Peace talks aimed to end the ongoing civil war have been suspended this evening until President Salva Kiir and opposition leader Riek Machar meet to resolve the outstanding issues.
“It is decided that some of the outstanding issues will be addressed by President Salva and rebel leader Riek Machar when they meet face-to-face on the 20th of this month,” Michael Makuei, Minister of Information said.
“So, everything is suspended awaiting the face-to-face meeting. After which maybe a draft will be prepared and presented to the IGAD Council of Ministers for consideration,” he added.
Makuei, who is also the government spokesman, pointed out that the IGAD council of ministers and the IGAD Heads of State and Government will hold two separate meetings on June 21 to consider reports on the South Sudanese peace process.
“We are optimistic that after the summit definitely we will resume, and we will be in a position to address the other outstanding issues,” he said.
The information minister accused the opposition of making "unreasonable demands" in peace talks, saying his government made concessions for the sake of peace in the country.
“We have today decided to increase the parliament by 25% which means 100 seats more. We have allocated 70% to the SPLM-IO and 30% to the other groups, but they are insisting that this parliament must go and we are saying no this is a redline,” he said.
Makuei said the planned face-to-face talks between Kiir and Machar have emboldened the opposition to stall the consultation process.
He also said the government has decided to allocate 30% of power to all opposition groups at the national level.
“We said at the state level, 80% is for the government and 20% for the opposition in the executive only. Nevertheless there has been no progress made,” he explained.
Makuei expressed optimism that the planned face-to-face meeting between President Salva Kiir and his former deputy Riek Machar will make a significant breakthrough.