The meeting between President Salva Kiir and the First Vice President Dr Riek Machar held on Friday to discuss the recent political crisis among the parties over the dismissal of defense minister and swapping of the ministries has ended without any resolution.
According to the minster of presidential affairs Dr. Barnaba Marial Benjamin as published on the Facebook page of the office of the president, the two principals to the Revitalized Peace Agreement have agreed to reconvene another meeting at a later date to further the discussion on reaching the amicable resolution of the standoff.
“The two Principals agreed in a spirit of dialogue and cooperation to convene another meeting at a later date to find amicable solutions on these issues,” Marial said after the closed door meeting.
Much as the minster of presidential affairs said the leaders discussed the status of the implementation of the peace agreement, the office of Dr. Machar also confirmed that the meeting of the principles did not end well.
In statement authored by Goanar Gordon Yien, acting press secretary in the office of Dr. Riek, the principals discussed the recent unilateral decree and the republican order issued last week, relieving minister of Defense and Veterans Affairs and swapped the two ministries.
“The meeting ended in deadlock,” the statement reads.
Even when there is tension between the citizens and the parties, the government spokesperson Michael Makuei still calls on the general public to remain calm and not to pay attention to what is happening.
“In my conclusion, there are no disputes; there is nothing done, and they (Machar and Kiir) are negotiating,” Makuei said.
The current political dilemma came right days after the extension of the transitional period of the roadmap.
The roadmap was developed to provide time-bound guidance on the implementation of outstanding provisions that are critical to the conduct of peaceful and democratic elections at the end of the transitional period.
