June 18th 2018 (Nyamilepedia) – South Sudan President, Salva Kiir Mayardiit, will travel to the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa on Wednesday for a face-to-face meeting with the country’s rebel and SPLM-IO chief Dr. Riek Machar Teny who is also due in the Ethiopian capital late tomorrow, source told the Nyamilepedia.
Last week, the Ethiopian Prime Minister invited President Kiir and rebel leader Dr. Riek Machar to attend to Addis Ababa for a face-to-face meeting between themselves on June 20th, the same day Kiir will travel to Ethiopia.
One source told the Nyamilepedia from Juba that the president have agreed to attend to Ethiopia to meet former First Vice-President Dr. Machar to avoid being seen by the region and the international community as an obstacle to peace.
“President Kiir has accepted to travel to Addis on Wednesday to meet Riek Machar because he do not want the region and the international community to see him as a peace spoiler. He has accepted unconditionally to meet his brother Riek for the sack of the peace and the people of South Sudan,” the source said.
Last week, the government said the decision for President Kiir to travel to Addis Ababa would need the cabinet to meet so as to decide because it is not personal saying Kiir is still to accept going to Addis for a meeting with Machar.
The Press Secretary in the Office of the President Ateny Wek Ateny told the Eye Radio on Thursday that the President is yet to decide to travelling to Ethiopia for the high-level meeting with his arch-rival Dr. Riek Machar after receiving the invitation.
“The Office of the president has received the invitation. The decision has not yet been made by the government of the Republic of South Sudan as to whether the president will be attending or not on that date,” Ateny told the Eye Radio.
Ateny pointed out that the decision for the president to travel to Addis Ababa and to endorse the meeting with the opposition leader is not something personal but rather a collective and would be for the government as whole to decide.
“This is not an individual decision but it will be collectively made as government is collectively responsible and therefore it will be a collective decision.”
