President Kiir is not willing to release nine political detainees to allow for a ceasefire. On Tuesday, the chief peace negotiators of IGAD went from Addis Ababa to Juba to ask Salva Kiir personally to consider the release allowing meaningful peace talks to start on Wednesday.
However, Kiir answered that he will not release the detainees unless ‘legal procedures according to constitution were finished.’ He did not provide a timeframe for this.
According to the minister of Foreign Affairs, Barnaba Marial, the president is still waiting for a report by five lawyers investigating the role of the detainees who have been accused by the president of a coup attempt.
The opposing head of delegation of former vice-president Riek Machar, Taban Deng, said that an agreement of cessation of hostilities will come as soon as the detainees are released. He expects that a full reconciliation will be possible.
The trip by the mediators from Addis Ababa to Juba came a day after the US State Department asked for the release of the detainees, like the UN, IGA and other diplomats of the African Union have asked for their release.
Salva Kiir’s government responded to the negotiators in a tweet after the meeting saying, “On the matter of releasing the detainees, we have to follow legal procedures according to the constitution.”
Barnaba Marial added: “We are for an unconditional and immediate cessation of hostilities. In principle the president does not object to the release of the detainees, but in the context of a due process. If people have been detained there has to be investigations and a legal process.”
The US State Department said on Monday that the US does not view the detainees as alleged coup plotters but as “political detainees” who should be freed to take part in peace talks underway in Ethiopia.
“We do believe that to be meaningful and productive, senior SPLM members currently detained in Juba need to be present for discussions on political issues which are happening in Addis,” said spokeswoman Marie Harf.
“To help move these talks forward, we urge the government of South Sudan to uphold its commitments and release political detainees immediately,” Harf added.
The chief negotiator for President Kiir, Nhial Deng Nhial, blamed the delays in progress so far on the demands of the group of the former vice president Riek Machar.
Related coverage:
Kiir: No power sharing and no release of detainees (31 Dec.)