S. Sudan rebel leader again snubs dialogue team in S. Africa
October 12, 2017 (JUBA) – Members of South Sudan’s national dialogue steering committee that traveled to South Africa for a retreat have issued a statement regretting failure to meet Riek Machar, the leader of the armed opposition faction, on the second attempt.
The team, in its 12 October statement, said it failed to meet Machar despite a request passed through South Africa’s Deputy President, Cyril Ramaphosa.
“Regrettably, this time again, we have received a word back from deputy president Ramaphosa’s office, that Dr. Machar has again turned down our request to meet him. Despite this latest turn by our brother and son of South Sudan, Dr. Riek Machar Teny, we wish by this statement, to reassure our downtrodden people, that the doors of the national dialogue remain open to Dr. Machar and to any other South Sudanese political and military leader, who has a point of view that may enhance the process of the national dialogue leading to peace, security, reconciliation and national unity for all the people of our beloved young republic of South Sudan”, reads the statement .
Several opposition figures allied to Machar also confirmed that their leader turned down the request, citing lack of credibility of the process and non-impartiality of the group seeking to meet him.
“We have said time and again that the dialogue is important but it is not the priority in the current situation. You cannot have a situation in which there is a continuing fighting, yet the same government which is on offensive goes around for public relations purpose and claiming to be conducting dialogue. Conducting dialogue with whom while committing atrocities? People are in displaced camps, others have fled the country to neighbouring countries yet they do not see this as a priority”, Gabriel Lam Duop, a leading armed opposition official told Sudan Tribune on Thursday.
The former labour and public service minister questioned the credibility of the team, casting doubt on the independence of the team.
“This is the team that goes to Salva Kiir whenever it wants to travel anywhere for this purported dialogue so that they are given instructions. So what do you expect from such people? The rhetoric about the independence of that body being peddled in the media is just nonsense,” further stated Duop.
He added, “Who does not know they were appointed by Salva Kiir? If they want, they can call it their own monologue”, he added.
Ramaphosa, also the deputy chairman of the South Africa’s ruling party (ANC), said he is optimistic the South Sudan crisis will be solved.
“I come from a process that looked unsolvable. When we started our process, I always knew we would be successful,” he told the dialogue team in South Africa while calling for a commitment from South Sudanese leaders in the peace process.
(ST)