May 5, 2020 (Nyamilepedia) – South Sudan armed opposition leaders General Paul Malong, Pagan Amum and General Thomas Cirilo Swaka have reiterated their rejection of the revitalized peace agreement saying the 2018 peace deal do not address the root causes of the country’s civil war.
Malong leads the South Sudan United Front (SSUF) while Cirilo and Pagan lead the National Salvation Front (NAS) and Real-SPLM, respectively.
Three men are not part of the deal signed by President Salva Kiir Mayardit and SPLM-IO leader Dr. Riek Machar Teny who is now the country’s First Vice President as per the deal signed in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Malong had been denied participation in peace talks by the regional body, Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) which mediated the peace agreement, while Cirilo and Pagan moved out of talks in protest to what they said was monopoly of the process by the government at the time in the Sudanese capital Khartoum.
Last year, the three men signed a charter to form what is now the South Sudan Opposition Movements Alliance (SSOMA) which later signed the Rome Declaration with the government in Italy that recommits the parties to a 2017 cessation of hostility agreement.
In a statement on Tuesday, the three men said they rejects the revitalized peace agreement as they initially stated commending the Sant ‘Egidio, the UN Security Council and the Troika for denouncing continued government offensives against them in violation to the Rome deal.
“SSOMA would like to reiterate its strong condemnation of this ongoing violation and attacks against the positions of SSOMA forces. These acts threaten the positive spirit created by the Rome declaration and Resolutions under the auspices of the Community of Sant ‘Egidio,” they said in the statement seen by Nyamilepedia.
“In light of these statements, SSOMA as non-signatory to A-ARCSS which from the onset categorically rejected the Revitalised Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in the Republic of South Sudan (R-ARCSS) because it failed to address the fundamental root causes of the conflict, reiterates this position,” the statement added.
The statement further “commend and welcome press statement by the Community of Sant’Egidio denouncing the continuing blatant violation of the Cessation of Hostility Agreement CoHA 2017 by the government of the Republic of South Sudan against positions of SSOMA in the recent few weeks; despite the recommitment of SSOMA and the government of the Republic of South Sudan to CoHA 2017 in Rome Resolution.”
“Equally, SSOMA would like to commend and welcome the statements by the European Union, and the United Nations Security Council Penal of Experts on South Sudan report which both shed lights on the weakness, threats, and deliberate impediments to implementation of signed agreements, and urge the need for the government to recommit itself to the creation of the conducive environment for dialogue to push forward the Rome Peace Process.”
