By Jwothab Othow
Since the CPA was signed in 2005 and after of independence of South Sudan in 2011, the rights of the Chollo people have been violated and numerous violations, abuses of human rights and injustices perpetrated against them and their land. These violations include the deliberately burning down of many Chollo sacred cultural sites by the Dinka dominated SPLM-led government and SPLA forces in 2009 and 2011. The assaults on the Chollo community culminated in a mass slaughter of innocent civilians as documented massacres of Chollo in Malakal and other Chollo areas in 2013 and 2014 committed by both the government and the so called Nuer White Army rebel forces.
The ethnic minority rights in South Sudan became an issue to many when the violence erupted in December 15, 2013. Historically, South Sudan is a multi-ethnic country which is composed of 64 tribes. The dominant ethnic group is the Dinka. The SPLM as a ruling party has failed to transform itself into a meaningful political entity to establish political institutions to regulate inter-group conflicts within each region and as a result violence erupted in 2013. Under international law, minority rights are applied to ethnic, religious or linguistic minorities and indigenous peoples are an integral part of international human rights law. The issues for autonomy for ethnic minority surfaced in the first post-war international treaty to protect them from the greatest threat to their existence, was the U.N. Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. The term autonomy was derived from Greek: auto means self, nomos is law. Autonomy in the legal political vocabulary is self –government. Creifelds defines autonomy as, “parts of state’s territory which is authorized to govern themselves in certain matters by enacting laws and statutes, but without constituting a country of their own”. Another definition of autonomy is as “an intrastate region with a unique level of self-government”.
The question would be; will the autonomy rule for the Chollo Kingdom be a viable solution to overcome the perpetual land conflict between Chollo and their neighbors who would seek to possess their ancestral land? Supposed the answer is yes, but do Chollo have the political will and ability to achieve the rights of Chollo for autonomy rule? Yes, I am absolutely convinced that Chollo can achieve it but it will require a unity in adversity among Chollo in their political differences. I could imagine the psychological impact on our people who have forced to leave their homes to the neighboring Sudan as refugees as a result of this senseless war in South Sudan which was intended by the Dinka dominant led government to achieve their goals. It is about our destiny as a people whether 20 to 50 years from now we will be able to live our way of life and maintain our existence if this tribal war continues to threaten our existence. Chollo must and should formulated political strategy to deal with the current threat imposed on us. Chollo must keep in their mind that if the political environment continues in South Sudan the way it is and if we fail to unite and put in place our political strategy in order to survive and maintain our existence then it will be too late.
The political concept of autonomy was used to counter the authoritarianism of the larger majority and the more powerful ethnic group, and was considered a condition for the satisfaction of the national pride of the citizens of a particular city or nation. Autonomy is an essential aspect of nationalism, which seeks to establish the independence of a national group based on language, political history, and cultural heritage. Historically, the minority rights have a long history under international law, since in 1648 A.D. during the Treaty of Westphalia.
The League of Nations and the United Nations were established to promote peace and security by harmonizing the rights of sovereign states with the rights of minorities. For more than fifty years, the international community has developed a broad set of standards for minority rights relevant to all countries. The rights of indigenous minority according to the UN Charter;
States shall respect the right of persons belonging to minorities to participate effectively in decisions on the national and regional level concerning the minority to which they belong or the regions in which they live.
States shall respect the rights of minorities to participate effectively in public life, including through elections, holding public office and participating in other political and administrative functions.
States shall respect the rights of minorities to assemble and form associations and political parties and thereby aggregate their interests to make the greatest impact on national and regional decision-making.
States shall duly consider the best manner of achieving effective political participation of minorities, including autonomous arrangements.
States shall respect the rights of members of minorities to determine their own political status.
The basic human rights and fundamental freedoms which include the autonomy for indigenous minority populations are entitled to be enshrined within the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. For example, in Canada, they established Nunavut, but refused Quebec secession. In France, they set in motion a process to accord Corsica limited powers to run its own affairs. In Denmark in 2001, the United Kingdom granted various degrees of autonomy were accorded to Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. NATO took a drastic action in 1999 where its warplanes undertook a bombing campaign against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY) in order to force the latter to confer greater autonomy to Kosovo. The European Court of Human Rights has talked of a "democratic restructuring" without destroying the territorial integrity of Turkey with respect to its Kurdish population and so on.
