South Sudanese political parties caution over peace deal
February 8, 2015 (JUBA) – The alliance of South Sudan’s major political parties warned that any peace agreement deal between the country’s warring parties devoid of addressing root causes of the conflict would be a recipe for another war in the future.
“It is unfortunate that IGAD (Intergovernmental Authority on Development) has never been consistent. This inconsistent role of shifting positions without regards to the root cause and for apparent reasons has been a significant factor in delaying resolution of the conflict,” Tut said on Friday.
“As you may all know, the IGAD has changed proposals from the proposal of prime minister to the proposal about the two vice presidents”, he added.
According to the spokesperson of the alliance, mediators of the talks have paid more attention on the power sharing proposal, largely ignoring the root causes of the conflict .
Also ignored, Tut stressed, are issues of accountability and justice systems for crimes committed by the two warring parties involved in the South Sudanese conflict.
“You may have noticed that the last four peace talk sessions discussed nothing but positions among the warring parties, yet the burning issues of corruption, atrocious crimes, and critical reforms of governance, economy and in the security sector were ignored”, said Tut.
“This is a recipe for another conflict if they are not addressed,” he further cautioned.
Lam Akol, the leader of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement for Democratic Change (SPLM-DC) said there were no genuine negotiations for peace in Ethiopia.
The alliance of political parties claimed the IGAD mediators be held responsible should the young nation fail to achieve any realistic political settlement of the raging conflict.
(ST)