South Sudan opposition accuses authorities of sabotaging Nairobi peace talks – Sudans Post
JUBA – South Sudan opposition teams concerned within the Kenya-led Tumaini peace initiative have accused the federal government in Juba of sabotaging the method by failing to attend the most recent spherical of talks scheduled to start on Monday.
The Tumaini Initiative, launched by Kenyan President William Ruto in May, goals to carry non-signatory opposition teams to the negotiating desk and finish the nation’s long-running battle. However, the talks have been tormented by delays and accusations of unhealthy religion.
President Salva Kiir final week appointed a brand new negotiating crew, led by a senior presidential envoy and deputy chairman of the ruling SPLM faction, and pledged to dispatch the delegation to the Kenyan capital. However, the crew has but to seem.
Opposition figures on the talks informed Sudans Post following the appointment of the brand new mediation crew, which incorporates Petroleum Minister Puot Kang and Cabinet Minister Martin Elia Lomuro, that they aren’t proud of the crew members due to alleged roles in sabotaging the Tumaini course of.
In a press release on Monday afternoon, the opposition teams, together with the South Sudan People’s Movement (SSPM), the South Sudan United Front (SSUF), and Real SPLM, expressed frustration over the federal government’s absence, stating that the newly appointed negotiating crew is “anti-Tumaini.”
“To our dismay, the R-TGONU has changed its delegation after having negotiated and agreed to the Tumaini Consensus. The new delegation is largely composed of Anti-Tumaini elements. With that, it is clear the Government is reneging on the Tumaini Consensus which it had negotiated,” they wrote.
They added that the federal government’s repeated failure to take part within the talks with none prior warnings demonstrates a scarcity of dedication to peace and a disregard for the struggling of the South Sudanese folks.
“This shows the serious lack of good faith and unwillingness to conclude the Tumaini peace process. This explains why the Government failed to turn up for the signing of the Tumaini Consensus on 16 September 2024 as agreed by the Parties and Stakeholders,” they added.
The opposition teams highlighted the federal government’s failure to pay civil servants and the army, in addition to its incapacity to handle the humanitarian disaster attributable to floods, communal violence, and insecurity.
“The case in point is the failure of the R-TGONU to pay the civil servants, the army, and other organized forces for over a year as a result of endemic corruption. Whenever the Government receives money earmarked for paying salaries, it is often diverted and looted by Cartels,” it mentioned.
“More importantly, the Government doesn’t care that the population is impacted by the worst humanitarian disaster, catastrophic floods, persistent communal violence, and rampant insecurity,” the assertion added.
Despite the alleged authorities’s actions, the opposition teams reiterated their dedication to the Kenya-led peace course of and urged the transitional authorities underneath President Salva Kiir Mayardit to have interaction in significant dialogue.
“The Opposition and Stakeholders remain on the negotiating table and have been patiently waiting for the Government delegation to return and sign the Tumaini Consensus as agreed,” they concluded.
