October 13th 2019 (Nyamilepedia) – South Sudan government is not interested in ending the ongoing civil war so as to bring the badly needed peace and stability, an opposition leader has said.
Pagan Amum, the leader of the Real-SPLM, speaking to The Eastern African from the US, accused the government of only interested in forming the unity government without the needed reforms.
“No progress has been on the outstanding issues at all,” Amum said. “The government is not interested in peace as that would bring accountability for crimes it committed or transparency to stop its looting.”
It said the government of President Salva Kiir is not ready in bringing about a lasting peace to the world’s youngest nation but wants the transitional government in place.
“The government focus is on formation of government without reforms and change to the status quo,” he added.
South Sudan government and main armed opposition group, SPLM-IO, signed a revitalized version of a 2015 peace agreement in September 2018 to end the ongoing civil war.
The agreement provided for the establishment of a 36-months unity government headed by Kiir and deputized by Machar who would be the country’s First Vice President according to the agreement.
However, the agreement set certain conditions for the unity government formation including the establishment of a unified professional national army and resolution of the dispute on the number of states.
Those conditions are not yet resolved and the government wants the unity government formed saying the new government would resolve the dispute on the number of states.
The opposition wants the number of states determined and the unified army be formed before the unity government be formed saying this would prevent the country from returning to the civil war again.
President Kiir in September threatened to form the unity government without Machar, a powerful figure in the 2018 peace agreement. The United States last week said they will not recognize any agreement formed without Machar.
