Courtesy - of - www.sudan4jesus.com

The government says delegates will examine IGAD’s proposed agenda during the two-week break in the talks in Addis Ababa.

In an exclusive interview with Eye radio in Addis, Government Spokesperson Michael Makuei Lueth said the second round of talks has ended without any agreement.

“We are breaking for about 15 days and we are supposed to come back on the 20^th to come and continue with the talks. It’s worth mentioning that up to this moment we have not agreed on a declaration of principles, we have not signed any document at all. So we are going back with the document which was given to us, we are supposed to study and respond to it and come back, maybe on the 20^th, for the continuation of the talks. However, during this period, the envoys are expected to be shuttling between the two parties so that they can at least bridge the gap during this period. So that is the situation which we are in, now we are going back and we hope that next time when we come we will progress”, the Information said.

Makuei also says IGAD is responsible for the failure of the second round of peace talks in Addis Ababa to come up with a peace resolution.

He said delegates at the talks did not agree on the agenda, a ceasefire, and issues to do with the operationalization of the cessation of hostilities.

Michael Makuei was speaking to journalists in Juba last night after his return from Ethiopia.

“It was the envoys who became an obstacle other than the rebels with whom we went to negotiate. The mediators decided to come up with their own agenda. And if you might have seen the statement of the chief envoy in the opening session, some of you might have come across it, it is that statement which constituted the agenda for the talks, which was not acceptable to us as the government. Instead we demanded that then rebels should give us their agenda, and give us the root-causes of their rebellion. Unfortunately, these people were not given the opportunity, so we disagreed”, he said.

“Number two…”, he added,  “in the last days, we were supposed to agree and sign what we call a Declaration of Principles. This Declaration of Principles was supposed to be between the government of Republic of South Sudan and the rebels. Unfortunately, the envoys again brought in a third party, whom they called “SPLM leaders”. The delegation of the government Republic of South Sudan did not accept”.

On the 17^th of January, the IGAD mediation team proposed an agenda for the second round of talks suggesting that the government and the SPLM/SPLA –in Opposition address as a matter of priority humanitarian issues in areas affected by the conflict since December.

The document also called for the full implementation of the cessation of hostilities agreement and the restructuring of the security sector to address issues of insecurity countrywide.

However, the government did not accept this, saying the SPLM/SPLA in Opposition’s reason for taking up arms was not included on the agenda for discussion. As for the inclusion of the seven former detained political leaders, the government said it was in Addis Ababa to negotiate peace only with those who had taken up arms against it.

The IGAD-mediated talks between the government and the SPLM/SPLA in Opposition will resume on the 20^th of this month.