In according to the UN Charter, “Peoples in independent countries who are regarded as indigenous on account of their descent from the populations which inhabited the country, or a geographical region to which the country belongs, at the time of conquest or colonization or the establishment of present State boundaries and who, regardless of their legal status, retain some or all of their own social, economic, cultural and political institutions. Based on this definition, things that distinguish indigenous people and minorities are that indigenous peoples settled the territory concerned as a heritage from their ancestors or at the time of conquest or colonization or the establishment of present state boundaries and they have a culture that has a nexus with their ancestral land and its natural resources.” The autonomy system has been recognized as a peaceful means to avoid secession in a certain region or territory within a state. In the case of Chollo, it is necessary for the government of South Sudan to recognize the rights of Chollo for the autonomous rule and to establish the federal system structure to grant the rights of Chollo for autonomy which will be as a safeguard for the peaceful solution for the land conflict between Chollo and their neighbors.
The case of Chollo is a unique case because it has a system under His Majesty, the King (Reth) of Chollo. The Chollo Kingdom has been there for more than 500 years. I brought the idea a year ago for the right of Chollo to demand and work for special status for the Chollo Kingdom autonomy but some were arguing that it is too early for Chollo to demand or advocate for autonomy. It is time for Chollo to take action and to work for autonomy as a right with special status within a demarcated territory, with an autonomous legislation, a local government administration and a judiciary system. Autonomy will give Chollo political control over their territory. Chollo have the right for autonomy that will guarantee Chollo as an ethnic group a degree of independence from the central government’s interference in matters of their Kingdom’s affairs, for example cultural, customs, and societal structures. To be clearer, autonomy means the legal recognition of minorities’ rights. The Chollo Kingdom local autonomy should be able to enjoy the various rights under autonomy rule which should be guaranteed in the constitution of South Sudan including exercising their rights of autonomy in the Chollo Kingdom such as administrative head of autonomy and should be guaranteed by the Constitution of South Sudan.
Chollo would have the full right to use and to develop their language and the freedom to preserve their own customs. The ancient Greeks defined autonomy as the independent self-governance of city-states. In a political context, a state has autonomy if its government has complete control over its affairs, without the intervention of or the control by any other power. As we could remember when His Majesty King Kwongo Dak Padiet wrote to President Salva Kiir in 2011 to find a peaceful and lasting solution for the Chollo land occupation by the Dinka Padang in the Upper Nile State but President Kiir has chosen to ignore the matter until recently. Therefore, I am convinced that the only alternative left for Chollo is to work and advocate for local autonomy for the Chollo Kingdom.
Our generation has a duty to carry on Nyikang’s promise to preserve Chollo land. It would be disgraceful in this generation of Chollo in this age of enlightenment to fail Nyikang’s legacy and promise. The forces of persecution can only triumph if our generation decides to do nothing. In order to achieve the aspiration of Chollo for local autonomy, the Agwelek and other forces under the leadership of Johnson Olony Thubo Dak and other forces under the leadership Yoanes Okiech, organized themselves to work together as a united people in order to protect the lives of the Chollo people and their ancestral land. Ultimately we will achieve autonomy.
As I said before it is time for Chollo intellectuals to start working and advocating for a Chollo Kingdom autonomous region. I am glad that some of our people are talking about autonomy for the Chollo Kingdom and this must be taken seriously by Chollo intellectuals to began working and advocating for the Chollo Kingdom’s autonomous rule within a united South Sudan. There should be a clear and a well defined role between the Chollo Kingdom’s autonomous authority and the role of the Reth of Chollo. I agree with many who have expressed their views recently on CYF concerning this subject that the Reth of Chollo should be a ceremonial head of the autonomous Chollo Kingdom with no political powers. His Majesty (Reth) of Chollo roles should only be a ceremonial head of the Chollo Kingdom autonomy which has no interference with Chollo autonomy.
After the violence erupted in South Sudan in 2013 where Chollo as a minority were targeted and as a result hundreds of Chollo civilians were massacred based on ethnic lines. To ensure the protection of Chollo rights as a minority and their cultural survival, we must demand and work for autonomy. According to Ruth Lapidoth, autonomy is to be understood as a special status granted to a territorial unit which makes it possible for the residents of that territorial unit to regulate their own affairs by themselves through autonomous legislation, government administration, and judicial administration. A claim to sovereignty is not linked to it. The autonomous authorities are to be precisely established in the laws of State.
