SPLM-IO refutes travel of senior military commanders to Juba

October 1, 2015 (ADDIS ABABA) – South Sudanese armed opposition faction, SPLM-IO, led by first vice-president designate, Riek Machar, has refuted claims that their senior military commanders will travel to Juba on Friday to take part in implementation of security arrangements.

“This is not true. The joint military command of the two armies is yet to finalize security arrangements at the workshop in Addis Ababa before other steps can be taken,” Machar’s press secretary, James Gatdet Dak, told Sudan Tribune on Thursday.

Dak said many outstanding issues had remained unresolved during the recent workshop which brought together senior generals from president Salva Kiir’s government and the armed opposition faction.

These, he said, include need of understanding on demilitarization of the national capital, Juba, and other state capitals and major towns and the sizes and compositions of joint forces that will remain or be deployed in the demilitarized areas.

A statement attributed to the government’s spokesman, information minister, Michael Makuei Lueth, alleged that senior officers from the SPLM-IO were heading to Juba on Friday.

Lueth also accused the opposition of refusing to sign the document on the security arrangements worked out at the workshop, which the government initialled.

But the opposition leader’s spokesman argued that what was signed by the government without knowledge of the opposition were recorded minutes of debates containing contradicting suggestions from the rival parties and therefore it was not a harmonized text or resolution from the parties.

For instance, he said in the document while the opposition was suggesting a joint force of less than 1,000 soldiers to guide barracks, bases and warehouses in Juba, the government was demanding an army division of over 10,000 troops, in contradiction to the provision on demilitarization.

He however said an advance team of officers and other officials would travel to Juba after agreement on the security arrangements is reached in implementing the deal by deploying SPLM-IO forces in the capital and in other major towns.

The opposition, he added, had been ready to further deliberate on the minutes and adopt them in Addis Ababa so as to become an agreement, calling on the government to avail its delegation at the workshop.

United Nations and African Union in their recent summits in New York have urged the two parties to speedily workout the security arrangements in order to pave way for implementation of the rest of provisions in the peace deal.

(ST)