Africa-Press – South-Sudan. A civil society activist has called on the presidency to urgently reach an agreement on the unification of command before the graduation of the first batch of the unified forces.The executive director of the Community Empowerment for Progress Organization (CEPO), Edmund Yakani, warned that any delay in the genuine implementation of the transitional security arrangements tasks would be a dangerous and grave mistake.
On Saturday, Maj Gen.Lul Ruai Koang, Spokesperson for the South Sudan People’s Defence Forces, confirmed that the screening team for the graduation of the first group of the necessary unified forces had completed their work in the two regions of Bahr el Ghazal and Upper Nile.
In a statement released yesterday, Yakani said the transitional security arrangements are essential for the success of the Revitalised Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in the Republic of South Sudan (R-ARCSS).
“Community Empowerment for Progress Organization is urging the Presidency to take primary responsibility to ensure that security stabilisation across the country is realised from June 2022 onwards,” Yakani said.
“Conducting general national elections without the realisation of concrete security stabilisation increases the possibility of the national general elections triggering the return to violence.”
He stressed that the presidency under the R-ARCSS is required to seriously invest and focus on genuine transitional security arrangements implementation from January to June 2022.
Yakani stated that the tactic of using too many screening processes of the force is a risk to the idea of transforming society out of violence through R-ARCSS.
He stated that the transitional security arrangements are the first pillars in laying the groundwork for a peaceful and honourable transfer of political power through elections.
According to the activist, from now until June 2022, if the transitional security arrangements are not delivered genuinely, the fate of R-ARCSS acting as the political framework for transitioning the country from violence to peace will not be true.
Poll doubtful
He believes that holding elections in 2023 as a means of transferring political power peacefully and honourably will fail.
CEPO urged the IGAD Special Envoy, IGAD Executive Secretary and the forthcoming African Union head of state and government summit to focus on the concrete implementation of the transitional security arrangement tasks.
“It is essential to conduct a joint IGAD-AU-UN field assessment on the process for delivering the transitional security arrangements from January to June 2022.
“The expected democratic transformation of South Sudan from violence to peace through R-ARCSS depends on the genuine implementation of the proposed transitional security arrangements,” Yakani stressed.
He said that if the leadership of the country aims at having elections in late 2023, then before June 2022 onwards; it is essential to ensure that security stabilisation is achieved concretely.
However, CEPO noted the commitment of the presidency mechanism of the R-ARCSS, saying it has the commitment and political will for genuine graduation of the unified forces for timely redeployment and roll out of the second and other phases of the process for the unification of forces.
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