Josephine Lagu establishes new splinter group supporting S. Sudan peace deal
September 28, 2018 (JUBA) – Josephine Lagu Yanga, a former member of the opposition People’s Democratic Movement (PDM) negotiating team Friday announced that it will lead a faction gathering the group members supporting the revitalized peace agreement.
In a statement extended to Sudan Tribune on Friday, Lagu took note of Dario’s decision to relieve her from the party and explained that she is supportive of this imperfect deal because if faithfully implemented could lay the foundation for securing a sustainable peace”
“It is now clear that the People’s Democratic Movement (PDM) has fractured again into two factions: PDM and PDM for Peace (PDM-P). PDM under the leadership of Dr Hakim Moi Dario has rejected the Revitalised Peace Agreement for the Resolution of the Conflict in South Sudan,( R- ARCSS) 2018 in its totality,” she stressed.
She further said that the decision to establish the PDM-P was taken after a broad consultation with civil society groups, women’s groups, faith leaders and community elders both in Sudan, the region and in the Diaspora.
She further pointed that they have contributed to establish the South Sudan Opposition Alliance (SSOA)which is now the third significant political force in the country.
Adding “We will continue to work within the block”.
The PDM, South Sudan National Movement for Change (SSNMC) and the National Salvation Front (NAS) are three groups that rejected the revitalized peace agreement and experienced a split over the revitalized peace agreement.
Observers agree that the dynamic of fragmentation now hits the holdout groups, wondering if this development would encourage them to reconsider their position or to move towards an open obstruction of the implementation process of the peace agreement through the armed action.
Lagu who is now the Interim Chairperson of the People’s Democratic Movement for Peace said that its faction will work within the SSOA as a non-armed movement.
She vowed to work to achieve “social justice, equality, inclusivity, democratic transformation, equitable participation in national decision-making processes, rule of law, fundamental freedoms, human and people’s rights throughout the implementation process and beyond”.
(ST)