October 8th 2019 (Nyamilepedia) – The United States said on Monday that any government formed in Juba without the participation of the main armed opposition group, SPLM-O, led by ex-vice president Dr. Riek Machar will not be considered a unity government .
President Salva Kiir threatened last month that he may form the Reconstituted Transitional Government of National Unity (R-TGoNU) in November without Machar if the later don’t cooperate on the matter.
For its part, the main armed opposition group said it will not participate in Kiir’s would government if pending issues such as the number and boundaries of the states are not determined.
Speaking to journalists in Juba on Monday, the US ambassador to South Sudan Thomas Hushek said any government formed without Machar’s group or any other signatory to the revitalized peace agreement will not be a unity government.
“It cannot be a unity government if the incumbent government that moves ahead without the SPLM-IO or other signatory parties drop out,” Hushed said.
He urged the parties to sit and find a solution to the pending issues before the government is formed in November accusing the government of refusing to participate in a sitting organized by the IGAD to address the issue on the number of states.
“They need to be talking about settling this outstanding political issue of the number and boundaries of states,” he said.
“The government party has refused to participate in the ones that the IGAD tried to call and yet they haven’t established any other mechanisms to discuss that outstanding political issue,” he added.
