South Sudan says Machar will attend IGAD summit in Juba

November 16, 2015 (JUBA)-South Sudanese government disputed media reports quoting leading officials in the armed opposition leadership expressing doubts of participation of their leader, Riek Machar, in the upcoming regional heads of state and government summit in Juba.

SPLM-IO said its leader Riek Machar will not attend a summit of IGAD leaders to take place in Juba during the upcoming days saying he was not informed about it. The group further insisted on the need to allow the advance team and to settle some political and security issues in the peace agreement before his return to Juba.

Presidential advisor on decentralization and intergovernmental linkage, Tor Deng Mawien, on Monday told Sudan Tribune that the government had received information from the intergovernmental authority on development and other key players in the peace process that Machar will be one of the participants of the summit aimed at building confidence and commitment between the parties to the conflict and who have signed the peace deal to end more than 21 month conflict in the country.

“I have not received any new information. What I know and this was the information which the government had received from the office of the IGAD mediators and other players in the peace process was that Riek would attend the summit. He was not coming to stay. This has not changed,” said Mawien.

The presidential aide said he was getting information in the media statements suggesting Machar will not attend the summit contrary to the information which the government had received.

Meanwhile defence minister Kuol Manyang Juuk also confirmed in a separate interview that Machar will be in Juba with the leaders of IGAD countries, who will be attending the summit.

“Preparations for the summits are completed. The heads of state of the IGAD member countries will come for a one day summit here in Juba. The summit will be attended by Riek Machar and members of the former detainees”, said Juuk, a close political and military ally of President Salva Kiir.

The top defence official accused an unnamed people of discouraging the participation of the rival officials at the summit allegedly for lack of assurance of safety and security once in the country.

“I think those who may be talking of insecurity, telling them that they will be insecure are people who do not want peace,” Juuk told Eye Radio in an interview on Monday.

“They are happy to see these people remain out, but why? For what reason? We are people of South Sudan. It is not the first time for us to disagree, to fight. Even in our own tribes, we fight and reconcile by ourselves, he said.

He stressed Machar and members of former detainees who would attend the summit will be accompanied by a force ranging between 300 to 500 combat personnel.

(ST)