Peace negotiations among the South Sudanese factions SPLM-Juba, SPLM-IO, SPLM-G10 and other stakeholders are not expected to resume on Thursday as earlier announced by the mediators.
The peace talks will not resume until 20 October at the earliest, Radio Tamazuj is told by an informed source.
Mediators of the East African Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) had announced an adjournment of the talks on 5 October 2014, saying they would resume on 16 October 2014.
They said the reason for the adjournment was to allow time for “consultations” with East African leaders and the heads of South Sudan’s two warring parties.
IGAD Special Envoy Seyoum Mesfin, the chief mediator, told members of a dinner party in Ethiopia that the round represented “a major step forward,” pointing to fresh areas of agreement among the parties, such as the structure of the proposed transitional government.
But Donald Booth, the chief envoy of the United States government to South Sudan later said, “Both the government and the opposition have failed to engage the process in good faith or to fully honor their commitments.”
The IGAD bloc last June set a 60-day deadline for the South Sudanese negotiators to reach a political agreement on the formation of a transitional government or else face the imposition of unspecified “punitive measures.”
However, that 60-day deadline passed and was renewed for another 45 days. The 45-day deadline has now also passed.
IGAD member countries currently remain divided on the issue of sanctions. But the United States government has hinted that it may impose financial sanctions on more officials soon. Donald Booth said last week “the time has come” for more sanctions on members of the opposition or government who are obstructing peace efforts.
Meanwhile, some leading members of the SPLM factions have traveled to Tanzania to participate in a confidence-building initiative organized by Tanzania’s own ruling party. The initiative is not formally linked to the IGAD-led process.
One political observer downplayed the significance of this inter-factional dialogue in Arusha. “There is nothing much happening in Arusha… There will be series of consultations to restore trust among various SPLM factions,” said the South Sudanese senior former official.
Ethiopia, which has been hosting the IGAD-mediated talks, previously sought to involve its own ruling party EPRDF in facilitating SPLM leadership meetings separately from the formal peace talks. But the Ethiopian party is not involved in the present initiative in Arusha.
Related:
Interparty dialogue in Tanzania between 3 SPLM factions (13 Oct.)