreement.

“In our view, the South Sudan National Dialogue has come with a very clear way forward and ignoring it would be a recipe for discontent and could have negative and far-reaching consequences. In our view, the aspirations of the South Sudanese people have been clearly articulated through the National Dialogue resolutions,” the JCE said in a statement extended to Sudans Post on Tuesday.

“All the nationalities, ethnic communities, and religious communities have talked, and they have listened to one another and they have charted a way forward. The Jieng Council of Elders fully endorses the outcomes of the National Dialogue, including the Covering Note of its Leadership,” the statement added.

It further urged President Salva Kiir Mayardit and Dr. Riek Machar to respect the outcome of the National Dialogue and retire from politics.

“We applaud the National Dialogue for pointing out the truth and for sharply dissecting and pointing out state and leadership failure as the root causes of the current crises in South Sudan. We are in agreement entirely with their assessment and call upon President Kiir and 1st Vice President Dr. Riek Machar to listen to the voices of the people,” it said.