![SPLM-IO Director of Information and Public Relations and acting press secretary for the office of FVP Puok Both Baluang speaking to the press in this undated photo. [Photo courtesy]](https://i0.wp.com/www.sudanspost.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/278901970_5191234454269786_6028049132512053528_n.jpg?resize=850%2C499&quality=89&ssl=1)
Speaking to Sudans Post on Wednesday evening, Machar’s Press Secretary Puok Both Baluang said they learned of the deal primarily through media reports and a letter purportedly signed by Gatwech that circulated on social media.
He said that the SPLM-IO, a key signatory to the revitalized peace agreement, has not received official communication about the agreement from the government.
“We have not been officially briefed as a party signatory to the [revitalized] agreement on that particular agreement,” he said, noting that the delegation involved in the negotiations did not include representatives from the transitional government, of which Machar is a part.
Baluang emphasized the need for transparency and clarity from Kiir’s SPLM-IG regarding the agreement’s content and its implications for the broader peace process.
“We are still waiting for more briefing and clarification from the SPLM-IG to know about the content of that agreement. As for now, we only came to know about the agreement through the Sudanese delegation statement and the content of the agreement only through the letter that is alleged to have been produced by R-TGoNU,” he explained.
Baluang reiterated his group’s commitment to an inclusive peace process in South Sudan, and called on all non-signatory opposition groups, including those aligned with the Tumaini Initiative, to join the revitalized peace agreement.
“All in all, we are, as SPLM-IO, for an inclusive peace in South Sudan, and we urge all the other oppositions groups that are non-signatories to the peace agreement and also to the Tumaini to join the peace process under the revitalized peace agreement,” he said.
Baluang also raised concerns about the proposed appointment of General Gatwech as deputy commander-in-chief of the South Sudan People’s Defense Forces (SSPDF), arguing that the 2018 peace agreement designates Machar as the sole deputy to Kiir.
“Well what I was trying to say, the position of the deputy commander-in-chief, it is not indicated in the agreement. In the agreement we have his Excellency Dr. Riek Machar to be the deputy [president] according to the revitalized peace agreement,” Baluang stated.
Baluang stressed that the SPLM-IO is awaiting a formal briefing from the SPLM-IG before issuing a comprehensive statement on the agreement with Gatwech’s faction.
“So what I’m trying to say is that now we are waiting for more clarity from the SPLM-IG side to brief the other parties on the agreement that they have struck with General Gatwech Dual, and so we will have our formal and official statement regarding this agreement, but also I would like to reiterate that we are for a genuine peace, but the content of that deal, as a party signatory to the peace agreement, we have no knowledge about it until now,” he concluded.
