Kiir accuses Machar of making ‘unreasonable’ demands on unification of forces

JUBA — South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir Mayardit has accused his first deputy and main armed opposition leader Dr. Riek Machar Teny of making what he calls ‘unreasonable’ demands about the implementation of the security arrangements saying he won’t allow him to return the country to civil war.

Earlier this week, SPLM-IO spokesman and minister of water resources and irrigation Manawa Peter Gatkuoth said President Salva Kiir Mayardit was demanding a larger portion of the unified forces to be allocated to him instead of the 50% percent allocated to him by the revitalized peace agreement.

“It was agreed that the new national army is to be formed of an equal number of troops from the two sides. The SPLM In Government (SPLM-IG) provides a half and the other signatories a half,” Gatkouth on Tuesday.

“However, the SPLM-IG now refuses to implement this agreement and demands to have 60% and the other signatories only get 40%,” he added.

But speaking during the swearing ceremony for newly appointed minister of parliamentary affairs and deputy minister of cabinet affairs on Tuesday, Kiir said Machar is making unreasonable demands for the security arrangements and is trying to use the formation of a national army as recruitment.

“He want to use it as an instrument for recruitment, which is against the agreement. It is not what is in the agreement,” Kiir said.

“These are unreasonable reasons, but like I have always said, I will not be the one to derail the implementation of this agreement so that others with their own interest and agenda take advantage of the situation and use it as an opportunity to return the country to war,” he added.

The South Sudanese head of state further said he has instructed security advisor and head of the transitional committee Tut Gatluak to expedite the graduation of the forces who are already in cantonment sites and the immediate formation of the unified army command.

“I have asked Tut [Gatluak] and those responsible for discussions to move fast so that the unified command is formed and to pass out those in the training camps as soon as possible,” Kiir added.

Based on the revitalized peace agreement, the South Sudan People’s Defense Forces (SSPDF) under Kiir is to contribute 56,000 (or 50%) of the overall 112,000 members of the unified army and the other half goes to the SPLA-IO and the South Sudan Opposition Alliance (SSOA).