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July 31, 2024 (Juba) – Kenya-mediated peace talks in South Sudan have stalled over the establishment of an alternative structure, raising concerns that delays in talks could derail the success of the process after the two sides agreed on eight protocols.
The talks, known as the “Toumani Initiative,” are between President Salva Kiir’s national unity government and the opposition.
The resistance groups are a group of armed and political dissidents who did not sign the 2018 peace agreement.
The delegation representing the government at the talks included representatives of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) led by President Kiir, members of the South Sudan Opposition Alliance (SSOA) and the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-In Opposition (SPLM-IO), the latter being the main stakeholders in the September 2018 peace deal.
The Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-In Opposition, led by First Vice President Riek Machar, walked out of the talks, saying the deal was drafted in a way that either undermined the existing architecture established by the 2018 peace deal or ran parallel to it.
Sudan People’s Liberation Movement leader Pagan Amum said in a statement that the negotiations reached a deadlock after the armed opposition withdrew from the talks, which prompted the delegation representing President Kiir and other political parties to follow them to Juba for further consultations with constituent organizations and institutions.
“No discussions have taken place yet because a government delegation is in Juba consulting with the leadership and we are waiting for them to come back,” he said.
Amoum called the SPLM-IO’s withdrawal “irrational and unwise.”
“The withdrawal is irrational because the SPLM-IO and the SPLM-GA have been trying to implement the R-ARCSS for the past six years but have failed. Tumani came here to save the country. I don’t understand why anyone would oppose it,” he stressed.
The group led by Machar rejected the Toumani Protocol and announced its withdrawal from the process on July 12, 2024, arguing that it established alternative institutions to the 2018 peace agreement.
The SPLM-IO’s decision to withdraw has drawn mixed reactions, with leaders of civil society organizations questioning the rationale for the move following the SPLM’s announcement of its commitment.
Edmund Yakani, executive director of the Community Empowerment Progressive Organisation (CEPO), said the withdrawal violated commitments made in a declaration signed by all parties, including the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-In Opposition.
The Presidential Envoy and head of the Government delegation, Ambassador Albino Matom Ayuel, regretted the decision, arguing that the delegation did not represent their political parties but attended the talks as part of the entire delegation, regardless of their political affiliation and inclinations.
Ayuel led the effort to address the challenges facing the Toumani Initiative, culminating in a meeting with Machar to discuss his group’s departure and how to address their concerns.
South Sudan’s Information Minister Michael Makui told the media after meeting with Machar that the SPLM-IO’s withdrawal from the negotiation process weakened the government’s position because the delegation was an inclusive team.
He said the meeting decided to resolve the issues at the presidential level and all five heads of the agreement would take a decision on the withdrawal of the SPLM-IO.
Machar’s acting press secretary, Puok Boss Baruang, said the two sides had agreed to meet last week to address each other’s concerns.
“The first meeting was on Tuesday. The Presidency was briefed by the Tumani mediator on the initialling of the agreement. Following that meeting, the Presidency held another meeting chaired by His Excellency the First Vice President and attended by the four Vice Presidents as well as members of the High Commission and the government delegation,” he said.
Baruang revealed that the preliminary agreement had been discussed at the presidential meeting.
“They also decided to record all the discussions and review them to make a final decision after the President returns from South Africa, where he had previously travelled for bilateral discussions and consultations with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa on the Tumani Initiative,” he stressed.
Kiir returned to the country on Sunday and the principals have yet to hold a meeting to address the concerns raised by Machar and his team following their withdrawal.
“We still expect His Excellency the President to preside over the meeting,” Baruang said.
“The High-Level Committee also expressed the same concerns as the SPLM-IO, which led to their decision to withdraw from the negotiations, but in conclusion, the decision will be taken after the meeting of the Presidency and the High-Level Committee, and a consensus will be reached on the matter. But as of now, the decision of the SPLM-IO will remain unchanged as long as our concerns are not addressed,” he concluded.
(English stone)
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