November 4th 2018 (Nyamilepedia) – The National Salvation Front (NAS) led by Gen. Thomas Cirilo Swaka has urged the South Sudan government and the SPLM-IO to fully abide by the revitalized peace agreement signed in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa in September this year.
The NAS, which was initially a member of the South Sudan Opposition Alliance (SSOA) led by Gabriel Changson Lew before pulling out to protest a peace deal which it said has not addressed the root cause of the agreement said the two parties, the government and SPLM-IO must abide by the ceasefire agreement and the revitalized ARCSS.
“Therefore, we hope that the signatories of the peace agreement abide fully by the ceasefire, allow unfettered humanitarian access, and refrain from using the agreement as a pretext to engage in hostile activities against our forces and members,” the group said in a statement extended to the Nyamilepedia on Saturday.
The statement said the parties to the R-ARCSS organized Wednesday’s peace celebrations in Juba to convince the international community to fund the peace agreement which the statement referred to as unsustainable.
“On October 31, the signatories of South Sudan’s peace agreement attended “peace celebration” in Juba. While the signatories orchestrated the event to convince the international community to avail the needed funds for the implementation of unsustainable peace agreement, the occasion showed that the people of South are genuinely yearning for a lasting peace,” the statement partly read.
The statement further reiterated the NAS rejection of the peace agreement signed in September saying it does not address the root cause on the ongoing conflict which engulfed the country in December 2013.
“We, however, reiterate our stated previous position that the signed peace agreement is unsustainable due to lack of a credible attempt to address the root causes of the ongoing war, concentration of powers and lack of checks and balances in the presidency, unrealistic governance and security arrangements, lack of genuine commitment to accountability and justice, and growing threat to the sovereignty of the country, just to mention a few,” the statement signed by the NAS Spokesperson, Suba Sammuel Manase further said.
