Sudan’s Kiir urges govt to open up political space for northern forces
KHARTOUM, Aug 15, 2005 (Sudan Tribune) — The first vice-president and the chairman of the SPLM/A Salva Kiir Mayar Dit, has called upon partners in the ruling National Congress (NC) to open up political space for the northern political forces to participate in the government.
On the other hand, the first vice-president also called on the southern political forces to participate in the Southern Sudan government in order to enable all parties to contribute in nation building and strengthen unity.
In an interview with the national television yesterday, Vice-President Kiir said the peace agreement has not been implemented yet. He added “Even though some steps had been implemented, it was not strong as expected – a lot of things could have been implemented in the past period of the agreement.”
In this regard, he said, the transitional government have not been formed and the transitional constitution for southern Sudan has not been drafted yet. He also said that the multinational UN peacekeeping forces were yet to be deployed.
Vice-President Kiir further affirmed the importance of hastening the implementation of the peace agreement to block the plot by what he called enemies of peace who would move to sabotage it in the event of any delay in its practical implementation.
He further reiterated the SPLM/A’s commitment in collaboration with the NC to implement the Naivasha peace accord.
He said that government’s priority in the coming period is the resolution of the crisis in Darfur and in the east of the country.
He stressed the need for a comprehensive peace saying “If we realize peace in these two regions – the peace agreement will be comprehensive or else it will not”.
He pointed out that the government would adopt practical steps to realize this.
In this regard, the first vice-president sent a message to the armed factions in Darfur and in the East of the country urging them to respond to the government’s efforts which will be supported by the SPLM/A in order to enable every citizen of this country to live in peace.
Material provided by the BBC Monitoring Service.