Machar scoffs SPLM, Kit Gwang deal
The Sudan People’s Liberation Movement in Opposition (SPLA-IO) under Riek Machar has downplayed the importance of the deal signed between the Salva Kiir-led SPLM and SPLM/A-IO Kit-Gwang faction in Sudan on Sunday, saying ‘it was not a peace agreement’.
The Spokesperson of SPLA-IO loyal to Machar, Col. Lam Paul Gabriel, said a peace agreement has always been signed between warring parties, but this was not the case between Kit Gwang and the SPLM.
He questioned whether the parties that signed the agreement had been at war with each other long enough to warrant a ceasefire deal.
Though sounding optimistic about the country’s political direction, Col. Lam said the agreement could potentially perpetuate a ceasefire violation. He argued that the SPLA-IO should have been a part of the negotiations and the signing of the deal since it was the one at war with the SPLA-IO Kit-Gwang.
“The SPLA-IO has been keenly monitoring the agreement and what was signed cannot be called the peace agreement,” Col. Lam.
“That is a clear indication of a way of paying Kit-Gwang for joining the SSPDF, which is a defection.”
On Sunday, the SPLM-IG of President Salva Kiir reached a deal with the SPLA-IO splinter group of Gen. Simon Gatwech Dual. The agreement was said to be aimed at ending the five-month war between the splinter faction and SPLA-IO of Dr Machar in Upper Nile State.
Points of agreement
According to the agreement, the parties agreed to integrate the Agwelek forces into the South Sudan People’s Defence Force (SSPDF), and in the meantime, Agwelek forces shall remain independent and respect the ceasefire.
The agreement stipulated six conditions to be met by both parties. First, the government is to provide amnesty to the leaders of the splinter factions, as it was done in 2018. They are to remain committed to the Khartoum Declaration Agreement of June 27, 2018, and support peace initiatives such as the settlement of internally displaced persons (IDPs).
A Joint Security Committee is to be formed to steer the implementation of the deal in three months. The committee is also to ensure the relocation of the Kit Gwang troops to Manyo, Southern Malakal, and Eastern Jonglei. After this, the government will deploy security in Magenis, Upper Nile State, to secure the residents.
Reintegration offices will be established in Bor, Juba, and Malakal, and the Kit Gwang forces will receive food and medical supplies from the government via the SSPDF.
But Lam stated that the deal violates Chapter Two of the revitalised peace agreement, which prohibits new recruitment, training, and graduating of forces during the transitional period.
He further said it would be good if the agreement is meant to bring peace in South Sudan to end the suffering of citizens instead of perpetuating violence, especially that which would target the SPLA-IO.
Efforts to reach Michael Makuei Lueth, the Minister of Information who also serves as the government spokesperson, for comment were futile by the press time.
However, Makuei who confirmed the signing of the agreement to The City Review had said he was not well versed in its content and would study it for a response.
“We heard that the agreement has been signed. Yesterday (Saturday), they said they would sign it [on Sunday], but I don’t know what they signed,” Makuei said on Sunday.
Concerns emerge
Though he welcomed the agreement, Edmund Yakani, the Executive Director of Community Empowerment for Progress Organization (CEPO), also echoed that the Kit Gwang SPLA-IO faction – SPLM-IG deal was a violation of the revitalised peace agreement and confirmation of splinters’ defection.
“The signing of the ceasefire agreement without the full participation of the R-TGoNU is contradicting the cessation of hostilities agreement.” 2017 provision in article 2.1.8 on the prohibition of recruitment during the period of implementing the Revitalise Agreement on the Resolution of Conflict in the Republic of South Sudan,” Yakani argued.
Forces of the splinter group have, on several occasions, clashed with Machar’s forces, which have claimed dozens of lives, displaced many locals, and threatened the ongoing revitalised peace implementation.
