The South Sudanese warring parties led by Riek Machar and Salva Kiir are still obstructing peace efforts and are unwilling to compromise ahead of another high-level East African summit this week, diplomats of three Western countries warn.
Diplomats of the USA, Britain and Norway are “gravely concerned with the continued lack of progress in the South Sudan peace negotiations,” reads a press statement dated Friday.
They expressed disappointment in the “continued unwillingness of either party to make the compromises needed to achieve a viable peace agreement,” accusing the two sides of “obstruction” and backtracking on previous commitments made at a summit two months ago.
US, Norwegian and British diplomats also reacted coolly to the recent framework deal made by SPLM factions in Arusha last week as part of a separate and initially uncoordinated negotiations process supported by the governments of Tanzania, Switzerland and Finland.
While Kenyan and Tanzanian leaders hailed the Swiss-funded Arusha meeting as a “new dawn,” Troika diplomats were more reserved. In a curt acknowledgment of the process their statement says merely, “We recognize the recent agreement in Arusha, Tanzania to reconcile the SPLM.”
Speaking to Radio Tamazuj, a diplomatic source from a Western country referred to the Arusha deal as “a mostly meaningless agreement.” The source also pointed out that the involved heads of state only attended a signing ceremony, rather than actual deliberations, as contrasted to the IGAD-led process in which Ethiopia’s prime minister has been directly involved in negotiations.
On the other hand, such non-intrusive facilitation has been hailed by the SPLM-Juba faction headed by President Salva Kiir. Speaking to press after returning from Arusha, SPLM-Juba Political Bureau member Akol Paul said the spirit of Arusha should be adopted in Addis Ababa.
“This agreement shows the capacity and the capability of the people of South Sudan under the leadership of Comrade Salva Kiir Mayardit to solve their problems on their own. In Arusha, we were sitting alone; CCM the facilitator… gave us the opportunity to discuss and come up with solutions to our problem. It is our hope and prayer as SPLM delegation to Arusha that the spirit of Arusha shall engulf Addis Ababa peace talks,” he said.
Kenyatta ‘very supportive’ of Arusha process
SPLM-Juba representatives stressed the historic importance of the Arusha deal, which represents a diplomatic achievement for Kiir in East Africa as he seeks legitimacy for his bid to remain chairman of the SPLM ahead of planned elections, while remaining thus far non-committal about a formal IGAD-brokered power-sharing proposal.
For his part, Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta inadvertently disclosed during remarks last Wednesday that he was informed of plans for the Arusha process and endorsed them before the process kicked off last year. He recalled that Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete approached him about the matter: “I remember telling him that we will be very supportive of that particular move.”
Kenyatta’s remarks are noteworthy given that Tanzania did not inform the Ethiopian-led IGAD mediation prior to launching the Arusha initiative.
The Arusha process was initiated when one of the warring parties — SPLM-Juba — made a request to the Tanzanian president to set up a new negotiation initiative apart from the Ethiopian-led IGAD process, at the same time as it also called openly for transfer of the peace negotiations from Addis Ababa to another venue.
For their part, the IGAD mediation team have not yet made any public comment on the developments in Arusha. Chief Mediator Seyoum Mesfin did not attend the event, nor did IGAD Chairman and Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn, who was reportedly initially slated to attend the signing ceremony but did not end up coming.
‘We are not forum shopping’
The SPLM-IO faction led by Riek Machar have welcomed the Arusha deal stressing it will help bolster efforts in Addis Ababa. Speaking to Radio Tamazuj last Thursday, spokesman Mabior Garang denied that the Arusha talks were an effort to transfer the peace process away from Ethiopia.
“IGAD is aware, IGAD has information that Arusha is happening and they know that it’s not negative,” he said. Mabior also noted that though the IGAD mediation team was not represented at Arusha, the regional bloc was represented in the form of Kenyatta, the IGAD rapporteur.
“We are not forum shopping,” he insisted.
However, the diplomatic source speaking to Radio Tamazuj argued that the Arusha process was “complicating issues,” pointing to the inclusion of governmental issues and not merely party issues in the implementation matrix of the Arusha deal.
Meanwhile, the SPLM-IO and SPLM-Juba chief negotiators are expected back in Addis Ababa as early as Monday this week, while Riek Machar and Salva Kiir may travel there on 27-28 January ahead of the IGAD summit meeting.
File photo: Chief negotiators Nhial Deng and Taban Deng in Addis Ababa