S. Sudan rebel official dismisses accusations against Machar
By Tesfa-Alem Tekle
December 2, 2017 (ADDIS ABABA) – The deputy representative of South Sudan’s armed opposition movement (SPLM-IO) in Tanzania has dismissed a statement in which the Juba government claimed rebel rebel leader, Riek Machar was unwilling to participate in the process to reunify the various factions of the country’s ruling party (SPLM).
“My chairman H.E. Dr. Riek Machar participated in the reunification meeting facilitated by the ruling Tanzanian Chama Cha Mapinduzi and the African National Congress in Arusha, Tanzania, in 2015 and a document which chart the way forward was signed by all the SPLM families,” he added.
Machar, the official stressed, was not against any process that is good for the nation and the people of South Sudan, but that he insists the only priority now is peace and then other things like the national dialogue, among other initiatives would follow accordingly.
“The regime in Juba should focus on returning peace to the country through the High Level Revitalization Forum, the last chance and opportunity given to the people of South Sudan by the IGAD [Intergovernmental Authority on Development], AU [African Union], the Troika and the rest of the world who are yearning for peace to return to South Sudan”, further said the armed opposition official.
“The suffering of South Sudanese people is beyond measure and we must stop this suffering through peaceful settlement of the conflict,” he added.
Kleto appealed to the nation’s citizens and those in the coalition government to “stop blame game” and to give peace a chance.
“We did not fight for over fifty years so that we can become the new oppressors of our own people, we fought so that our people can be free and have a country they call home. Let us not dwell on the past but focus on the future of our country. My Chairman H.E Dr. Riek Machar Teny Dhurgon is a victim of good intention,” he stressed.
“He [Machar] is a victim of good intention because he is being punish for trying to create a democratic state based on equality, justice, unity and development,” added the official.
The rebel official urged South Sudan President Salva Kiir to ignore advices of those he claimed were benefiting from war and suffering of our people and “unconditionally” accept the resuscitation of the August 2015 Agreement and implement it in good faith.
“Leadership is about taking painful decisions for the sake and interest of your country and the people, it’s not about enriching those around you to the exclusion of the majority,” he observed.
South Sudan, Africa’s youngest nation, plunged into chaos in December 2013 when President Salva Kiir accused his former deputy Riek Machar of attempting a coup, an accusation the latter denies.
(ST)