Four politicians cleared of treason charges by a court in Juba last week will be permitted to join SPLM intra-party talks in the Ethiopian capital, according to the party’s acting secretary-general.

This comes after two of the group were blocked from traveling last Friday and threatened with re-arrest. They were earlier invited, however, by the peace mediators of the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) to participate in the political talks in Addis Ababa.

Ann Itto, acting secretary-general of SPLM, was today quoted by Bakhita Radio as saying that the released four politicians would be allowed to participate in the national and intra-party dialogue to resolve the party differences.

She described the release of the detainees as a milestone in the direction of peace.

She further said that peace talks between government and SPLM/A-in- Opposition are gaining momentum in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Itto mentioned that the warring parties signed the Declarations of Principles Agreement and also that the SPLM delegation led by Jemma Nunu Kumba also agreed on objectives and agenda in the SPLM intra-party Political Bureau dialogue.

One of the released politicians, Pagan Amum, was asked in an interview yesterday whether he was free to travel to the negotiations and confirmed that he was not. But he emphasized his hopes to be able to engage with all the parties to promote peace.

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