Mabior Garang accuses President Kiir’s government of attacking opposition forces
March 11, 2016 (JUBA) – Mabior Garang de Mabior, eldest son of the founder of the ruling Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM), late John Garang de Mabior, and a senior official in the armed opposition faction of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM-IO) led by the South Sudan’s First Vice President designate, Riek Machar, has accused the South Sudanese army (SPLA) loyal to President Salva Kiir of carrying out new attacks on opposition’s locations in Upper Nile state in violation of the permanent ceasefire.
“The forces of the government attacked SPLM/SPLA (in opposition) positions ten kilometers (10km) east of Nassir Town; the government forces also attacked SPLM/SPLA (in opposition) positions in Pandanyang, Torpuot and Nyatot Payams on the eastern bank of River Sobat,’ he claimed.
Mabior, who is the chairperson of the opposition faction’s national committee for information and public relations, described the recent government’s attacks as instigated by “rogue” army commanders in the government.
He called on the leadership of the Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission (JMEC), a body established to monitor the implementation of the August 2015 peace agreement signed between Kiir and Machar, to investigate the violations by the government.
“The SPLM/SPLA (in opposition) calls on the Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission (JMEC) to investigate these blatant violations committed by rogue government military commanders, who continue to wage war despite the signing of the Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in South Sudan (ARCISS),” he said.
Mabior also directly called on President Salva Kiir, to “rein in on the hard-liners in his government”; who he said were making peace impossible to implement in letter and spirit.
He also added that the “hard-liners in the government” continue to illegally detain and torture journalists, as witnessed by the most recent incident of Afandy Joseph Deng, who was arrested, tortured and dumped at a grave yard by suspected government security operatives.
“This type of unruly behaviour can only create a negative environment for the implementation of the ARCISS,” Mabior further lamented.
“The hard-liners in the government should not misinterpret the SPLM/SPLA (in opposition) desire for peace as weakness; the Movement wants to give the ARCISS a chance. The contention of the SPLM/SPLA (in opposition) is that the implementation of the ARCISS presents the best opportunity for the people of South Sudan to extricate themselves from the senseless war which has been imposed on them.”
The forces of the SPLM-IO, he added, however remained vigilant and shall continue to exercise the “natural right of self-defence” – while using all means to persuade the government to abandon the pursuit of a military solution to the conflict.
He said the full implementation of the peace deal is the only solution to end the war and embark on national development.
The peace agreement aimed to end the 21 months of war and to form a transitional unity government which will run the country for two and a half years at the end of which a general election shall be conducted.
(ST)