S. Sudan welcomes US pledge to support peace implementation
October 10, 2015 (JUBA) – The South Sudanese government has welcomed America’s willingness to support implementation of the peace accord it signed with the armed opposition faction in August.
“We are ready to work with them in the implementation of the peace agreement”, he added.
Washington, the minister said, played a leading in supporting the cause of the liberation struggle against repressive regimes in Sudan, further stressing it was “unfortunate the support has been declining instead of growing after the independence of South Sudan”.
“The support of the American government and people was visible. They never swayed and as a country, we were supporting this pledge to continue to help in nation building. This was why when this senseless conflict erupted and the American government came out to support resolution of the conflict, we, as the government did not hesitate to welcome their involvement,” Marial told Sudan Tribune.
The minister reiterated South Sudan’s commitment to the peaceful resolution of the young nation’s ongoing conflict, through dialogue.
“Now the peace is signed, we remain ready to implement it”, he said.
Gordon Buay, a South Sudanese diplomat in Washington separately told Sudan Tribune that government was ready to work with the international community in the implementation of the compromise peace accord signed with armed opposition faction.
The US, he said, had was no longer threatening sanctions, but rather talking about supporting implementation of the peace agreement.
“As a government, we welcome the change of tone from the government of the United States of America from sanctions to support of the implementation of the peace [deal]. Resolution of the conflict through peaceful dialogue has been what the government has been advocating for since this conflict begun,” said Buay.
He cited President Salva Kiir’s immediate declaration of a permanent ceasefire soon after the peace agreement was signed in August as part of South Sudanese leader’s commitment to dialogue.
“The president himself declared permanent ceasefire and ordered the chief of general staff to implement the agreement. There was nothing we did not do as government to implement the agreement after we signed it to be blamed,” Buay told Sudan Tribune.
“We sent generals to participate in the ceasefire workshop in Addis Ababa and our government signed resolutions of the workshop. The rebels refused. What did we not do to implement the agreement, tell me,” he said.
According to Buay, the US and the world’s youngest nation share a lot in common.
“One common thing between South Sudan and the United States of America is secularism. Majority of the United States of America are Christians, as is the case in our country. We are a secular state as it is in the United States. Our constitution does not support a particular religion as the basis of governing system as it is the case in the US,” he said.
US-SOUTH SUDAN RELATIONS
The US recognised South Sudan as a sovereign, independent state on 9 July, 2011 following its secession from Sudan. Washington played a key role in helping create the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement that laid the groundwork for the 2011 referendum on self-determination, through which the people of South Sudan overwhelmingly voted for independence.
Several disputes between Sudan and South Sudan remain unresolved post-independence, including demarcation of the border, status and rights of the citizens of each country in the other, and the status of the contested oil-producing Abyei region.
Following the outbreak of conflict in December 2015, the US supported the regional bloc in its mediation efforts between South Sudan’s warring parties, which resulted in the signing of the Agreement to Resolve the Conflict in South Sudan in August 2015.
The agreement calls for the creation of a Transitional Government of National Unity (TGNU) to administer the country until new elections are conducted in 2018.
(ST)