Gatwech’s group says Kiir’s gov’t ‘buying time’ to further weaken SPLM-IO

JUBA – South Sudan’s main armed opposition Sudan People’s Liberation Movement in Opposition (SPLM-IO) faction led by former SPLA-IO chief of staff General Simon Gatwech Dual has said that the group is aware that President Salva Kiir Mayardit’s government is buying time by using the Sudanese crisis as an excuse to delay the talks on security arrangements.

General Simon Gatwech in August attempted to remove First Vice President Dr. Riek Machar Teny as chairman and commander in chief of the main armed opposition group accusing him of trading off the SPLM-IO positions in the implementation of the revitalized peace agreement for the position of first vice president as well as other positions given to Machar.

Since then, the government of President Salva Kiir has been making attempts to discuss terms of the implementation of the security arrangements with General Gatwech, but recent events in Sudan following the declaration of state of emergence and dissolution of the transitional government by the military has delayed next steps in the talks between the South Sudan parties.

General Gatwech last week returned to Magenis saying he won’t be kept in Khartoum while his heavily armed forces are stabbing in the opposition stronghold which is located in Northern Upper Nile state. There have also been reports that General Johnson Thabo has returned to Kosti where he has been based since the Kitgwang declaration.

Speaking to Sudans Post this evening in Khartoum, SPLA-IO spokesman Brig. Gen. William Gatjiath Deng said the former opposition army chief is aware that President Salva Kiir Mayardit was buying time in order for it to disintegrate the opposition group further saying they are also reorganizing in the meantime.

“First of all, we are aware that the government of President Salva Kiir Mayardit and his cohorts in Juba are preparing time and the issue of the Sudan should not stopped us from bringing out own permanent peace. We are aware that they are buying time, we know that,” he said.

“While this is the case, we are also organizing; they are against the opposition unity because they don’t want us to achieve the change which we have sought for about eight years in our country and despite the signing of the revitalize peace agreement, they are just people who are not serious and only buying time,” he added.