Minnawi calls on Kiir to involve Sudan’s neighbours in his peace initiative
August 20, 2019 (JUBA) – The head of the Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM), Minni Arko Minnawi, on Tuesday called on South Sudan’s President, Salva Kiir Mayardit, to involve other Sudan’s neighbours in his initiative for peace in Sudan.
“We asked President Salva Kiir during our meeting today at the presidential palace to include in his initiative regional neighbours, such as Chad, Egypt and Ethiopia so that they can also play their role in achieving peace and stability in Sudan,” Minnawi told reporters in Juba.
Minnawi stressed the need for the Sudanese parties to bear in mind when discussing peace issues in the country, that South Sudan was separated because of the racist practices carried out by successive regimes in Khartoum.
He said that the meeting with President Salva Kiir concluded that the parties practical steps before to launch the peace process in the coming days, and expressed hope that peace is achieved thanks to the southern neighbour and the efforts and contributions of the neighbouring countries.
Minnawi and the leaders of the two SPLM-N factions Abdel Aziz al-Hilu and Malik Agar arrived in Juba on Monday to discuss democratic transition and peace in Sudan after the collapse of the al-Bashir’s regime.
A few days ago, Justice and Equality Movement leader Gibril Ibrahim was in Juba to discuss ways to achieve peace in Sudan.
Recently, Cairo convened a meeting for the armed groups and their allies in the Forces for Freedom and Change (FFC) in a bide to narrow the gaps between the two sides on how to achieve peace in Sudan during the first six months of the transitional period.
Also, Egypt expressed to the rebel groups its willingness to host and broker the peace talks.
In a related development, the Sudan Liberation Forces Alliance (SLFA) Tuesday announced that its leader Tahir Hajer and his deputy Abdallah Yahia will head to Juba to join the meeting of the other armed groups with the South Sudanese government on peace in Sudan.
In remarks delivered on 17 August during the signing ceremony of the agreement on the transitional authority in Khartoum, Kiir said that his initiative is not driven by political, ideological, or economic calculations.
“Our support is driven by a genuine desire to live and prosper peacefully together with our brothers and sisters in Sudan,” he said.
(ST)