JUBA – A faction of South Sudan Opposition Alliance (SSOA) which has been accused by a rival faction of cooperating with the government has welcomed the proposal by South African Vice President to arbitrate on the number and states.
Last week, South African Vice President David Mabuza proposed an arbitration on the dispute by the South Sudan parties of the number and boundaries of states which has been one of the most contentious issues affecting the peace process.
SSOA faction led by Josephine Lagu and the main armed opposition group, SPLM-IO, has rejected the proposal saying they will not be a party to the unity government if President Salva Kiir go on with its formation.
However, in a statement on Sunday, the SSOA faction led by Denay Chagor said it accepted the proposal saying it was a genuine mean of ending the current deadlock over the number and boundaries of states.
Below is the full statement of the SSOA faction:
“Fellow citizens, Regional and International partners to the R-ARCSS, we deeply express our profound concerns in the snail speed the implementation of the R-ARCSS is moving.
However, we are encouraged and strongly appreciate the concerted efforts being exerted by the region and international peace partners for the Republic of South Sudan and its people to achieve sustainable peace.
The arbitration mechanism proposed by the Special Envoys to Republic of South Sudan as an instrument for resolving the impasse on the number of states and their boundaries is a genuine attempt by the IGAD to strike a deal with South Sudanese parties to the agreement.
A deal that will end the stalemate on the issue of the states and will pave the way for the formation of the R-TGONU. We in SSOA Main Faction welcome the initiative to establish an Arbitration Committee. This proposal deserves serious consideration by the parties to the agreement by analyzing its pros and cons with the aim of building the necessary consensus among the parties to the agreement.
To this effect, we will be developing our formal response to the proposal which will be shared with the mediation and the parties to the agreement as required by the mediation. We are flexible to discuss any objective and constructive options that will move the implementation process forward.
Throwing this proposal under the bus even before discussing it amounts to disregard for the suffering of innocent people of South Sudan. In conclusion, the Leadership of SSOA Main Faction urges parties to the R-ARCSS to seriously engage the mediation on the arbitration proposal with the aim of improving and building consensus around it.
It is worth noting that the very agreement (R-ARCSS) we are implementing was arrived at through consensus and compromises, and why should the contentious issues in the implementation process should be done diffirently. It is worth mentioning that we have committed ourselves to the formation of the R-TGONU at the end of the 100 day extention period (22n February 2020).”
