‘Disappointed’: Yakani reacts to postponement of graduation of forces in Bentiu, Malakal

JUBA – Prominent activist Edmund Yakani has weighed in on the postponement of the graduation of the Necessary Unified Forces in Unity State’s capital Bentiu and that of Upper Nile State Malakal, saying he is disappointed over the continued postponement of the graduation ceremonies which would be the last for phase one of the security arrangements.

This comes after weeks of postponements by the parties of the graduation of forces in Bentiu and Malakal.

This morning, senior military officer and spokesman of South Sudan Opposition Alliance (SSOA) Brig. Gen. Wijang Duop told Sudans Post that the graduation process in Bentiu and Malakal which would have taken place on Monday and Saturday this week have been postponed.

Wijang said the graduation ceremony in Malakal has been pushed to Monday next week, while the one in Bentiu has been pushed to Saturday next week.

In a statement, Yakani who is the Executive Director of CEPO said he is disappointed by the continued pushing of the graduation dates to new dates and said that the continued postponements sends a negative message against the commitment of the parties to the implementation of the revitalized peace agreement.

“CEPO is so disappointed by the continuous postponement of the graduation for the unified in Bentiu and Malakal by the principals of the R-ARCSS particularly president and first Vice President. This is now the third time postponement and this demonstrates trend of fear for unified forces in Bentiu and Malakal,” Yakani said.

“The continuous postponement of the graduation of the unified forces in Bentiu and Malakal has direct negative impact on the timely implementation of the transitional security arrangements in relations to he process of building unified forces for security and defense. Yes the flood implication in logistics of the forces graduation is real but the government should have an alternative approaches for making the graduation possible,” he added.

He further stressed that the “President and the First Vice President political commitment for timely and genuine implementation of the peace agreement is essential and central for the transitioning of the situation from violence to peace. Two leaders have primary responsibility for either implementing the peace agreement successfully or not successfully.”

The statement further urged “the president and First Vice President to timely make the graduation of the unified forces in Bentiu and Malakal possible before the end on this year 2022.”