S. Sudan praises China and Russia over rejection of UN sanctions
January 28, 2016 (JUBA) – South Sudanese government has commended China and Russia for rejecting a proposed imposition of sanctions on key leaders, including President Salva Kiir and armed opposition leader, Riek Machar, asserting that such a move would derail implementation of peace deal signed in August 2015 by the warring parties in the young country.
“The government of the republic of South Sudan welcomes the relentless efforts of the government and people of the people’s republic of China and the government of federal republic of Russia,” South Sudanese foreign affairs and international cooperation minister, Barnaba Marial Benjamin, said Thursday.
“The support for peaceful settlement of the conflict has been consistent with the government principle of settling the conflict through peaceful dialogue without threats of sanctions,” he explained.
He made the remarks in response to a recommendation from UN experts that the two principal leaders in the conflict be sanctioned.
Minister Benjamin revealed Egypt, Senegal and Angola are also some of the African countries at the council which rejected the United Nations experts to impose sanctions on leaders and oil production and sale as well as arms embargo.
Also South Sudanese minister of information and broadcasting, Micheal Makuei Lueth, in a separate comment to the media accused the UN experts of trying to effect a regime change by targeting key leaders from the two main sides of the government and the opposition faction.
Gordon Buay, one of South Sudanese representatives at its mission to the United States told Sudan Tribune in a separate interview on Wednesday that Russia and China had rejected imposition of sanctions on leaders and production and sale of oil.
China, according to Buay, said it would not approve an approach using sanctions to address the crisis in South Sudan recommended by the UN experts as possible measures to enforce a faltering peace process.
“You know there were four (4) recommendations by the UN (United Nations) experts. One of these recommendations was imposition of sanctions on leaders. The other was imposition of sanctions on oil production and third was on arms. The last was about human rights. The first three recommendations have been rejected by China, Russia and they were joined by the African countries which include Egypt, Angola and Senegal, which is a very big diplomatic achievement for us and for Africa,” said Buay.
The United States, he added, said it would seek legal opinion on human rights proposal before endorsing. This, Buay stressed, implies that most of the recommendations by the panel would not be endorsed by the Security Council of the United Nations.
UN experts have accused principal leaders, Kiir and Machar, of allegedly involving in direct execution of the war for the past two years.
(ST)