April 29th 2019 (Nyamilepedia) – The ruling Transitional Military Council (TMC) in Sudan said on Saturday that South Sudan peace partners should not rush to form unity government on May 12th before completing security arrangements and solving the issue of states.
This came a week after South Sudan President, Salva Kiir Mayardiit, called in his annual Easter message on opposition leader Dr. Riek Machar Teny and other opposition leaders to return to Juba to prepare for the unity government.
Machar and his group said they will not be a part of a government Kiir said would be formed less than two weeks from now.
According to the revitalized peace agreement, a eight-month transitional period ends on May 12th and the unity government provided for in the agreement is supposed to be in place by that date.
However, given the delay in pre-transitional activities, the SPLM-IO led by Machar and the NDM led by Dr. Lam Akol Ajawin said they want more months to prepare for the transitional period while the government insists on forming the government on May 12th.
Speaking to journalists in the Sudanese capital Khartoum in Saturday, the spokesman of the TMC, Gen. Shams al-Din Kabashi, said South Sudan parties should not rush to form the unity government if future return to conflict were to be avoided.
“Our brothers in the South should not hurry up and should not rush to form the [transitional] government of national unity in May if the return to the civil war in the future is to be ruled out,” Kabashi said.
“What we have in mind is not the formation of the government as soon as now, but whether that government not return the country to war again,” Kabashi added.
He further said the authorities in Sudan are in contact with both the government and the opposition.
Kabashi however declined to answer question when asked what Sudan would do in case the government in Juba insist and form the government on 12th May.
