Kiir-Riek second face-to-face meeting in Juba

By Bol Khan

The Saturday Arrival of Dr Riek Machar for second Face-to-Face Meeting with Pres. Salva Kiir in Juba rejuvenates and raises hope that the outstanding issues including security arrangements, number and boundaries of States shall get a final solution before the end of Oct 2019.

November 12 is fast approaching and before then all necessary arrangements need to be in place, as agreed upon in the six months extension framework document of the pre-transitional period. The people of South Sudan have suffered, they are despairing the hope that Kiir & Riek are there to restore peace to South Sudan.

Pres. Kiir & Dr Riek should use this second face-to-face meeting involving the UNSC/AUPSC members. The number and boundaries of States, Security Arrangements are issues that shouldn’t be stumbling block to peace in South Sudan, if Kiir & Riek really need to deliver a just and lasting peace!

The grassroots have one single message to two main principals, let the second face-to-face meeting in Juba have fruitful results. We wanted to see true “political will” of the two principals in the implementation of the peace agreement, the R-ARCSS.

This time, we need to see action speaking louder than words. The partisan and political interest vested around the number and boundaries of the States by the two respective parties (IG & IO) should remain behind for public interest to take roots. The speedy and sincere arrangements of all pending issues.

For instance, there is no reason to have the issue of 32 or 21 States blocked other pressing issues. Why, because the IBC report clearly shown that the people South Sudanese have had overwhelmingly voted to go back to ten (10) initial States. Why such a wide-circulated decision can’t be made public?
Thanks

Bol Khan is a South Sudanese Civil Rights and Peace Activist. Reach him on [email protected] or WhatsApp him on +249969208381