S. Sudan’s warring factions to tackle accountability and justice: spokesperson
January 25, 2015 (ADDIS ABABA) – South Sudan’s rebel faction led by former vice president Riek Machar has refuted allegations that issues of accountability and justice which have arisen from the country’s more than one-year-long conflict have been dropped from the agenda of the peace process.
Concerns have been raised through the media alleging that the recent Arusha roadmap agreement which aims to reunify the three factions of the Sudan Peoples’ Liberation Movement (SPLM) has deleted issues of justice and accountability from the roadmap deal.
Officials from the rebel faction have however refuted the observations, saying the issues will be tackled through other “appropriate” channels.
“No, it is not true. These issues of accountability and justice will also be tackled through appropriate channels and forum,” said Machar’s spokesperson, James Gatdet Dak when reached by Sudan Tribune on Saturday.
Similarly, Dak added, issues such as security arrangements and governance, including federalism which were not mentioned in the intra-SPLM agreement on reunification in Arusha, will also be tackled in Addis Ababa.
He said the intra-SPLM roadmap agreement had mainly provided for disqualification of the party leaders who will be found directly responsible for the atrocities against civilians in Juba and other crimes in other areas.
The agreement, he added, also provided for compensation and reparation of the victims, implying that the issues will be tackled.
Dak further clarified that the parties were waiting for report from the African Union’s Commission of Inquiry which had been investigating the matter and chaired by the Nigerian former president Olusegun Obasanjo.
“We want the AU’s Commission of Inquiry to release and make public the report on genocide in Juba including other war crimes and crimes against humanity. This will officially inform the parties about the magnitude and extent to which damages have been inflicted,” he said.
He further pointed out that justice and accountability including the need for compensation and reparation were already on the negotiation table in the Addis Ababa’s peace process under the auspices of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD).
The SPLM-IO hopes that AU would release the report to the public in the coming summit in Addis Ababa, he said.
During the African Union summit in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea Last June, the African Union Commission of inquiry on South Sudan conflict asked to extend its mandate saying their need to carry out more investigations.
The five-member team, which was established in March 2014, said they will focus on accountability, justice and reconciliation and vowed to present their final report to the upcoming summit of the African Union leaders.
(ST)