South Sudan president sends new first vice president to IGAD summit
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August 5, 2016 (JUBA) - South Sudan President, Salva Kiir, has
dispatched a high level delegation on Friday to attend a regional
summit at which its political and security situation tops the agenda.
JPEG - 36.6 kb
President Salva Kiir (R) embraces Taban Deng Gai after his swearing-in
ceremony as FVP at the Presidential Palace in the capital of Juba,
July 26, 2016 (Photo Reuters Jok Solumun)
However, the delegation led by the newly appointed First Vice
President, Taban Deng Gai, has reportedly been denied access to the
official IGAD summit of the Heads of State and Government.
The government sanctioned delegation, confirmed in a statement from
the office of the president, is being led by Gai, who has replaced the
armed opposition leader, Riek Machar.
“The First Vice President of the Republic Taban Deng Gai is travelling
to Addis Ababa to represent South Sudan at the emergency IGAD
(Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) summit. The summit
is being convened to discuss the recent fighting that broke out in
South Sudan. The meeting is also scheduled to discuss a regional
response, including the issue of intervention force,” the statement
reads in part.
This comes after armed opposition leadership under Riek Machar issued
a strong statement criticizing the manner in which international
community and guarantors of peace process have acted at the time amid
violations, accusing them of being passive to the political turmoil in
the country. The guarantors include Ethiopia, Uganda, Kenya and other
African countries in the Intergovernmental Authority on Development
(IGAD) trade bloc.
“There is a serious lack of support from the international community
and the guarantors to the peace agreement,” Machar’s Sudan People’s
Liberation Movement/Army in Opposition (SPLM/A-IO) said in a statement
Wednesday.
According to the statement, “the daily violation of peace by the
government followed by illegal appointment of Taban Deng Gai resulted
in the collapse of the peace agreement.”
Machar fled Juba in July and went into hiding after new clashes broke
out between his forces and government soldiers, saying he would only
return when a third-party force is deployed to act as a buffer.
On July 25, South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir sacked Machar as first
vice-president, replacing him with Gai. The move threatens to split
the armed opposition into two factions: one backing Gai in Juba to
support implementation of the peace implementation, and another
faction that only recognizes Machar as the first vice-president
according to the peace accord signed in August 2015.
East Africa’s eight-nation trade and security bloc, IGAD, is scheduled
to meet in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa on Friday to look into
the crisis in South Sudan, which has been a growing concern for the
region. The latest statement comes after Kiir, acting on advice from
his new vice president dismissed about half a dozen ministers
representing the SPLM/A-IO.
On Monday, a prominent opposition figure who had held ministerial
position in the Transitional Government of National Unity announced
his resignation, saying the government in Juba was “dead”.
“We are not surprised by the steps being taken by President Kiir and
Taban Deng changing IO ministerial position and Transitional
Legislative Assembly,” the SPLM-IO statement said.
“We are just waiting for the deployment of the regional force [a
third-party intervention recommended by the IGAD and the UN] …so we
can take further steps towards putting an end to the suffering of the
people of South Sudan,” it added.
Gai, the new first vice president, is reportedly denied attending the
official IGAD summit of the Heads of State and Government as South
Sudan was not invited to participate in the matter discussing its
conflicts.
Observers however said Gai may only meet IGAD officials in the
corridors to argue his position, but not in the official deliberations
on South Sudan. The SPLM-IO delegation loyal to Machar will equally do
the same.
South Sudan gained independence from Sudan in 2011 following 50 years
of Africa’s long-running civil war.
Two years later the country slide back into chaos after Kiir accused
his longtime rival Machar of a coup attempt which resulted in the
death of tens of thousands of people and displaced 2.4 million others.
Machar dismissed the coup narrative as false and a way by President
Kiir to silence the voices calling for democracy in the country.
The ongoing fighting between forces loyal to the two leaders threatens
the peace deal itself.
(ST)
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