Difficult decisions that Kiir and SPLA must make SHARE BOOKMARKPRINT<http://www.theeastafrican.co.ke/news/Difficult-decisions-that-Kiir-and-SPLA-must-make/-/2558/2169314/-/view/printVersion/-/x9ndxqz/-/index.html> RATING By FRED OLUOCH
Posted Saturday, February 1 2014 at 19:02 Differences within the ruling party blamed for the conflict in South Sudan; Fred Oluoch spoke with former South Sudan head of mission in Kenya, John Andruga Duku on issues that need attention to bring back peace. -------------------------------------- *What will be the main issues at the national political negotiations?* The negotiations are going to be inclusive and discuss how the country can be governed and what political system should be adopted. These were issues that were supposed to be discussed within the party, but it has now developed into a situation where it is no longer political. *Do you think Dr Riek Machar can still be accommodated within SPLM?* The truth is that Dr Machar still remains the vice-chairman of the party and no party organ has met to remove him from the post. So, he is free to participate in discussions regarding the future of the party. But we have to face reality here. Things are not going to be the same again, and it would be advisable for him to form another party. *Who is going to set the agenda of the national political dialogue and who will be eligible to participate?* South Sudan is a member of Igad and is participating in the talks as a functioning government. It is not possible for Igad to set the agenda for us because that is our responsibility. However, questions are arising over the criteria for participation. Will it be based on individual political personalities or political parties? Unfortunately, most of the remaining political parties are briefcase parties that are either confined to counties or belong to families. There is a growing sentiment that the solution to the current crisis is an interim government led by a neutral person without involving either President Kiir or Dr Machar. I agree that is one of the issues that are emerging and which are likely to come up at the national dialogue. But the world should know that there is a democratically elected government of South Sudan whose term has not yet expired. Yet, we cannot ignore the current political situation. The question is, how can we reconcile the two? If it is a government of national unity, what form will it take? *What is your views about critics of President Kiir who say that he has failed to unite the country and has been operating outside party structures.* I know very well that President Kiir is committed to dialogue. This has been proved by the way he has conducted himself since he was elected in 2010. He has done a lot in terms of giving amnesty to many rebels and militias and incorporating them into the army. Look at Dr Lam Akol, who had defected from the SPLM and is now part of the national delegation in Addis Ababa. However, it is true that in his quest for accommodation he has incorporated some militias that are not formally trained and a lot of indiscipline in the SPLA has been due to such elements. *What do you think South Sudan is going to look like?* We are optimistic that South Sudan has a bright future, but only with the full support of the international community and the co-operation of all stakeholders. The fact that we signed a cessation of hostilities agreement with David Yau Yau, who was the biggest threat to the government, is a sign that all will be well. The current violation of cessation of hostilities agreement signed on January 23, is because Igad is yet to set up a monitoring team to pinpoint who is violating the agreement. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "South Sudan Info - The Kob" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/SouthSudanKob. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/SouthSudanKob/CAJb14opS8rztrZLpVZQaBhZXO%3Dy1uQXQwXcYS-Rrmtr_xtMrAw%40mail.gmail.com. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
