South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir will sign the IGAD-Plus proposed agreement in Juba on Wednesday, Presidential Press Secretary Ateny Wek Ateny said. However, Ateny disclosed that the president still has reservations and may make annotations on the agreement when signing at a ceremony in Juba. This may have implications for implementation of the deal.
Earlier this month in Addis Ababa, the SPLM-IO rebel leader Riek Machar together with SPLM-G10 leader Pagan Amum signed the IGAD proposal but Salva Kiir declined to sign demanding more days for consultation with the government leadership in Juba.
Ateny reported the outcome of these consultations to Radio Tamazuj in an interview Tuesday afternoon saying, “During the [cabinet] meeting yesterday it was agreed to sign the agreement despite reservations. It was agreed that President Salva Kiir will sign the peace agreement proposed by IGAD-Plus.”
Ateny told Radio Tamazuj the peace agreement will be signed in the presence of Uhuru Kenyatta of Kenya , Sudan’s Omar Al Bashir, President of Uganda Yoweri Museveni and Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn.
The reasons for changing the signing are not yet confirmed, though Radio Tamazuj has learned that IGAD accepted the change of venue and informed the foreign ministries of its respective members states accordingly.
James Gatdet Dak, spokesman for rebel leader Riek Machar, claimed in a Facebook post that the reason for the signing in Juba was “security concerns if he leaves Juba and travels to Addis Ababa to sign it.” He added, “We welcome his decision to sign the peace agreement whether in Juba or in Addis Ababa.”
Reservation points
Ateny pointed out that President Kiir will also raise points of concerns on the new IGAD-Plus proposed peace deal before signing.
The presidential spokesman said they still have reservations on demilitarization of Juba, the Evaluation and Monitoring Commission and power-sharing in the Upper Nile region.
“The commission is a body that will supervise the transitional government, so if a foreigner will have veto rights it means it is the president. So this touches on sovereignty, we don’t want this as government,” he said.
“The third issue is giving Upper Nile to the opposition. It will not bring an end to the war. So these are the points that will be explained by President Kiir to IGAD heads of state and government,” he added.
When asked whether President Kiir will be allowed to change some provisions in the IGAD-Plus agreement, Ateny said Riek Machar made some changes with a pen in Addis Ababa — something denied by Riek’s spokesman James Gatdet. Ateny also explained the government will also outline its reservation points.
A signed version of the agreement seen by Radio Tamazuj also proves that Riek Machar did not alter the agreement in any way when signing.
Meanwhile, Gatdet downplayed the possibility that the agreement will be changed at the signing ceremony: “I believe those in Juba are trying to deceive themselves or the public if they think that they will write new paragraphs or sentences with a pen to include or remove some of the provisions in the agreement.”
“What we understand from IGAD Plus is that President Salva Kiir will sign the peace agreement as he initialed it in Addis Ababa. Not even a comma will be added or removed from the document,” he said.
(Update, 18:33): This article has been updated to include additional remarks by James Gatdet