South Sudan President Salva Kiir (L), Tanzania's President Jakaya
Kikwete (C) and South Sudan rebel leader Riek Machar (R) pose as they
met for talks on October 20, 2014 in Arusha. Rival SPLM party factions
have signed a peace deal in Arusha following dialogue mediated by
regional leaders. PHOTO | FILE |
AFP
South Sudan’s warring factions agreed on a
plan that charts the way forward for reconciling the ruling
Sudan People’s Liberation Movement party and ending a civil war
that has left tens of ........................
thousands of people dead.
South Sudanese President Salva Kiir, Chairman of the SPLM-In Opposition Riek Machar and Deng Alor Kuol, the head of a delegation of former political detainees, signed the deal Wednesday in the northern Tanzanian town of Arusha, according to an e-mailed statement from Crisis Management Initiative, a conflict-resolution organization based in Helsinki, Finland.
The agreement follows three rounds of talks overseen by regional mediators, including Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete.
“The leaders of the SPLM signed an agreement outlining the way forward for the reunification of the party, including political, organizational and leadership issues,” according to the statement from CMI, which supported the discussions. “The parties have also settled on the principles and means of implementation.”
At least 2 million people have been driven from their homes since fighting broke out in December 2013 between soldiers loyal to Kiir and rebels allied with his former deputy, Machar. Both sides accuse each other of violating a truce accord signed a year ago and multiple agreements to end hostilities.
South Sudan’s election commission announced this month it’s going ahead with national polls set for June 30 even as fighting continues. Opposition parties in the capital, Juba, on Thursday began legal action over the election date, rejecting it as unconstitutional.
“Since the war is, at its root, a struggle for control of the party, the accord defuses the most immediate root of conflict,” said Francois Conradie, a political analyst at NKC Independent Economists in South Africa. The cease-fire may hold while Machar sees what role he can be given in government, though a key issue will be who will run as the party’s presidential candidate in proposed elections, he said in an e-mailed note on Thursday.
“If the election goes ahead and the SPLM can set up democratic internal structures to pick a candidate, then the deal may succeed, and the difficult problem of reuniting the army will become more manageable,” Conradie said. “If Mr. Kiir tries to suppress the new internal challenge from Mr. Machar” and Pagan Amum, the leader of the third faction, “we think Mr. Machar will go to the bush again.”
To contact the reporter on this story: Sarah McGregor in Nairobi at smcgregor5@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Nasreen Seria at nseria@bloomberg.net Paul Richardson, Michael Gunn
thousands of people dead.
South Sudanese President Salva Kiir, Chairman of the SPLM-In Opposition Riek Machar and Deng Alor Kuol, the head of a delegation of former political detainees, signed the deal Wednesday in the northern Tanzanian town of Arusha, according to an e-mailed statement from Crisis Management Initiative, a conflict-resolution organization based in Helsinki, Finland.
The agreement follows three rounds of talks overseen by regional mediators, including Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete.
“The leaders of the SPLM signed an agreement outlining the way forward for the reunification of the party, including political, organizational and leadership issues,” according to the statement from CMI, which supported the discussions. “The parties have also settled on the principles and means of implementation.”
At least 2 million people have been driven from their homes since fighting broke out in December 2013 between soldiers loyal to Kiir and rebels allied with his former deputy, Machar. Both sides accuse each other of violating a truce accord signed a year ago and multiple agreements to end hostilities.
National Polls
South African Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa, Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta and Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni were among the regional leaders who traveled to Tanzania on Wednesday to meet the parties and witness the signing ceremony.South Sudan’s election commission announced this month it’s going ahead with national polls set for June 30 even as fighting continues. Opposition parties in the capital, Juba, on Thursday began legal action over the election date, rejecting it as unconstitutional.
“Since the war is, at its root, a struggle for control of the party, the accord defuses the most immediate root of conflict,” said Francois Conradie, a political analyst at NKC Independent Economists in South Africa. The cease-fire may hold while Machar sees what role he can be given in government, though a key issue will be who will run as the party’s presidential candidate in proposed elections, he said in an e-mailed note on Thursday.
“If the election goes ahead and the SPLM can set up democratic internal structures to pick a candidate, then the deal may succeed, and the difficult problem of reuniting the army will become more manageable,” Conradie said. “If Mr. Kiir tries to suppress the new internal challenge from Mr. Machar” and Pagan Amum, the leader of the third faction, “we think Mr. Machar will go to the bush again.”
To contact the reporter on this story: Sarah McGregor in Nairobi at smcgregor5@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Nasreen Seria at nseria@bloomberg.net Paul Richardson, Michael Gunn
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