South Sudan’s Machar travels to New York for UN summit on his country
September 25, 2015 (ADDIS ABABA) – South Sudan’s first vice-president designate, Riek Machar, has travelled to New York to participate in a high profile summit of world’s heads of state and government organized by the United Nations (UN) Secretary General, Ban Ki Moon, his office’s spokesperson has confirmed.
He said Machar will participate in the UN summit on South Sudan by the General Assembly which will bring together heads of state and government from around the world for the first time after signing the peace agreement to end the 21-month long civil war in the country.
The UN summit aims to galvanize international community’s support in the full implementation of the peace deal signed in August by president Salva Kiir and the opposition leader.
Dak said thousands of members and supporters of Machar’s faction of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM-IO) have travelled from various states in the United States and Canada and gathered in New York to receive upon his arrival.
He added that the top opposition leader is leading a high level delegation composed of senior several officials of the movement.
The spokesperson said Machar will also tour a number of states in the US after the New York summit in order to interact with the South Sudanese communities and inform them about the peace agreement and garner their support in its implementation.
Vice-President James Wani who represents President Salva Kiir, also arrived in New York on Thursday, leading the government’s high-level delegation.
He reportedly complained that neither UN nor US senior government official received him at the airport, saying he was “treated like a normal traveller” in New York.
Earlier, South Sudan’s information minister, Michael Makuei Lueth, revealed that president Kiir refused to attend the world’s summit on South Sudan in protest that he was being treated like a “schoolboy’ by the United Nations.
SPLM secretary general Pagan Amum who is also representative of former detainees, will participate in the high profile gathering.
In a related development, the South Sudanese embassy in Washington announced that the vice-president James Wanni Igga will travel to Kansas City on 3 October to brief the South Sudanese community about the implementation of the peace agreement, the SPLM reunification process and the need for Diaspora support to its implementation.
(ST)