[ad_1]
South Sudan’s opposition has issued a joint statement in response to First Vice President Riek Machar’s recent concerns about the Nairobi peace talks.
On Thursday, Dr. Machar wrote an Protest letter Kenya’s peace negotiators have failed to recognise the country’s 2018 peace deal, the chief mediator has told AFP, claiming a new draft agreement is intended to replace it.
He noted that the draft establishes alternative institutions to replace or operate in parallel with those established by previous peace agreements, adding that the current peace talks should complement the original agreement, not erase it.
Machar and President Salva Kiir were on opposite sides of the war, and Machar was named first vice president after the 2018 deal.
However, the opposition said in a statement on Sunday that from the outset, the aim of the Nairobi talks was to save South Sudan from crisis.
According to the statement signed by Generals Pagan Amum, Paul Malong and Stephen Boui, the opposition aims to address the root causes of the conflict in South Sudan by developing a “coherent and concrete relief plan for South Sudan.”
The statement read in part: “As the opposition, we are not here at the Toumani Initiative to renegotiate, amend and/or implement the Revitalized Peace Agreement. We are here to discuss a rescue package for South Sudan, especially in light of the failure of the key signatories to implement the Revitalized Peace Agreement over the past six years, plus the failure to implement the Revitalized Peace Agreement for three years, for a total of nine years lost.”
It added, “The rescue plan may include provisions and parts of the plan that were not implemented in R-ARCISS.”
The opposition revealed that the new roadmap to save South Sudan includes several elements, such as building trust, establishing an inclusive transitional government, security sector reform, constitutional process, a strong implementation plan, and national healing.
The opposition believes that the Tumani Initiative will bring permanent peace and stability to South Sudan.
Opposition groups that were not part of the 2018 peace deal have been holding talks in Kenya since May 9 aimed at bringing the groups on board before elections. The talks are between President Salva Kiir and some recalcitrant opposition groups.
The mediation was led by General Sumbewo, who also brokered the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) in 2005, which granted South Sudan autonomy and facilitated an independence referendum in 2011.
The talks produced a draft agreement proposing an extension of the transition period to provide more time for election preparations.
[ad_2]
Source link
