The South Sudan parties’ positions in the ongoing peace consultations in Addis Ababa are far apart, according to observers.
A senior official at the peace talks told Radio Tamazuj today that there were significant discrepancies between the positions of the South Sudanese government and the opposition on the formula of forming a unity government based the IGAD’s revitalized peace plan.
The opposition groups at the peace talks preference a lean government while the unity government in Juba said the upcoming government should be bloated to accommodate all parties.
“The reality is that South Sudan conflicting parties are still far from having confidence and trust towards each other in order to form a government that can bring them together to end the ongoing violence,” he said.
Edmund Yakani, Executive Director of the nonprofit Community Empowerment for Progress Organization (CEPO), called on the warring parties to accept a win-win approach to resolve their political differences.
"Big tent government" or "small tent government" is not the issue. The issue is the renewal of trust and confidence among the warring parties through making effective compromises that win trust and confidence for the formation of a transitional government for a reasonable period of time,” he said.
Yakani urged the parties which failed to comply with a 35% quota for women in all instances of responsibilities and representation to implement it.
The intensive consultation between South Sudan’s parties in Addis Ababa which started on Saturday is expected to conclude on Monday.