Lapidoth argues concerning the concept of autonomy for minority group is very clear and its usefulness in resolving ethnic conflicts. Lapidoth believed that autonomy is a means for diffusion of powers in order to preserve the unity of a state while respecting the diversity of its population. Autonomous rule has been suggested as a way to protect minority groups. The rights of Chollo for autonomy should be recognized in principle under the international law and their rights as a minority to be granted autonomous rule. The rights of Chollo for autonomy should be secured by the South Sudan Constitution and provides a clear division of political power between the Chollo Kingdom autonomy and the rest of South Sudan. The right of Chollo for territorial political autonomy is arrangements aimed to grant Chollo Kingdom autonomous rule to governor themselves without interference from South Sudan central government. I think the peaceful autonomy which was granted to Åland archipelago west of Finland could also serve as a model for resolving land conflicts between Chollo and their neighbors. The case for Åland autonomy should used as example which was based on a decision of the Council of the League of Nations in 1921 that resolved a dispute between Finland and Sweden over the islands and guarantees the preservation of the local language, which is Swedish, and the local culture.
Chollo autonomy must fundamentally include those areas of competence which are necessary for the national minority to maintain its cultural identity, such as: an educational system, including higher education (such as universities), which respects the values and needs of the minority in question; cultural institutions and programs; radio and television, and other communication means; the display of their own emblems; field of powers needed to ensure the functioning and welfare of the autonomous entity refers to its social and economic regulations; the use and control of natural resources; taxation for the purposes of the autonomous area; health care and social services, including social welfare; transportation such as local roads, and airports; production of energy; environmental protection; control of commercial and savings banks and other financial institutions; local and regional police. The Chollo Kingdom can create their own educational policy for primary education up to a 12th grade education and the languages to be taught should be as follows: Dhog Chollo, English, and Arabic. English and Arabic Languages are useful for communication and business purpose. English will remained as the official language in all the government departments.
I challenge Chollo intellectuals to advocate for autonomy or local self-administration. What I mean by autonomy is not outright secession from the rest of South Sudan. The Dinka dominated led government is not interested in a peaceful resolution to conflict which they created in order to position themselves in order to control the nation’s resource and to drive other communities out of their land as we have seen in the case of the Chollo. The Dinka being a majority are dictating to others. As Tocqueville argued, the majority would too easily tyrannize the minority. While it is clear that democracy must guarantee the expression of the popular will through majority rule, it is equally clear that it must guarantee that the majority will not abuse its power to violate the basic and inalienable rights of the minority. As the CPA was signed in 2005, the Chollo people have been constantly facing the threat from both Dinka and Nuer communities in order to eradicate the Chollo Kingdom from existence.
The most extreme danger to Chollo Kingdom is that the Dinka led government is using the current civil war to drive out the Chollo population from their ancestral land and subjected the Chollo population psychologically through means of violence. The worst examples is when the Dinka led government denied humanitarian reliefs to Chollo civilians this year and continue to carried air bombardment against Chollo civilians. James Madison once said, "It is of great importance in a republic, not only to guard the society against the oppression of its rulers, but to guard one part of the society against the injustice of the other part." Since the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) was signed in 2005, the Dinka dominant led government has been a constant threat to the Chollo Kingdom’s existence. I urge Chollo to think critically given the state of affairs in South Sudan where the attempts to create an inclusive society has been threatened by ethnic strife and chaos which threaten other peaceful minority groups. The conflict led to ethnic divisions in South Sudan today was created by the Dinka dominant led government and the ruling party SPLM, which set off a cycle of retaliatory battles and massacres across the country that have left tens of thousands dead.
The SPLM Party has been an adversary for violence since day one of its inception in 1983 and countless destruction against the people of South Sudan. In 2013, South Sudan, the world's youngest nation, has been locked in civil war when the leaders of SPLM party and the President of South Sudan Mr. Kiir accused his former Deputy Machar of faking a coup which led to the country to the ongoing civil war. President Kiir and Dr. Riek Machar should know that South Sudan will never be same again because of the ethnic divisions they have created that set off a cycle of retaliatory battles and massacres across the country that have left tens of thousands dead. Chollo as people must work hard and advocate for local autonomy for the Chollo Kingdom. Chollo people have been governed by numerous Chollo Kings for more than 500 years and had never seen what happened to Chollo people in Malakal and other areas of Chollo in February 2013 when the so called Nuer White Army ordered by Dr. Riek Machar to massacre hundreds of Chollo civilians.
To safeguard the Chollo Kingdom and it distinct culture the demand for autonomy for Chollo is the way forward. Under the autonomy rule for Chollo, it will have unshakable power of territorial control for the Chollo Kingdom and to exercise public policy functions (legislative, executive and adjudicative) independently of other sources of authority in the state. Also the role of Chollo king must be defined by Chollo and separated from autonomous authority. Chollo will be better with self-administering entity within a state of South Sudan which will give Chollo rights in terms of development, economic or cultural spheres. For example Murle Administrative areas in Pibor an arrangement which was done by executive power of the President of South Sudan within the framework of central legislation. Chollo self-government will give the Kingdom the rights to elect its own legislature; it endows them with the authority to take charge of all executive and administrative functions usually provided by central state institutions.
