Marial to lead delegation for Rome Talks
President Salva Kiir has commissioned the Minister for Presidential Affairs, Dr Barnaba Marial Benjamin, to lead the government delegation to Sant’Egidio talks with the South Sudan Opposition Movement Alliance (SSOMA) in Rome.
Dr Marial told The City Review yesterday that President Kiir had assigned him the position, but that the start date would be communicated by the Sant’Egidio community later this month.
He reiterated the sentiments of the President to the Secretary-General of the Sant’Egidio community at the Tuesday meeting that the government delegation was ready for the talks.
“A delegation from Sant’Egidio, led by its Secretary-General, Dr Paolo and accompanied by Prof Andrea, came from Rome and arrived in Juba, to come and see the President, first of all, to thank him for the decision he took in giving a signal for the resumption of the Rome initiative,” Dr Marial said.
The minister said the government delegation comprises representatives from all the parties signatories to the Revitalised Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in the Republic of South Sudan (R-ARCSS).
“The President said this during the governors’ forum so they have come to appreciate that decision and also to congratulate him for his desire to bring peace across the whole country.” The Rome initiative is connected with the holdout group of which SSOMA are the people we were negotiating with,” he stated.
He clarified that all the SSOMA groups would be present, including NAS. He revealed that they would hold talks with NAS separately, as well as SSUF/A led by Paul Malong and the Real SPLM led by Pagan Amum.
“The president thanked them and said the government’s delegation is ready and constituted from all the different political parties of the R-TGoNU, and the SSOMA talks,” Dr Marial said.
“The President assured the Secretary-General and his delegation that the government of the Republic of South Sudan is ready to resume those peace talks, and has already appointed me as the head of that government delegation to go for those talks.”
Dr Marial praised the meeting, adding that the chief mediator commended President Kiir on his efforts.
“So, the Secretary-General was appreciative and praised the President for his great love for peace for this country. The Secretary-General assured the President [that] they would be organising the days for the meeting between the government and SSOMA. It will be sometime in February here,” he concluded.
Ready for talks
In December 2021, the South Sudan United Front/Army (SSUF/A), led by the former SSPDF Chief of Staff Paul Malong Awan disclosed that they would be committed to the talks as soon as they resume.
This was after President Kiir reactivated the talks at the closing ceremony of the governors’ forum late in November 2021.
Daniel Mach, the SSUF/A Deputy Chief of General Staff for Training and Research, said they were only waiting for the date of the resumption of talks to be communicated by the Sant’Egidio community.
He, however, stated that NAS was still holding to their refusal on the ground that there was no sustainable peace in the country but that both Pagan Amum and Paul Malong were bound for the talks.
“They do not believe the peace is legitimate,” he said, adding that SSUF/A would only decline to participate if the venue of the negotiation was shifted to Juba,” he said.
‘‘We are waiting for the official date to resume talks. The NAS (of Thomas Cirilo) has refused the talks, but our group is ready to go back to the negotiation table.”
The community of Sant’Egidio organised a workshop in Mid-December 2021 in Nairobi, Kenya. The workshop that was attended by government officials and SSUF/A, and Real SPLM resolved that the two movements (SSUF/A, and Real SPLM) would be included in the ceasefire monitoring mechanism in March 2022.
NAS response
On January 26, 2022, NAS released a statement claiming that they were committed to the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement (CoHA), which was signed on December 21, 2017, and the Rome declaration signed on January 20, 2020, in Rome, Italy.
“NAS reiterates its commitment to the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement (CoHA) signed on 21st December 2017 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and to the Rome, Declaration signed on 20th January 2020 in Rome, Italy,” the statement read.
However, in response to numerous reports and blames regarding attacks on civilians and road ambushes, they stated that they were only prepared for self-defence when attacked by the SSPDF, a claim that the SSPDF dismissed as vague and unfounded.
