Rebecca Nyandeng [in purple shawl] poses for a photo with Kenyan President Uhuru and the released political leaders - State House, Nairobi. Feb 12, 2014.

The 7 politicians who were released by the government last month are calling for an end to violence.

They also urge the warring parties to heed the cessation of hostilities agreement.

The 7 leaders, who arrived in Addis Ababa for talks yesterday, said they would help in the negotiation for a political settlement of the crisis.

John Luk Jok told the press that they call for the release of the remaining four SPLM leaders for the dialogue to be inclusive.

“We take this opportunity to call upon President Salva Kiir Mayardit to set free the remaining four detainees and also allow another colleague of ours, Dr. Peter Adwok Nyaba, to travel so that all these people can participate and contribute to the efforts in finding a lasting solution to the crisis in our county during these peace talks,” he said.

The political leaders further called upon IGAD and the international community to ‘quickly put in place mechanisms for monitoring and verification of the cessation of hostilities already agreed’ to prevent violations and further escalation of the conflict.

Deng Alor, who was also previously detained in Juba, said the talks must aim at restoring trust.

“You’ve to come with solutions. People have to see a change, a genuine change, our own people and the international community.”

Another member of the group, Dr. Cirino Hiteng, said the talks provide an opportunity for the country to openly discuss its challenges and agree on ways to address deep-rooted grievances.

“We are living in denial; we don’t want to admit that the country is on the verge of collapse, if it has not collapsed,” he said.

“But we’re concerned about it and that’s why we are here, we want to contribute to bring the country back, to revive the life of the country which is almost in ICU.

“We want our other friends to recognize this, particularly the government side, that there is a problem, that we must sit together and address it.”

The 7 politicians said they will participate in the talks as an independent group in order, they said, to increase chances of finding a lasting solution.