The Political Parties Leadership Forum (PPLF) on Friday rejected the SPLM-Juba demand to move peace talks from Ethiopia to Kenya.

At a news conference in Juba, representatives from eleven unarmed opposition parties said government spokesperson Michael Makuei Lueth’s statements urging a new venue for the talks is an unnecessary distraction from the search for peace. 

“We don’t want the talks to be shifted because the shifting of the peace is the delay tactics,” said Lam Akol, PPLF leader and head of the SPLM-DC party. “The issue now is not the place or mediators, but are we serious to tackle the problem?”

On 30 September Makuei told the BBC Focus on Africa program that his government lost confidence in the venue and the top mediator, Ethiopian IGAD special envoy Seyoum Mesfin. Makuei called for the dismissal of Seyoum and the relocation of the talks from Ethiopia to Kenya.

Lam said that blaming mediators for the slow peace talks is unfair scapegoating.

“Seyoum Mesfin was a minister of foreign affairs of Ethiopian for more than twenty years...If we are talking about experience, he has more experience than anybody including the minister [Makuei],” Lam said.

"Secondly, the CPA that brought the independence of South Sudan, the person who wrote the declaration is none other than Seyoum,” he added.

Lam said that the PPLF is firmly against any change in venue, calling complaints about location "side issues."

“Our people have suffered immensely and we must double our efforts to bring about a speedy end to this devastating war," he said. "If the two warring parties do not change their attitudes in the peace talks, relocating the talks to Nairobi or Washington for that matter will not help in any way.”

The PPLF released a statement saying they have full confidence in Seyoum and the other IGAD special envoys Lazaro Sumbeiywo of Kenya and Mohammed Ahmed Mustafa El Dabi of Sudan.

Lam had been a participant of the peace talks as the leader of the PPLF, as invited by the IGAD mediation team, but security agents loyal to SPLM-Juba leader Salva Kiir have prevented him from traveling to Ethiopia for the latest round of negotiations.

Radio Tamazuj Photo: Dr Lam Akol in joint press conference today at Political Parties Leadership Forum

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