Lt. Gen. Asrat Denero, the new Chairperson Ceasefire and Transitional Security Arrangements Monitoring Mechanism [CTSAM-VM] - Courtesy

A member of the Ceasefire Monitoring body has criticized IGAD for ignoring regional balance when appointing the head of the body.

This comes after the IGAD secretariat on Tuesday replaced the Ethiopian Major General. Teshome Gemechu with his countryman, Lt. General Asrat Denero as the new chairperson of CTSAM-VM.

Major General Teshome Gemechu handed over the mission after two years of service.

His term finished after he has served the cessation monitoring body.

Paul Bior, representative of Former Detainees at CTSAM-VM says the head of the monitoring body was supposed to be either from Sudan or Uganda.

But this did not happen.

He argued that this is according to the previous arrangements between the members of the regional body IGAD.

However, Paul demanded more clarifications from the IGAD why they ignore Sudan and Uganda to be the head of the monitoring body.

The CTSAM-VM was re-establishment in 2018, to monitor the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement signed by the parties in December 2017.

It is also mandated by the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) to monitor and verify the implementation of the agreement on the Cessation of Hostilities as per the peace deal.

Speaking during the meeting of the CTSAM-VM in Juba yesterday, Bior criticized IGAD for ignoring regional balance in the process.

“We have been complaining all these years but in vain. We have been asking the IGAD, why the chairman came from Ethiopia this time, because I feel the agreement has been violated. The chairman has to come from Sudan or Uganda,” Deng said.

“I want clarification from the IGAD why they did it like that, because agreement is agreement, if they violate the agreement how are we going to comply with its implementation.”

For his part, the outgoing Chairperson of the CTSAM-VM, Major General Teshome Gemechu says any issue regarding the appointment should be addressed to the peace parties.

“The issue of the chairman has been there for the last two to three years, please leave this to His Excellency, the President who is leading this country and his deputies because they are the one who are representing South Sudan,” Teshome said.

“South Sudan is an active member of the IGAD so they can decide, my senior general is not here by himself, he received an official letter from IGAD that is why he is here and also I was here because of IGAD.

“There is no way that everyone can just threaten and make some disturbances over something which is not acceptable.”

General Teshome spoke during the technical meeting of the CTSAM-VM on Wednesday in Juba.