Opposition coalition: Kiir and Machar refuse to include our reservations in the agreement
Khartoum, 3 August 2018 – The Coalition of Armed Opposition Groups and the Political Detainees Group refused to sign the Khartoum Peace Agreement in Southern Sudan, noting that the government and the opposition led by Riek Machar refuse to include their comments in the agreement.
The two groups said in a joint statement today, refusing to sign the agreement in its current form without including its observations in the agreement to be signed next Sunday in Khartoum.
On July 25, a group of former political detainees and the opposition alliance in southern Sudan, with the exception of General Peter Gadit Yak, refused to sign a power-sharing agreement.
“The Southern Sudan Opposition Coalition and the SPLM-Political Prisoners remained in constant dialogue with the mediation on the possibility of making some changes that would enable the other parties to sign and Article 4 discussed the number of mandates and sub-articles 6.7 and 6.8 (National Committee for the Pre-Transition Phase and its Fund) And Article 5.1 (shared responsibility in states and local governments) since an agreement was signed on 25 last month. “
The two groups said that the Sudanese mediator Aldairi Mohamed Ahmed, confirmed that the government in Juba refused to take the recent reservations in mind, and mediation can not do anything about it.
Last month, Information Minister and spokesman for the Government of Southern Sudan, Michael McCoy, played down the importance of the groups that declined to sign the peace agreement, saying it was “unimportant” and had “no effect”.
For his part, the leader of the National Movement of Southern Sudan and a member of the coalition Hussein Abdul-Baki said Friday evening that the government in Juba and the movement of Reak Machar refused to include their comments in the Convention, noting that the position of the coalition will remain constant if not included in his remarks.
The Sudanese Foreign Minister, Deirdrei Mohamed Ahmed, after arriving in Juba on Friday, that the signing of the agreement will be in time on Sunday in the Sudanese capital Khartoum.
In July, the United States said it would not fund the transitional government of South Sudan in the absence of a lasting commitment to peace, inclusiveness, financial accountability and good governance.
