S. Sudan opposition leader questions gov’t commitment to peace talks

August 6, 2015 (JUBA) – South Sudan’s main opposition leader said the government’s decision to block other parties from taking part in the next round of peace talks showed “ lack of confidence in itself” and could jeopardise efforts to end the war through dialogue.

Speaking to reporters after he was prevented from boarding a plane for Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on Thursday, Lam Akol, the leader who heads the country’s alliance of opposition political parties, said he was not surprised by government’s action.

“But if you don’t appear in the airport, they will say they just did not come. So we did that in order to close any excuse for the government,” said Akol.

“The government seems to be thinking that it can settle the matter on the ground of which I don’t think so,” he added.

Seven opposition politicians, including Akol, were stopped from boarding the plane after checking in at Juba airport on Thursday. The group, along with other seven politicians of parties allied to the ruling SPLM party, was invited to participate in the peace talks by mediators from the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) in Ethiopia.

Akol was first stopped from leaving Juba in September last year after the government accused him of allegedly favouring the rebels’ point of view. He however denies all these.

KIIR IS REPRESSIVE

The veteran politician said the government of President Salva Kiir, which ordered closure of several media outlets in the country this week, was “increasingly becoming repressive.”

“It is very clear now that the government is getting repressive. It is lacking confidence in itself. It is closing the media because the media can allow other point of view to be expressed,” said Akol, who broke away from SPLM in 2009 and formed his SPLM for Democratic Change (SPLM-DC). He unsuccessfully challenged Kiir in the 2010 elections.

“It [the government] is against the political parties that are not supporting it to participate in the peace talks,” he said.

Meanwhile, the other political parties allied to the juba regime joined the government delegation on a plane to the Ethiopian capital on Thursday. The same group was last year prevented from attending the peace talks after the government blocked Akol’s team.

Talks between the two main rivals in the South Sudan conflict are expected to resume on 6 August as pressure mounts ahead of the 17 August deadline set by regional mediators.

(ST)