Nov 29, 2020(Nyamilepedia) — South Sudan’s main armed opposition group, the SPLM/A in Opposition, will begin its long awaited national conference tomorrow, November 30th, 2020.
The conference, which shall be the first of its kind being held in the capital since the SPLM/A-IO was formed in 2014, will be the sixth national conference the group has held in six years.
Speaking to the media after the SPLM/A-IO meeting on Friday, the Minister of Petroleum, Hon. Puot Kang announced that the convention is now scheduled for Monday, November 30th, 2020 as opposed to December 4th that was initially announced.
“We have confirmed the national conference that will take place on the 30th of November 2020. The SPLM/SPLA (IO) shall hold its first conference in Juba which is number six national conference to be held in Juba on the 30th of November 2020,” Hon. Puot said.
The SPLM/A-IO informs the general public that the main armed group will hold conference to consolidate peace and for the opposition to revitalized itself to be able to face numerous challenges the group has been facing.
“We are here to inform the general public, all the political parties that are in Juba the political groups that are invited and that will make statements, all the diplomatic corps and everybody that we are going to make that conference on the 30th for us to consolidate peace and make sure that we revitalized ourselves so that we meet the new challenges and how we can generate new political will for the implementation of the agreement itself” Puot continued.
The SPLM/A-IO has not held a viable conference since December 2016 and many concerned members have been looking forward to these days; however, some disgruntled groups within the opposition are calling on supporters to boycott the conference.
The main armed group, which has been fighting the government vigorously for nearly six years, has witnessed numerous defections and internal feuds between politicians and military officers as groups and individuals blame the leadership for failing to drive the moment to success.
Despite the challenges, the SPLM/A-IO remains the most popular opposition and the key peace partner in the country.
While holding the conference, the SPLM/A-IO will send some of its senior members as part of the government delegation to Rome to hold talks with the hold-out groups, the South Sudan Opposition Movement Alliance(SSOMA).
