Jenifer James
Africa-Press – South-Sudan. The minister of presidential affairs and head of the government delegation to Roma peace talks, Dr. Barnaba Marial, broke silence over the stalemate in the negotiations, which has seen the government hold a different view from the holdout groups.
Speaking to The City Review in an exclusive interview yesterday, Marial said the government wants the Roma peace talks round table conference to be conducted in Juba as it cannot afford to transport over 1,000 delegates to Rome.
Dr. Marial expressed the concerns in an exclusive interview with The City Review yesterday, assuring that the peace talks were on the right track.
He said both the government and the non-signatories to the agreement were waiting for the next agenda from Sant’Egidio.
“There is no round table conference discussion that will be abroad because we need proper representation from all the groups such as women, youth, and civil society. Not only a few of us (government) will be having the round table discussion in Rome; if they (non-signatories) want us to have the round table discussion, we will hold it here in the country,” Dr. Marial stressed.
However, he emphasised that the government is ready for the national round table discussion as part of the Rome peace talks agenda to bring non-signatories to the peace agreement on board.
“The round table conference should be held inside (South Sudan) so that we will hear from the women, the youth, from Bomas, Payam, and counties at the national level. We need about nearly one thousand delegates.”
Marial denied any pulling of the rope with non-signatories but admitted a few points of difference on the declaration of principles.
“Are we going to have 1,000 delegates in Rome? So if they want to discuss any issues concerning the national roundtable conference, we can hold it inside here, no problem.”
“We are not relaxed; the government is always willing for the Rome talk, at any time if the Sant’Egidio sends for us, we will be there in Rome, but we must continue from where we have stopped since we have started talking to each other,” Dr. Marial said.
He noted that since the talks commenced, they have had a number of debates and both agreed on the Rome declaration, resolution, and the sensation of hostilities by signing the documents.
In a statement released last week, the Non-signatory South Sudan Opposition Groups (NSSOG) expressed their commitment to dialogue to achieve permanent and just peace in South Sudan.
They said this would only be achieved through an inclusive round table of all South Sudanese stakeholders.
In the same letter, the group also requested that the mediators follow up on their discussions in the last meeting with the Government of South Sudan.
The meeting was adjourned on March 20, 2023, at the request of the government delegation to return to Juba for consultations.
“The NSSOG shared a written position with the mediators, while the government of South Sudan just wrote a letter to the mediators rejecting the round table conference proposal and opting that the parties should engage in bilateral talks, excluding the other South Sudanese stakeholders, to negotiate another agreement that will not open or change the R-ARCSS, its extension Road Map, or timelines,” the statement read in part.
They said prior to the June 2023 consultations, the mediators had requested both the government and the NSSOG to share their positions with the mediators.
Source: The City Review South Sudan
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