South Sudan’s rebels accuse government of pretext to harm IDPs
November 4, 2014 (ADDIS ABABA) – The spokesperson for the rebel leader and former vice-president, Riek Machar, has accused president Salva Kiir’s government of looking for a pretext in order to further harm the internally displaced persons (IDPs) who have since December taken refuge in camps manned by the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS).
Dak was responding to president Kiir’s recent comments in various occasions during the governors’ forum in the capital, Juba, and in an interview with Al-jazeera on Sunday in which he maintained that there were pro-Machar soldiers with guns inside UNMISS camps, a claim which UNMISS officials used to dismiss.
Kiir also renewed his accusation against his former right-hand man, saying he staged a failed coup, adding that he will not accept to share power with Machar in a transitional government, unless a position given to the rebels is non-executive.
The South Sudanese president further accused the rebel faction of allegedly opting for a military solution in which he withdrew his negotiating team in protest, saying he could not bring peace alone.
The rebel group’s spokesman however said president Kiir’s comments were not surprising because he was the “architect” of the current war and wanted to continue with the “illusion to crush his political opponents using an imaginary military might”.
He said the South Sudanese president was looking for a way to harm the IDPs.
“Salva Kiir wants to kill the remnants of Nuer civilians who have survived the Juba massacres in December. He is not happy seeing them surviving in UNMISS camps. This is the same reason his soldiers disguised as civilians and attacked and killed many IDPs inside Bor UNMISS camp on 17 April,” Dak said, adding that government soldiers on Friday also attacked IDPs inside Rubkotni UNMISS base in Unity state, also using them as human shield in the fight against the opposition forces.
Dak also dismissed insistence by the government that there was a coup attempt by Machar in December which sparked off the violence. He also said the government failed to prove it even in court, saying their only proof was that Machar ran away from Juba.
He also said the comments were a deviation from the understanding which came out from the recent Arusha initiative which clearly stated that the crisis was an internal misunderstanding within the ruling SPLM party and leadership.
He also said despite the crisis allegedly created by president Kiir, the rebel group were committed to peaceful settlement to the conflict.
However, Dak said the opposition group would not accept a power-sharing without executive powers on their part, adding that this would be a meaningless peace agreement with no guarantees to ensure its implementation and to prevent future abuse of power or reignite another crisis.
He criticised the government for withdrawing its delegation from the talks, dismissing claims that president Kiir could not bring peace alone.
“He [Kiir] created the current crisis. He can also decide to end it. If he alone decides to step down from the presidency, I think he would make a giant leap towards peaceful political settlement,” he said.
(ST)