South Sudanese Rebel Leader Says No Transitional Government Without
Programme
4 May 2014
Addis Ababa - South Sudanese armed opposition leader Riek Machar has said he
would only accept a transitional government that comes with a workable
programme to be agreed upon by the parties to the conflict and implemented
before next elections.
In an exclusive interview with Sudan Tribune in undisclosed location in
Upper Nile state, Machar, the former vice-president turned rebel leader,
revealed on Saturday he had a lengthy phone discussions with the visiting US
secretary of state, John Kerry, on how to end the 4-month old conflict in
South Sudan.
Kerry met with President Salva Kiir in Juba on Friday during which they
discussed the importance of forming a power-sharing transitional government
with Machar.
However, the rebel leader, who had been Kiir's deputy president for eight
years, said a power-sharing transitional government without a programme
would be meaningless.
"I asked him [Kerry] what would be the purpose of transitional government?
It would not be workable without a programme to implement before elections
come," Machar told Sudan Tribune on Saturday.
"We need to have a peace agreement first with a new constitution. Putting
transitional government first is not realistic," he further argued.
Machar who lost his job in June last year for criticising Kiir's leadership
style while in office as the deputy-president on many occasions said the
differences between him and the president had never been personal or power
struggle between the two leaders.
The matter, he explained, had been about the future governance of South
Sudan as a state, hence the need to restructure the state on the basis of a
peace agreement and federal constitution.
He recalled that he was pushing for a democratic peaceful reform first
within the ruling party (SPLM) until he was forced to flee for his life and
formed an armed resistance.
President Kiir, he added, had lost legitimacy for orchestrating the
"genocide" in Juba against the Nuer ethnic group in mid-December last year,
saying people should not only speak about the killings in Bor or Bentiu
while downplaying the genocide which took place in the national capital.
MACHAR AGAINST SEPARATE REGIONAL FORCE DEPLOYMENT
The rebel leader also said he had reiterated to the American secretary of
state his rejection to the proposed deployment to South Sudan of IGAD
regional deterrent force.
"I would agree to deployment of a "protection force" from the region as part
of the current peacekeepers under the United Nations Mission in South Sudan
(UNMISS), but not as a separate "deterrent force" that will fight against us
like the Ugandan People's Defence Force (UPDF)," he stressed.
He further accused the government and such foreign forces including Sudanese
rebels of allegedly violating the cessation of hostilities agreement.
FACE-TO-FACE TALKS WITH SALVA KIIR PREMATURE
Machar also argued that there was no point of him meeting president Salva
Kiir face-to-face at this juncture of the negotiations between the two rival
delegations, saying this "may be counter-productive."
He however added he had a plan to meet with the Ethiopian prime minister
Haile Mariam Desalegn any time soon and that the Ethiopian premier would
inform him when to meet for consultations.
US ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Power on Friday said the two
South Sudanese leader must meet to reach an agreement to stop the suffering
of South Sudanese emphasising "we urge president Kiir and Riek Machar to
swiftly agree on a date for face to face talks".
The opposition leader further accused Salva Kiir's government of only
releasing 7 politicians on "bail" and keeping the other 4 recently released
by court under "house arrest" in Juba despite agreements between the two
parties to free them.
He also accused the government of violating the cessation of hostilities
agreement by not withdrawing the Ugandan forces as well as Sudanese rebels
who fight alongside the "regime" in Juba.
"The government also denies humanitarian access to the areas under our
control," he further said, accusing Juba of launching further offensives
against the rebels positions despite resumption of the peace talks in Addis
Ababa.
MACHAR NOT RELOCATED TO ETHIOPIAN BORDER
The South Sudanese rebels also denied on Friday reports claiming that Machar
had relocated to the Ethiopian border, allegedly due to fear of insecurity.
"Who said that? Dr. Riek Machar has not relocated anywhere. He is inside
South Sudan, Hussein Maar Nyuot," spokesperson for the rebels delegation at
the peace talks told Sudan Tribune on Friday in a separate interview.
The rebel official was reacting to reports which appeared on social media
and forums claiming that the opposition leader was forced to relocate to
Burebiey village on the Ethiopian side of the border, allegedly due to fear
of insecurity following claims that some armed Nuer youth in Nasir town
declared allegiance to Upper Nile state governor, Simon Kun Puoch.
Unconfirmed reports also on the social media and forums claimed, Ulang
County, one of the rebel held strongholds in Upper Nile state was captured
by the SPLA forces after the local chief identified as Tut Thon, declared
allegiance to governor Puoch.
However, Machar's spokesperson James Gatdet Dak has confirmed to Sudan
Tribune that government forces did actually overrun Ulang and set it ablaze.
Dak added that government troops were however repulsed on Saturday by the
White Army that reinforced the area from Nasir.
May 4, 2014 (JUBA/KAMPALA) - South Sudanese army captured Nasir a rebel
stronghold town in Upper Nile state and Bentiu, the capital of Unity State,
the government and rebels confirmed to Sudan Tribune on Sunday.
The SPLA spokesperson Colonel Philip Aguer on Sunday told Sudan Tribune that
Nasir which is on the north side of the Sobat River, 30 kilometres from the
Ethiopian border,. is since this morning in the hands of the government
forces.
He further said the SPLA troops recaptured Bentiu, capital of the oil rich
Unity state .
Aguer further said the army has retaken Nasir from the rebels in response to
rebel constant attacks.
"It was used by rebels as a base to attack Malakal," he said.
"We have a constitutional duty to protect the country. we are not violating
cessation of hostilities agreement, " Aguer stressed.
A rebel official from Nasir confirmed to Sudan Tribune their tactical
withdrawal from the town adding "It's just a matter of time. Our forces will
soon flush them out of the area".
The attacks on rebel positions in the two towns started Saturday night
according to the rebels who accused the Sudanese rebel groups of taking part
in the two operations.
South Sudan rebel commander in Unity state Maj.Gen. James Koang Chuol has
confirmed the recapture of Bentiu town and accused the Sudanese rebel groups
of JEM and SPLA-N of participating in the attack besides the South Sudanese
army.
The Sudanese rebel groups deny involving their fighters in the South
Sudanese conflict.
Chuol vowed that his troops will soon re-seize Bentiu adding "We will kick
them out soon, it will not take us some days or hours".