Scholar says agreement surrenders Juba's sovereignty
A South Sudanese scholar has called for mass protests against the Khartoum Declaration Agreement between President Salva Kiir and rebel leader Riek Machar.
In an opinion article circulated to the media, Dr Luka Biong Deng described the agreement as weak, saying it would end up in the dustbin, just like the 1997 pact signed by 'weak and fragile' southern Sudanese armed groups.
Dr Deng is a global fellow at the Peace Research Institute Oslo. He is also a South Sudan Alumni Ambassador of the Institute of Development Studies in the UK.
President Salva and Dr Machar sealed a peace agreement in Khartoum on Wednesday, after days of negotiations.
Permanent ceasefire
The two leaders committed to a permanent ceasefire.
"All the signatories to this 2018 Khartoum Agreement have not only accepted their inability to govern, but they have also surrendered the sovereignty of South Sudan to one of the most fragile, repressive, corrupt and failing governments in the world, the government of the National Congress Party.
"The people of South Sudan should condemn in the strongest possible terms the 2018 agreement that is a flagrant betrayal of their will to build their own sovereign and independent state," he stated.
Overwhelming decision
Dr Deng wrote that the signatories had not only asked Sudanese President Omar Bashir to manage the South Sudan oil, but had also disgracefully given a blank check to the Igad and AU member stets, rather than the organisations, the authority to intervene in "our internal affairs".
"I am sure the fate of this Khartoum Agreement will be the same as of that of 1997 Khartoum Agreement, but it is different as it squandered the overwhelming decision of the people of South Sudan to build their own sovereign and independent state."