South Sudan completes preparation to hold national dialogue on Monday
May 21, 2017 (JUBA) – The South Sudanese government has announced that the national dialogue, will convene on Monday 22 May after a long delay in order to include holdout opposition leaders.
Juba has warned the armed and non-opposition groups which have refused to join the dialogue, that any attempt to sabotaging the government-led political process will not be tolerated.
According to leading members of the organising team, President Kiir has given the go ahead to invite, accommodate and provide necessary logistics to the national dialogue committee.
“I am glad to let the people of South Sudan through the media know that the long-awaited national dialogue committee on which the secretariat has been working will be officially opened on Monday,” said Daniel Awet Akot, the Presidential advisor on military affairs.
“This will not only be in Juba alone. It is a bottom-up dialogue and so a general national dialogue will start in all the states across the country,” he further said.
Akot went on to say that President Kiir who is the chairman of the process would just open the proceedings, but the real work would be done by the co-chairpersons.
The Presidential advisor told Sudan Tribune on Sunday that President Kiir had already met delegates representing several factions.
Akot’s commented that the President would no longer wait for opposition parties, adding that he would extend patience but he would not allow the dialogue to fail.
He noted that his administration could not force opposition parties to join the national dialogue, asserting that any attempt to undermine it would not succeed because of the significant political and social support it has received in the country.
Meanwhile, the Presidential press secretary said in a statement, “the office of the President appeals to all the members of the steering committee, including Co-Chairpersons, Vice Chairperson, the Rapporteur, and two deputy rapporteurs, Foreign External Members, and the Secretaries to came to sign their names.”
The press secretary further reminded the Centre for Peace and Development Studies, Ebony Centre, to send the names of two members into addition to the representative from South Sudan Council of Churches which has been allotted three members and South Sudan Islamic Council with one member.
(ST)