Opening Remarks at the CTSAMVM Board Meeting, 27 August 2021

Good Morning.  

It is my great pleasure to welcome you to this Board meeting. I also  want to take this opportunity to express my gratitude for your presence  to address the issue of the peace process.  

Let me also take this opportunity to appreciate my brother and dear  intimate friend General Dafaalla for the leadership role he has played,  and for his commitment as well as for the dedication demonstrated in the  last two years in order to positively impact on the peace process of this  lovely nation. We are actually going to miss him, however, this is very  normal when it comes to our mandate especially those of us in the  military. We wish him the best for his future and his family and safe  travel back home.  

Besides, on behalf of myself and CTSAMVM, I would like to welcome  our incoming Deputy Chairperson, Brigadier General Saeed  Mohammed. We are very happy to have him at CTSAMVM. I want to also assure him of my full support and that of the Secretariat which will  be available to him at all times. 

Talking of the agenda, today you will be updated on the status of  permanent ceasefire. Since the last Board Meeting held on 27 July, there  have been no verified clashes between the parties-signatory to the  agreement. There have been clashes between different factions of the  SPLM/A-IO following the Kit Gwang Declaration on 3 August 2021 in  the area southeast of Magenis. Tensions remain in southern Central  Equatoria State even though the situation appears to be improving. Since  the last Board meeting there have also been several reported incidents  allegedly involving NAS including abductions, an attack against an  SSPDF position and an ambush against SSPDF soldiers.  

CTSAMVM is very concerned about the risk that these incidents pose to  the peace process. We call upon IGAD and RJMEC to urge the parties  involved to take the necessary steps to avoid clashes and adhere to the  ceasefire as well as the protection of civilians. 

You will also be briefed on the implementation of the critical pre transitional tasks of cantonment and training of the Necessary Unified  Forces as well as the vacation of occupied civilian buildings. The  situation at Cantonment Sites continues to be desperate and CTSAMVM has observed no progress. The situation with training and vacation of  civilian buildings, unfortunately, remains the same with no observed  progress since the last Board Meeting.  

We have expressed our concerns and we strongly recommend IGAD and  RJMEC to urge the parties to take immediate action on these activities  so that the required security arrangements can be implemented.  

Our briefing today will also include three violation reports. The first  one involves incidents of violence in Nassir, Upper Nile State between  11 May and 20 June 2021. The second one involves Protection of  Civilians in Central Equatoria in July 2021 and the third one is that of a  recent detention of CTSAMVM aircraft. These reports will also be sent  to RJMEC and IGAD. The parties are urged to follow up on these  violation reports and take appropriate and timely action. 

CTSAMVM highly values your opinions and recommendations. Our expectations are as usual that you conduct yourselves in order to address  the truth and the facts by being independent, neutral and impartial with  no any other considerations which will be the key indicator that you put  the primary interests of this Nation of South Sudan before anything else and as you all know that it is all about achieving the goal of the peace  process. We look forward to a constructive and successful meeting  today.  

I officially declare this meeting open.  

I thank you.