By William Madouk
Non-signatory South Sudan Opposition Group (NSSOG) echoed their readiness for talks with the government but insisted on an inclusive Roundtable conference.
In March 2023, the meeting in Rome ended hastily after the government and the holdout group did not agree on the agenda. The meeting was adjourned to May; however, the two sides are yet to meet.
The parties to the Rome peace accord did not agree on the way forward, whereas the government wants to start from where talks stopped, the opposition wants the opposite.
But efforts by the Community of Sant Egidio broker have not borne fruit; the NSSOG continued to hold their position for a roundtable discussion.
“Prior to the June 2023 consultation, the mediators had requested both the government and the NSSOG to share their positions with mediators,” said Pa’gan Amum in a statement.
“The NSSOG remains committed to dialogue to achieve permanent and just peace in South Sudan, which can only be achieved through an inclusive Roundtable of all South Sudanese stakeholders,” he added.
Meanwhile, the government also wrote to San’t Egidio mediator team, declining the roundtable conference offer, and choosing that parties should engage in bilateral talks not to change the revitalized peace deal.
“Government wrote a letter to the mediators rejecting the Roundtable conference proposal and opted that the parties engage in bilateral talks, excluding other South Sudanese stakeholders, to negotiate another agreement that will open or change the R-ARCESS,” the statement noted.
Amum added that the group is still committed to the Rome Peace and is ready to ensure that there is peace in South Sudan.
In November 2022, the government suspended the peace talks with the group after accusing the opposition of lacking commitment to peace negotiations and preparing for war.
Later on, President Salva Kiir Mayardit renewed his commitment to the peace process with the opposition after Pope Francis’s visit to the capital, Juba, in February.
Negotiations between both sides began in 2019 but have failed to end violence in some parts of the country, despite a ceasefire signed in January 2020.
The NSSOG brings together some of the opposition parties that had declined to be part of the revitalized peace agreement, signed in September 2018.
The Alliance includes NAS, run by General Thomas Cirilo Swaka, the South Sudan United Front led by General Paul Malong Awan, and the Real SPLM under the leadership of Pagan Amum.