By Matik Kueth
The parties to the Tumaini Peace Initiative have agreed to examine the root causes of the conflict in South Sudan in their discussions. In a joint press briefing on Wednesday, the R-TGoNU Tumaini delegation, stakeholders, and opposition parties agreed to schedule a meeting to address the core causes of the conflict as the first agenda item.
Mohammed Guyo, Deputy Chief Mediator of the Tumaini Initiative, stated that the joint statement is a watershed moment in their united efforts to communicate progress in the peace process to the South Sudanese people.
“Tumaini Mediation initiative would like to communicate to the people of South Sudan, the region, and the international community about the progress that we are making in this phase of the mediation. With me is the government rapporteur, Dr. Martin Elia Lomuro, and the spokesperson of the opposition, Lual Dao. You have not seen us in this format before, where everyone used to do their own unilateral statements. So, this joint statement by itself shows our collective effort to communicate to the people of South Sudan the positive development in this mediation process.” Guyo
Dr. Martin Elia Lomuro, Minister of Cabinet Affairs and the government delegation’s rapporteur, affirmed the previous days’ sessions as successful.
“Yesterday we had a very good day, we had a positive day, and we finally agreed on the agenda of the negotiations that first we would like to discuss the issue of the identity of the parties that are negotiating. Then we would look at the root causes of the conflict in the Republic of South Sudan as a matter that always came up at root causes, root causes would like to discuss that. And then we will look at the relationship between the R-ARCRSS and the Tumaini, and then proceed to power sharing. After that we will see how now the process proceeds. So having successfully agreed on the agenda,” Dr. Lomuro stated.
He assured the South Sudanese people that the government delegation to the Nairobi peace talks approached the discussions with positivity and clear directives to bring peace from the process.
“I want to assure our people also that we came here with a positive mood, a positive heart, and clear direction from the President that we should take back peace out of this process,” he emphasized.
However, Lual Dau, spokesperson for the United People’s Alliance (UPA), echoed the optimism of his counterparts, stressing that the parties are committed to the agreed agenda.
“Yesterday, we reached a very important milestone in this process. The parties will stick to the agenda. This achievement was delivered to us by H.E the Gen. Lazarus Sumbeyo, the chief mediator.” he stressed.
The parties’ joint statement is a crucial step toward peace in South Sudan, reflecting their united effort to communicate good achievements in the mediation process to both the South Sudanese people and the international community.