South Sudanese leader Salva Kiir earlier this week delivered a speech upon his return to Juba from a trip to Washington, in which he claimed a military victory in Upper Nile and accused his rival Riek Machar of not wanting peace.
Select remarks from this speech have been earlier reported, including the fact that Kiir rejected the idea of creating a post of prime minister in the interim government.
However, the speech has not been published in its entirety. Radio Tamazuj is hereby making available the audio (in Arabic) to the general public, at the link below.
Among Kiir’s more noteworthy remarks, he said, “There is something called interim government, which people are talking about. I told the mediation: ‘This interim government, you are imposing it on me.’”
“The time of this government of mine has not yet finished,” he said, adding, “If there is any suggestion that there be a Prime Minister so that Riek Machar can take that position, I do not accept.”
Kiir went on also to reiterate charges against Machar that he had attempted to commit a coup d’etat, stressing that he would form a government without Machar.
“We don’t want Riek Machar,” he said.
However, he also noted shortly afterward however that he would be willing to appoint him as second vice president, while retaining James Wani Igga as first vice president.
The position does not exist in the South Sudanese government, and would require a constitutional amendment to create it. The example is drawn from Sudan, where Salva Kiir himself was second vice president.
Kiir also spoke extensively of his visit to the United States and his meeting with US Secretary of State John Kerry.
He noted that the latter had affirmed Kiir’s legitimacy as president of South Sudan. He then went on to speak of a military victory that he claimed took place that same morning in Upper Nile State.
Then he went on to urge Nuer civilians sheltering at UN-protected sites in Tongping and Jebel neighborhoods of Juba to leave these sites and return to the city.
He denied that these people were in danger of being killed if they left UN protection saying, “How many Nuer are now staying here outside [of the UN camps], and they are not killed?”
“Only there are those people in the UN camp there. If we wanted to kill them now, wouldn’t we go bring them out?”
Radio Tamazuj photo: South Sudan president Salva Kiir speaks upon arrival at Juba International Airport on Sunday August 10, 2014.
Related coverage:
SPLM-DC says formation of transitional govt not Kiir’s decision (13 Aug.)
Kiir: I will not accept Machar as prime minister (10 Aug.)