South Sudanese President Salva Kiir. PHOTO | FILE
By FRED OLUOCH
In Summary
- As the South Sudan peace process continues in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, President SALVA KIIR spoke with The EastAfrican at State House in Juba.
As the president of South Sudan, why do you think your country is facing an internal war only three years after Independence?
The conflict came as a result of personal
ambitions of individuals who wanted to take power by illegal means
because they were afraid that they would not be elected if they went to
the people. They opted for a military coup; when they failed; they
transformed themselves into a guerrilla insurgency.
Your close associates have categorically
said that Dr Riek Machar can never be your number two. Are you ready to
work with Dr Machar without reservation or retribution?
Well, my personal position and that of my party is
that Dr Machar should not be the First Vice President. He can come in
as number three like what was agreed on in Addis Ababa last August. He
wanted the position of prime minster and I accepted despite the fact
that we don’t have it in the Constitution.
But when the proposed government structure was put
forward by the mediators, they put president, vice president, prime
minister, two deputies and then the council of ministers. Dr Machar
rejected it because he wanted to be an executive prime minister who will
exercise all the powers in the country and the president becomes
ceremonial. He was told ‘no, because this was an elected executive
president.
If you want to be an executive prime minister or
president, then you wait for elections and keep out of this government.’
He wanted to share executive powers with the president and yet these
powers were given by the people.
The Arusha Accord of January 21, talked
about reforms within SPLM as a way forward. Do you think the fighting
could have been avoided if SPLM had initiated internal reforms earlier
as had been demanded by Dr Machar’s group?
Talks of internal reforms are not new because we
have been talking about reforms in the SPLM even when we were fighting
Khartoum. But the problem is that many of the people who are now
spearheading the rebellion were not part of the movement and were
co-operating with Khartoum. So they know less about SPLM than those of
us who stayed.
Do you believe that this final session of the Addis Ababa peace talks will bring a lasting peace?
The Intergovernmental Authority on Development
[Igad] can only bring the conflict to an end if it can differentiate
between coup plotters and normal conflict. The problem is that Igad is
treating the coup plotters as innocent people who simply protested
against the government, yet there was nothing wrong with the government.
We did not differ on our objectives or any issue.
We were discussing internal issues within the ruling Sudan’s People
Liberation Movement (SPLM). So the group which was not contented with
whatever was happening in government, because they found themselves out
of the government, resorted to violence. But the mediators in Addis
Ababa are not taking these issues into account.
Are you saying the issues of the coup and
rebellion should be highlighted and not mixed up with the need to stop
the fighting and people’s suffering?
The situation in South Sudan is different, for
instance, from what happened in Kenya in 2007/2008 where violence was
caused by the results of the elections. That is why the region came in
to talk about power-sharing between Mwai Kibaki and Raila Odinga. This
was definitely a conflict over the results of the elections but in our
case, it was a coup.
Where in the world is somebody who planned a coup brought in to share power that he wanted to take wholly for himself?
You have often complained about Igad mediators
unnecessarily postponing talks even when the two parties are making
progress. Do you believe Igad can successfully mediate a lasting peace?
If they don’t change the current tactics which
they are using, then they will not bring peace. Whenever there is a
recess and the parties go back to their principals for consultations,
they always have the agenda which was on the table.
But when the parties resume discussions with full
briefing from their principals, the mediators often shelve the agenda
that was on the table and bring new issues which the two protagonist
parties did not consult about. Such an approach cannot bring peace.
Do you believe the Arusha Accord that
seeks to reunite the three factions of SPLM can be used as a stepping
stone for a final peace settlement?
I believe that it laid the foundation people can
work from, if all of us are sincere about the wellbeing of South Sudan.
But that is not what Dr Machar wants. He wants by all means to be the
president and if he cannot get it on the negotiating table, then he has
the military option to defeat the government and take over government
It has been said that you also strongly believe in a military option.
Well, I don’t believe in a military option because
I have been fighting for many years and I know the difficulties of war.
When we were fighting the Sudan government, Dr Machar was in Khartoum
after rebelling against Dr John Garang in 1991 — just like he did in
2013. Slaughtering innocent civilians and later on enjoying the support
of Khartoum and he was fighting us as the militia of Sudan.
But all the same, he was hoping that Khartoum
would defeat us, which did not happen. So he decided to surrender fully,
signed an agreement with Khartoum and became number four in the
hierarchy of the National Congress Party. So he does not understand the
dynamics of the war.
South Sudan has applied to be a member of
the East African Community. But some in your government are wary that
this could stifle the growth of the manufacturing sector. What is your
position?
I believe that joining the EAC has benefits. We
are not producing anything besides the oil, but we believe that we can
contribute to the EAC because we have abundant fertile land yet we have
no capacity to engage in commercial agriculture for export.
People in other EAC countries have the technology
and the capacity to do that. I believe agriculture will uplift the
livelihood of our people, so the people who have fears will later on
understand that joining EAC is in their best interest.
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