Addis Ababa, December 25, 2015 (SSNA) — Former South Sudanese Vice President and rebel leader Dr. Riek Machar Teny has criticized his arch rival Salva kiir Mayardiit after Kiir issued a republican decree which removed existing 10 Governors and appointed 28 new Governors for his 28 States expansion plan.
Kiir issued an order just three days after an advance team of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement/Army-In Opposition (SPLM/A-IO) arrived in Juba to begin the implementation of the IGAD-Plus brokered peace deal.
The rebel leader condemns the order, saying the armed opposition is shocked by Kiir’s action, especially when the SPLM/A-IO team is already in Juba to participate in the implementation process.
Machar reveals that Kiir’s 28 states plan was rejected in October by the SPLM/A-IO and that recent appointment of his 28 Governors will not change anything.
“We have in numerous occasions condemned President Salva kiir’s decision to declare 28 States. We again condemn this decision and urge him to rescind this decision to give peace a chance. This raises serious concerns about the commitment of GRSS to the agreement,” Machar said in a statement extended the South Sudan News Agency (SSNA).
“This is not the time to derail the implementation of the agreement,” Machar warns.
On Thursday, soon after the order was broadcasted live on the state-owned South Sudan Television (SSTV), a senior rebel official told the South Sudan News Agency that the SPLM/A-IO will issue what he called “serious response.”
Machar also calls on IGAD-Plus and the international community to condemn Kiir’s decision and pressure him to withdraw his 28 states decree so that the implementation of the power-sharing can move forward.
Tribally motivated order
Kiir’s decision has been widely interpreted as “an ethnically-based.”
On Friday, an independent political Analyst who demanded complete anonymity told the SSNA in Juba that Kiir’s 28 States proposal gives at least 12 states to his tribe, leaving only 16 to the remaining 62 tribes.
“This order number 36 is bad; it simply makes so many South Sudanese feel unsure about Kiir’s actual intention. This is an ethnically-based decision and has no different from a tribal partition,” he said.
President Kiir first issued a republican decree on the 2nd of October, creating 28 states after rebel leader Dr. Machar proposed 21 States based on the SPLM/A-IO’s federalism doctrine. Both the armed oppostion and the international community rejected the order, saying it violates the peace agreement.