South Sudan’s Kiir to skip peace talks as government pulls out

President Salva Kiir, (L), accompanied by army chief of staff Paul Malong Awan, (R), waves during an independence day ceremony in the capital Juba, on July 9, 2015 (Photo AP)

Martin Elia Lomoro, minister of cabinet affairs told reporters that government lead negotiators have been called back to Juba for consultations. Governors of the ten states were also called to Juba for consultations with the president.

“It is decided that the first thing to do is to recall the chief negotiator of the government to come and brief the leadership and stakeholders on where they have reached so far in the talks,” Lomoro revealed to reporters, after a cabinet meeting chaired by president Kiir on Friday and attended by governors of the ten states.

Lomoro said chief negotiator, Nhial Deng Nhial, will brief government on areas agreed or disagreed with the rebels in the peace proposal. He also alleged that there was “confusion” on who is in charge of the SPLM in opposition led by Machar after several military generals “disowned” him.

“This is essential because if the president is going to go to Addis Ababa, he must go with clear mind as to who he is going to meet and negotiate with. So we are requesting IGAD to establish and to inform us that whether Dr. Riek is still in charge,” he said.

He said the meeting also agreed to first establish in clear terms what was happening in the camp of the SPLM-IO because, he claimed, 13 of the generals in the ranks of the rebels have defected and declared Machar as not their leader.

GOVERNMENT DEFIES THREATS

Cabinet minister Lomoro rebuked utterances attributed to IGAD’s chief mediator, Seyoum Mesfin, that the negotiators would not be allowed to leave the venue of the talks in Addis Ababa without signing a peace agreement on 17 August.

“We feel this is not the attitude and a language of a mediator, but a language of somebody who has bad intentions for the Republic of South Sudan,” said Lomoro.

He criticised the IGAD mediation, saying the regional bloc’s leadership should rethink their position on the way that they approached the ongoing negotiations.

Eastern Equatoria state governor, Luis Lobong Lojore, read the governor’s position paper to reporters on Friday, downplaying the 17 August ultimatum by IGAD.

“You don’t give intimidations. So we want to appeal to the IGAD-Plus and other international community that bringing about peace is a process, requires time and it is better to go slow,” he said.

Also IGAD-Plus compromise peace proposal has been changed in a meeting in Kampala between four regional leaders in which provisions on power sharing and security arrangements have been replaced, drawing criticism from the rebels and others that the East African mediation was “confusing” the peace process.

Observers say the abruptly changed IGAD-Plus peace proposal and the internal differences within the rebels camp would be perfectly used by either side in the conflict to delay the signing of a final peace agreement.

IGAD mediation said they would not give any further extension to the 17 August deadline.