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Edmund Yakani, a civil society activist and Nairobi-based Tumani Initiative negotiator on South Sudan, spoke to Radio Tamazuj on Wednesday after a meeting with President Salva Kiir in the Kenyan capital.
Edited excerpts follow:
Q: Mr. Yakani, what happened during the meeting between President Salva Kiir and members of civil society regarding the Nairobi peace talks?
one. As you are aware, President Salva Kiir is visiting Nairobi to support Mr. Raila Odinga’s candidacy for Chairperson of the African Union Commission.
We had long asked the President to meet with us, the representatives of the Toumani talks. He met with the government representatives, followed by the opposition and civil society or stakeholders. The meeting was very productive and all the representatives told the President that we had taken into account the concerns of the SPLM-IO and made some adjustments.
The second thing we discussed was the President’s position on the controversial security bill that was recently passed by Parliament. We asked the President to provide a clear explanation on this after the bill reached his office. Moreover, according to the Speaker of Parliament, the bill is now a law.
Thirdly, we assured the President that the Toumani Agreement was the only way to extend the transition period. Therefore, it should be clear to all political leaders that the Toumani Agreement does not replace the Revitalized Peace Agreement. We also asked him to explain this information to his First Vice President upon his return to Juba so that he would allow his delegation to resume the Toumani talks.
Q: Will all delegates be able to meet President Kiir in person?
one. Yes. He first met with the government delegation, then the opposition groups, then the stakeholders.
Q: So what you just explained was the outcome of those meetings, correct?
one. Yes, these are key messages. We asked him to report to Vice President Riek Machar that we have made changes to the agreement that was signed a few months ago.
The second thing is that we want to know whether the recent security bill is now law. The third thing is that we ask him to persuade Machar to send the SPLM-IO representatives back to Toumani because we want to complete the task by September 22. Why do we say September 22? This is the date that the government should be dissolved according to the election law.
This law is the same law that sets the election date of December 22. Therefore, this law states that the entire government should be dissolved on September 22. If we cannot do it by September 22, the legitimacy of the government will be questioned.
Before that, we need to have a dialogue between all political parties to decide on the extension of the transition period. We want to ensure that by September 22, a new government is formed based on the results of the inter-party dialogue. Therefore, according to R-ARSS, the political legitimacy of the South Sudanese government is challenged.
If the deputies fail to reach an agreement by September 22, the legitimacy of the government will be called into question. In addition, if there are no elections on December 22, the country will face a constitutional crisis.
That is why we told the President that Toumani’s term must end by September 22.
Q: What was the president’s response?
one. He said he had heard our message and that he would be responsible for discussions with the signatories of the Juba peace agreement. He would meet with them and convey his official response.
Q: We heard you were planning to meet with the First Vice President. When can we expect that meeting?
one. I plan to meet with the First Vice President to convey Toumani’s message. I want to tell him that his position on Toumani has been taken into account, that we hope he will allow the return of international representatives, and that we would also like to know his position on the security law.
I will also discuss with him the challenges of political legitimacy before September 22 and the constitutional crisis before December 22. It is clear to us that Machar is not interested in the December elections because we cannot meet all the preconditions within this period.
We need another legitimate political platform, like Toumani, that will provide a legitimate political extension, like the road map did. We need something that has political consensus, funding, trust building. Also, if we cannot achieve political transition within this time, we should only have a transitional government. We don’t want to see another 24 months extension without any positive results.
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