Juba, South Sudan,
October 26, 2021 – The Community Empowerment for Progress Organization (CEPO), a South Sudanese civil society group, calls on the rivaling parties in Sudan to return to table to resolve their differences and continue with the implementation of the peace agreement.
“Stakeholders in Sudan must immediately return to dialogue to restore constitutional order and the country’s transitional process” Community Empowerment for Progress Organization (CEPO) said on Tuesday.
On Monday, the head of Sudan’s ruling council, General Abdel Fattah Burhan dissolved civilian rule, arrested political leaders and announced a state of emergency across the country.
The move has attracted protests amidst demands for an immediate return to civilian rule.
According to CEPO, Sudan which is the current chair of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), requires support from regional leaders to consolidate peace and democratic gains.
Edmund Yakani, the Executive Director of CEPO, said arresting of an active chairman of a regional organization is an insult on the entire organization.
“The act of arresting the active chair of IGAD totally undermines the regional body and should strongly be condemned,” said Edmund Yakani, the Executive Director of CEPO.
He called for an urgent meeting of IGAD heads of states and governments, saying the situation in Sudan could have serious implications on the region.
“South Sudan and Sudan have mutual political relation in the process of political transitioning from the violence to peace. The issue of the agreement on the four freedoms between South Sudan and Sudan will be affected by this latest developments in Sudan,” stressed Yakani.
Yakani added that “It is high time the African Union took serious measures for protection of the IGAD sitting chair and sitting head of government of its member state from arrests and detention”.
The South Sudanese civil society organization further called for joint interventions from both regional and international bodies to ensure peaceful political transition is restored in Sudan.
South Sudan is the guarantor of the Sudanese peace agreement; however, the young nation has no prior experience in enforcing implementation of a peace agreement as the same elites, who mediated the Sudanese peace agreement, are also struggling to implement their own peace accord.