Under Autonomous rules, Chollo will be capable of granting significant judicial powers to their autonomous entity. The Chollo Kingdom will have the degree of autonomy granted to them and the country’s overall constitutional framework will be preserved, and Chollo autonomous territory will remain as an integral part of South Sudan under its constitutional control. The Chollo Kingdom will have adequate representation of the autonomous entity at the central level, constitutionally guaranteed procedures for the resolution of the land disputes between Chollo and their neighbors, or central government, and mechanisms that ensures the protection of human rights of all residents in the autonomous entity, regardless of their ethnic identity, including the right to appeal to judicial institutions at the central level. The Chollo Kingdom can serve to maintain South Sudan external borders and to preserve its sovereignty. Chollo will have the power to control social, cultural and economic matters that are important to them. The quest for Chollo territorial autonomy must be and should be advocated by Chollo in order to achieve it. To be very clear on this subject, it is not absolute independence but special status for the Chollo kingdom’s autonomy.
The violation of the Chollo Kingdom’s Sacred Site means the survival of their identity is at risk and therefore Chollo have the right to work and advocate for autonomous rule in order to protect their culture heritage. The rights of Chollo for autonomous rule can potentially cater the interests of the Chollo Kingdom which does not clash with the interest of the state to preserve full integrity of their territory. The intellectuals should conceptualize the rights of Chollo for autonomy rule and start working and advocating the case for Chollo autonomous rule.
For example there are about 21 countries in the world who have established territorial regional autonomy such as Spain, Italy, Great Britain and China etc just to mention a few. Also there are at least 60 regions in the world vested with territorial autonomy defined along scientifically based criteria. Territorial autonomy is successfully operating since 1921, when the Aland Island obtained their special status within Finland. I am optimistic that Chollo will be able to manage their autonomous affairs and enjoy their self-government for their region independently manage their economic construction, natural resources, and to develop and manage educational, scientific, technological and cultural and public health.
The Way forward for Chollo Intellectuals to advocate the idea of the Chollo Kingdom’s right for local autonomy. The rights of the Chollo kingdom for local autonomy must be respected. It is important for Chollo to advocate for autonomy and to ensure the protection of the Chollo people and its unique culture. Under the Chollo Kingdom autonomy, the Chollo Kingdom shall have rights under the Autonomy system to run their own affairs without interference from the South Sudan central government. I remember last year or earlier this year when I brought the need for Chollo to work for autonomy Brother Peter Karol asked me a question if I think our Stone Age Chollo Kingdom has the capacity to transform itself into a modern monarchy to govern the Chollo Kingdom with the Federal Republic of South Sudan. I believed that the Chollo Kingdom has the capacity to govern itself. Remember now, that Chollo has been governing themselves for more than 500 hundred years since it was founded in 1490 A.D. with undisputable system of governance and that is why it has survived for so long in Sudan despite the external forces who sought to destroy it for hundreds of years until today.
His Majesty Reth of the Chollo Kingdom might have to adjust or reforms some of its policy with the changing world to meet the criteria of human rights, rules of law, justice and equality and freedom of expression. The Chollo Kingdom will need to make fundamental reform and changes because contemporary Chollo society might not agree with current state of social justice and economic condition of the Kingdom. The Chollo Kingdom might have to separate its power from the political authority by allowing the people to elect politicians, and let the political process run according to democratic procedures without interference. I believe strongly that the Chollo Kingdom could function quite well given the autonomous rule.
In conclusion; it is time now for Chollo intellectuals to start working and advocating for Chollo Kingdom’s autonomy. I am absolutely convinced that Chollo have the will, and the ability to work toward the rights of Chollo people for autonomy which can be achieved. Chollo intellectuals should start using the term autonomous for the Chollo Kingdom. We are obliged to work and advocate for the rights of the Chollo people for autonomous rule. I invite you friend to look at this article and try to conceptualize the idea of autonomy as a solution for the Chollo Kingdom over this Christmas season with your friends. I welcome the opinions of others in how we could achieve the rights of Chollo for autonomous rule. Have a joyful Merry Charismas and Happy New Year. I ultimately believe whether now or later it is my hope that it will become an aspiration for the Chollo people.
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