July 30th 2019 (Nyamilepedia) – A letter by main armed opposition leader Dr. Riek Machar to President Salva Kiir this month has triggered calls on senior SPLM-IO officials to investigate his decision-making process that might lead to his removal.
Machar on July 8th 2019 wrote to President Salva expressing the desire to meet him in Juba if the later convinced Sudan’s ruling military junta to transport him to Juba and back to Khartoum.
In a letter dated July 18th and seen by Nyamilepedia, a group of writers who said they are members of the SPLM-IO called on Machar’s deputy, Hendry Odwar, and the SPLM-IO Secretary-General, Tingo Peter, to evaluate Machar’s decision-making process which might possibly lead to his dismissal.
“We, the members of SPLM/SPLA IO are hereby urging you to evaluate the Chairman’s handling of the Movement from the time when the R-ARCSS was signed on September 12, 2018 to date,” the letter seen by the Nyamilepedia partly reads.
“With all due respect, it is now crystal clear to everyone that the Chairman and Commander in Chief of the SPLMA- IO, Cde. Dr. Riek Machar Teny-Dhurgon is no longer fulfilling the objective and vision of the Movement,” the letter added.
The letter argued that Machar should not consider the return and visiting Juba at a time when he is under a illegal house detention saying he should have conditioned the region to first release him before any meeting between him and the president could take place.
The letter said Machar should also consider withdrawal of the SPLM-IO team in Juba and that all the meetings between him and Kiir should take place outside South Sudan.
“Politically there is no point to travel to Juba at this point in time when he is under house arrest and nothing being implemented in the R-ARCSS by Kiir; instead, the Chairman supposedly and should only had withdrawn back IO Team from Juba to Khartoum and urges Kiir for the proposed meeting between the two principals to be held not in Juba, but either in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia or in Khartoum, Sudan and only after his released from house arrest,” the statement.
