The leader of South Sudan United Front (SSUF) movement and member of
non-signatories' group, Gen Paul Malong, has lauded the Sant Egidio
Community in Rome for three years of efforts of peace mediation between the
holdout groups and the government of South Sudan.
The party made the remarks following the discussion of Kenyan
President Dr. William Samoei Ruto and Sant Egidio Community in Rome on
Tuesday over the peace process in South Sudan.
"Sant Egidio, brought us where we are here today, in terms of the mediation between us and the government. Therefore, we cannot take their efforts for granted; we appreciate what they did for the last three years to the people of South Sudan because where the talks will start is where we stopped last time , so this people have done their part” said Garang Malual Deng, SSUF spokesperson.
Currently, Ruto
is the incoming mediator of the South Sudan opposition movements alliance (SSOMA)
and the government of South Sudan.
SSOMA is a coalition of parties who did not sign the revitalized
peace agreement. The oppositions have been in negotiations with the government
since 2020 in Rome mediated by the Community of Sant Egidio but three years
since the discussion started, no political agreement has yet been reached.
In December 2023, President
Salva Kiir wrote Kenyan president Dr. William Samoei Ruto asking him to
take over the mantle of mediation from the community of Sant Egidio in Rome
citing that the talks took long in Rome without resolution.
Up to date, it’s only Malong’s
party that has shown willingness to participate in the Ruto-led initiative. The rest
of the holdout groups hold reservations for talks in Nairobi.
The government of South Sudan and the South Sudan
Oppositions Movement Alliance, now called non-signatories, have been in peace
talks known as the Rome Initiative mediated by the Community of Sant Egidio in
Rome since 2020.
Three years since the initiation of the discussions, no
resolution or political agreement has yet been struck by the parties.
Pagan Amum, leader of the Real SPLM, had earlier said they
were not consulted for the shifting of the negotiations to Kenya.
The holdout groups include Real SPLM, led by Pagan Amum; the
National Salvation Front (NAS), by Thomas Cirilo; the South Sudan United Front
(SSUF/A), led by Paul Malong; and the National Democratic Movement-Patriotic
Front (NDM-PF), by Emmanuel Ajawin.
