South Sudan’s Amum accuses president Kiir of reneging on peace agreement
September 22, 2015 (NAIROBI) – The reinstated secretary general of the South Sudan’s governing party, the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM), Pagan Amum, has accused President Salva Kiir of attempting to abrogate the recently signed peace agreement with the armed opposition leader, Riek Machar and his group of the former detainees.
“We are traveling to New York and will be meeting with different heads of state. Those of the region and African continent and the rest of the international community to mobilize support for implementation of the peace agreement,” he said.
Amum, who also represents the former detainees in the peace agreement, said while in New York he will have an opportunity to continue to touch base with the opposition leader and first vice-president designate, Machar, and James Wani Igga, current vice- president.
He however said President Kiir is not committed to implement the peace agreement based on his “negative” public comments and previous reluctance to sign the peace deal with a list of reservations.
The ruling party secretary-general recalled President Kiir’s comments when he said the agreement was neither a Quran nor a Bible, adding that the South Sudanese leader was imitating the same comment which former Sudanese president Nimieri uttered when he was about to abrogate the Addis Ababa agreement of 1972.
“He [Kiir] is not for implementation but for abrogation of the agreement. This is very unfortunate,” said Amum.
He further recalled that it became a surprise when President Kiir refused to sign the peace agreement with Machar and others in Addis Ababa on 17 August, saying all preparations were made for him to sign and he had already agreed.
The only outstanding issue Kiir complained of, he recalled, was the power sharing in the three states of the oil-rich Upper Nile state which initially gave the armed opposition of Machar 53%, government 33% and former detainees and political parties sharing the remaining 14%.
However, Amum said in his meeting with the president after the percentage of power sharing in governments of the Greater Upper Nile region was changed to 40%, 46% and 14%, respectively, Kiir agreed to sign the deal and travelled to Addis Ababa for this purpose.
He said the president even told him to carry the message to mediators and the opposition leader, Machar, that he was ready to sign the agreement on 17 August, but Amum accused unnamed people around the president for changing his mind in the last minute when he surprised everybody that he wouldn’t sign it.
He added that the list of reservations by president Kiir in the agreement are a clear indication that he is not ready to fully implement the peace agreement.
KIIR AGAINST SPLM REUNIFICATION
Amum also accused his party chairman of trying to fail the Arusha agreement on reunification of the SPLM party, saying the president has been reluctant to implement or pursue the party accord and that its implementation had been “frustrating.”
He revealed that when the former detainees, or sometimes referred to as G-10 arrived in Juba for the reunification agreement, Kiir was suspicious and asked them questions contrary to the spirit of the deal.
“Even President Kiir himself was asking why we were returning back. He was telling me that he wanted to know why are we back… That we have hidden agenda to overthrow the government. I told him we are back to reunite the SPLM,” he further recalled.
He also added that he could not return to Juba after signing the agreement and before formation of the transitional government due to threats uttered against him by the government.
“Government launched hostility against G-10 for signing the peace deal. The threats made them not to go back to Juba,” he said.
He further accused the government of employing “assassinating characters” of members of the former detainees. He also stressed that the recent comments by the president revealed that he was not interested to reunite the ruling party.
Amum however said he had informed the ruling parties of Tanzania and South Africa, who mediate between the SPLM factions, about the ill-intentions of president Kiir to kill the party and appealed to their governments to help achieve the reunification of the party.
(ST)