S. Sudan peace partners trade blame over failure to form transitional gov’t

January 23, 2016 (JUBA) - South Sudanese peace partners on Saturday blamed each other for allegedly having intentions to derail implementation of the peace agreement which they signed in August 2015 to end more than two years war in the country.

Presidential spokesperson Ateny Wek Ateny said president Salva Kiir ’s administration are fully committed to full implementation of the agreement, denying that the decision of the president to unilaterally establish 28 new states was to derail the peace process, but was intended to ensure the views of others were also considered.

According to Ateny, the commitment of the government to implementing peace, was demonstrated in the distribution and allocation of the key ministerial portfolios and the acceptance to form transitional government of national unity as per schedule.

He asserted that creation of more states with subsequent appointment of the governors by the president was a violation of the agreement but a response to the demand of the government and should be construed to mean violation of the peace agreement.

Ateny said the aim of the establishment order was to take services close to the people and move government close to them in order to reduce congestion in urban centers.

But the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement in Opposition (SPLM-IO) argued that the action of the government particularly the unilateral action of president Salva Kiir to create more states after signed the peace agreement was an attempt to derail the implementation of the deal.

Mabior Garang de Mabior, son of the founding leader of the governing Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) said the group maintains implementation of the agreement without renegotiation and move the country forward with peace plans.

Mabior said his group had accepted the appointment of five presidential Advisors, two of whom will be nominees of his group and the three to be nominated by government.

The group also proposed that a replacement of parliamentary seat, which fell vacant should be done through by elections, not by appointment as proposed by government.

They are seeking an international intervention to break the deadlock over the key sticking issues though the Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Mechanism (JMEC), which is tasked with overseeing implementation of the peace deal, had called on the rebels and government to negotiate over the issue of 28 states to reach a solution to the matter.

(ST)