![South Sudan activist Abraham Awolich speaking on South Sudan in the US. [Photo courtesy]](https://i0.wp.com/www.sudanspost.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/maxresdefault.jpg?resize=871%2C535&ssl=1)
In a statement extended to Sudans Post, the PCCA accused the government of President Salva Kiir of taking a series of steps to undermine the talks, including enacting a controversial National Security Bill, recommending an extension of the transitional period, and announcing a date for elections.
South Sudan’s parliament, with an overwhelming SPLM majority, last week passed the National Security Service Act, 2014 (Amendment 2024). The bill maintained controversial sections 54 and 55 which empowers the agency to search, arrest, detain and monitor civilians without warrants.
The PCCA criticized the security law, saying it grants the National Security Service (NSS) “a license to continue its reign of terror” and called for its dissolution.
“This bill gives a license to National Security Service, which has been a source of terror, anti-democracy, and a perpetrator of gross human rights violations against the people of South Sudan to continue this reign of terror,” the group said.
“The goal is to safeguard a failing dictatorship and shore up a dysfunctional authoritarian rule in South Sudan. Enacting this law is an act of bad faith and an indication that the government is not looking for peace, it is looking for ways to entrench its repression and illegitimate rule by brute force,” it added.
The statement said the group “strongly condemns and rejects this bill in its entirety and renews its call for the dissolution of the National Security Service, which has been militarized and empowered to suppress the emergent of democracy. This institution reminds the people of South Sudan of the terrorist old Sudanese state we fought against for decades.”
“The Service has copied entirely the practices the NCP-led Sudanese state. Like the infamous White House that the Jallaba used to torture and kill our people in Juba, we now have the Blue House fitted to do the same; to illegally detain, torture and kill citizens who legitimately oppose a dictatorship,” it stressed.
The group also rejected the proposed 24-month extension of the transitional period, arguing that the current government has made little progress in implementing the existing revitalized peace agreement signed about six years ago.
“The rush to extend the ‘extended’ transitional period is driven by the fear of reforms echoing from the Tumaini Initiative,” the statement said. “The government has now decided to kill the Tumaini Initiative to preserve the status quo.”
The PCCA further condemned a letter written by First Vice President Riek Machar to the Tumaini Initiative’s chief mediator, accusing Machar of attempting to derail the talks by opposing proposals for a new constitution and power-sharing reforms.
The group also criticized the government for holding a press conference in which it allegedly dismissed proposals from stakeholders and defended the status quo.
“The nation watched with disgust the long press conference held in Juba on the 5th of July 2024 by the government delegation to the Tumaini Initiative,” the statement said. “We all saw the arrogance, the sheer ignorance, and complete disregard for the feelings and the suffering of the people of South Sudan.”
The PCCA called on President Kiir to rein in spoilers within his delegation and urged the Kenyan-led Tumaini Initiative mediator, General Lazaro Sumbeiywo, to return to multi-stakeholder negotiations for a smooth continuation of the talks.
The group also appealed to the international community to hold peace spoilers in South Sudan accountable and urged the South Sudanese people to remain vigilant in their pursuit of peace in their country.
“The PCCA remains committed to the Tumaini Initiative and continues to trust in the Chief Mediator and President William Ruto to help the people of South Sudan to find lasting peace,” the statement concluded.
