May 20th 2018 (Nyamilepedia) – The Sudan People’s Liberation Movement in Opposition Youth League of the country’s former First Vice President Riek Machar Teny have denied rumors that there are differencies within the SPLM-IO negotiating team in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa diswoning what it termed as a “nonexisting SPLM-IO structure”.
Social media allegations, mostly by government officials, said the SPLM-IO deputy chairman Henry Odwar and the group’s head of the National Committee for Security and Defense and the wife of the opposition groups were in loggerhead at the venue of the talks falsely over the position a third vice president.
In a statement extended to the Nyamilepedia on Sunday, the group denies the allegations and accused the government of orchestrating and condemned the “fake news”
“The SPLM-IO Youth League, strongly condemn a fake press release by a non-existing SPLM-IO structure, the Greater Equatoria Youth of the SPLM-IO, led by John Jada Duku,” the statement said.
The statement signed by the SPLM-IO Youth League Chairman Pout Kang Chuol denied the allegations and said the the SPLM-IO position paper said nothing about the said position of the third vice president.
“The alleged claim that a political war erupted within the SPLM-IO between Cde Henry Odwar and Angelina Teny about the nomination of a candidate to the position of 3rd Vice-President is not true. More importantly, the SPLM-IO position paper on the peace talks does not desire to occupy the position of the 3rd Vice-President,” the statement read in part.
The statement denied that the SPLM-IO youth league have another structure namewd Greater Equatria apart from the states strctures denying knowledge that the group have some one name John Jada Duku in their rank and files
“Second, the SPLM-IO Youth League does not have a structure called Greater Equatoria instead of states structure. Third, John Jada Duku, is not a member of the SPLM-IO nor does he exist anywhere in the SPLM-IO structures,” the statement added.
South Sudan descended into civil war in December 2013 after forces loyal to the country’s president, Salva Kiir Mayardiit and his then Governor of Northern Bahr Al-Ghazal State Gen. Paul Malong Awan went door-to-door in the capital Juba killing civilians belonging to the Nuer ethnic group sparking a nation-wide protests from top army generals from the Nuer leading to a civil war.
A peace agreement signed in August 2015 by President Kiir and rebel leader Riek Machar and negotiated under the auspices of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) and the African Union (AU) in presence of Troika and other international observers collapsed in July 2016 following fighting at the presidential palace in Juba “J1” reportedly after President Kiir ordered a failed attempt to arrest the SPLM-IO leader Riek Machar.
Late last year, the IGAD decided to revive the peace agreement and had initiated a peace revival mechanism known as the High-Level Revitalization Forum (HLRF) to bring back to life the 2015 peace agreement. Peace talks in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa resumed on Thursday with little optimism as President Kiir said he is unwilling to accept the return of the country’s former first vice president and two armies both of whom are major opposition demands.
The IGAD has given the negotiating parties May 21st as the ultimatum to sign peace but it is still unclear what would be the consequences in case the warring parties do not meet the dateline.
