S. Sudan political leaders demand peaceful end to conflict

November 24, 2014 (JUBA) – A forum of South Sudanese political leaders has urged the country’s warring parties to make the necessary concessions to end the ongoing war in the young nation.

The call came as reports emerged that the eighth session of peace negotiations led by the East African regional bloc (IGAD) initially scheduled for 25 November in Ethiopia, had been adjourned indefinitely.

“This is yet another sign that the warring parties do not have the political will to bring this destructive war to an end,” said the political parties in a joint press release.

Leaders of the various political parties also questioned the intentions of the two warring parties holding public gatherings, which they said would only serve public relations purposes than serious consultations on key sticking points in the ongoing peace negotiations.

“We are told that the SPLM/A-IO is calling its commanders to Pagak, a border location, to meet and resolve the sharing of executive powers between the President and the Prime Minister. Not to be outsmarted, the government is also calling for a gathering on the 24th instant on the same issue,” partly reads the parties’ statement.

“This is not the first time for the two warring parties to break for consultations, and we never saw such gatherings before. What is new this time? The answer lies in that no party, or at least the hawks within each, would like to make the concessions needed to make an agreement possible, and would want to mislead public opinion that the positions they are advocating were “popularly” adopted,” it adds.

The political leaders said they were closely following all meetings taking place in regional and international capitals on the fate of South Sudan and urged the warring sides to “quickly” reach a deal.

“While the future of our country is being debated in foreign capitals, there is no sign that the warring parties are taking serious steps towards concluding a peace agreement that will bring the current devastating civil war to an end. A lot of time is being wasted in promoting tactical positions that have nothing to do with the interest of our people,” stressed the leaders in their 22 November release.

“At this pace, how long will we need to get a peace agreement in place?” it added.

Early this month, African regional leaders gave a 15-days ultimatum to the warring factions in South Sudan to reach an agreement on outstanding issues and seal a final deal.

IGAD’s chief mediator, Seyoum Mesfin said then that the two warring parties has been requested to iron out their differences and reach an agreement within the period given.

He expressed optimism a peace deal would be reached within the specified period as both leaders of the warring parties reportedly agreed on most power-sharing issues.

It wasn’t, however, immediately clear which issues had been resolved at the meeting.

The South Sudanese government under president Salva Kiir and rebel forces loyal to former vice-president, Riek Machar have been engaged in an armed struggle since mid-December last year when a political split in the ruling SPLM turned violent.

The conflict has left tens of thousands dead and forced out over 1.8 million from their homes.

(ST)