Rebel commander Peter Gatdet and a group of other senior officers and supporters have denounced SPLM/A-IO leader Riek Machar, claiming to have dismissed him from leadership on the grounds that he is willing to make peace with President Salva Kiir and serve him.
In a press statement sent from Khartoum and verified by a senior rebel official in Khartoum, Gatdet claimed to speak for other field generals in saying that Machar and his chief negotiator Taban Deng Gai “have forgotten the main purpose for which we took up arms.”
Gatdet said he would not accept any peace deal in which Salva Kiir remains in government. He expressed his willingness, however, to join a “military-led transitional government comprising officers from both parties” – without the leadership of Salva Kiir.
The statement is unambiguous in rejecting the leadership of Riek Machar and claiming his removal from office: “We the Generals of the SPLM/A in Opposition have lost confidence in the leadership of Dr. Riek Machar Teny, and from today he ceases to be the Chairman and Commander in Chief of SPLM/A-IO,” reads the statement.
“Therefore, any peace that he signs with the Government of South Sudan will not be legitimate and will not be respected by SPLM/A-IO led by Generals.”
Gatdet added, “Dr. Riek Machar has already accepted to work with Salva Kiir as his Vice President in the Transitional Government of National Unity. These leaders have become symbols of hate, division and failed leadership. Both leaders were responsible for igniting the current crisis. We strongly reject IGAD proposal that gives leadership of the transitional Government of National Unity to both President Kiir and Dr. Riek Machar.”
The statement is dated 10 August and marked with a stamp of the “Deputy Chief of General Staff for Operations” of SPLM/A-IO – the position Gatdet held before his removal by Machar last month.
Meanwhile, a delegation sent by Riek Machar to Addis Ababa have been negotiating to enter into a power-sharing agreement with Salva Kiir’s government for a period of 30 months. The mediators’ peace proposal leaves President Salva Kiir in power and makes Riek Machar his first vice president. The two sides remain at odds over other provisions of the agreement, however, including the share of power that the rebels would take in state governments.