By William Madouk
South Sudan is mulling to host a grand stakeholders-consultative meeting between the transitional government of Sudan, political parties, and civil society in Juba.
Scheduling of the consultative meeting to find an antidote for the raging war in Khartoum was resolve after a meeting of 14 Sudanese political parties in Juba.
The signatories to 2020, Juba peace agreement, seconded President Salva Kiir’s administration to invite Sudanese political parties and stakeholders for the meeting.
“Unanimously, all parties decided that President Kiir must invite Sudanese political parties and civil society groups to Juba as preparation for South Sudan to host Sudan peace talks,” reads a part of a communiqué of the recent meeting.
Still, the signatories to the Juba peace pact supported the Jeddah peace talks in Saudi Arabia and urged warring parties to reach an immediate truce.
President Kiir reiterated his commitment to resolving the crisis in Sudan and called for unity among the Sudanese political leaders in a bid to jointly find an amicable solution to the current crisis in their country.
The head of state made this remark on Wednesday while in a meeting with Sudanese political leaders at State House J1.
Meanwhile, the presidential advisor on national security affairs, Mr. Tut Gatluak, who is also the chairman of the South Sudan Mediation Committee, said they support whoever calls for a peaceful resolution of the Sudan conflict.
“We will not just stop with the signatories to the Juba Peace Deal; we call all stakeholders, political parties, and civil society to come to Juba to brainstorm on how we can stop the war in Sudan,” said Gatluak.
“We should not stand aloof again; all of us should be peacemakers and bring lasting peace and stability to Sudan; enough is enough for a damning war,” he added.
Addressing the journalists, Dr. Dhieu Mathok, the deputy chairman of the South Sudan mediation team on the Juba peace accord, who doubles as minister of investment, said Juba is an immediate Khartoum neighbor and cannot stand aloof and watch Sudan tear itself apart.
“They (the Sudanese politicians) are urging President Salva Kiir to intervene because they believe South Sudan is the only country that can bring peace to Sudan,” said Mathok.
“We are expecting South Sudan to host a bigger forum where the Sudanese political parties, civil societies, faith-based groups, and all political activists will come to South Sudan through an invitation from the president to discuss how the war can be stopped,” he added.
According to Mathok, the ball is now in President Salva Kiir’s court to fix the date for the grand Sudanese political forum in Juba.
In an exclusive interview with the No. 1 Citizen Daily Newspaper, Mr. Tom Hajum, the chair of the Sudanese National Front Bloc and party to the Juba Peace Agreement (JPA), said they rejected Kenya to mediate the peace in Sudan and rather preferred South Sudan.
“We think that everything that happened before us today was part of the conspiracy against Sudan. This war arose as a result of an international conspiracy and greed,” said Hajum.
“After seven months, it has become completely clear that there is no place, a state, or leadership that we trust more than our brothers in South Sudan, under the leadership of President Salva Kiir,” he confided.
He added that, as 14 Sudanese political tracks, they appealed to the Jeddah mediation team to instantly effect a ceasefire to pave the way for real negotiation on the roundtable.
Mrs. Sitana Mahmoud, from the Sudanese Beija Conference opposition bloc and party to the JPA, said they consider South Sudan to be one neighboring country that is active and could bring lasting peace to Sudan.
“South Sudan is not a stranger to us, of course, and South Sudan does not reject Jeddah and IGAD initiatives but agrees to every step and initiative that ends the war and brings stability to Sudan,” said Mrs. Mahmoud.
“South Sudan is closer to us; we share common values and we know each other as brothers, but we are in two countries, and we have experienced peace and are more worthy of bringing peace,” she added.
She called on warring parties to stop the war, which destroyed the country, uprooted people from their homes, displaced women, and subjected them to so many violations, adding that Sudanese people are losers in this war.