Deputy Chief Mediator Dr. Mohamed Guyo (L), Cabinet Minister Dr. Martin Elia (C) and UPA Spokesperson Lual Dau address the media in Nairobi. January 29, 2025. (Photo: Lou Nelson/Eye Radio).
Parties to the Tumaini Initiative have agreed to discuss one contentious item in the talks – the root causes of conflicts in South Sudan – as the two sides held a rare joint press briefing on Wednesday in a show of improving relations.
The unity government delegation, opposition and stakeholders are already scheduled to hold a meeting on the first agenda – the identity of parties negotiating in the peace process later in the day.
The outcome of that discussion will then allow them to deliberate on root causes of the 2013 and 2016 conflicts.
The deputy chief mediator Dr. Mohamed Guyo described the first ever joint press statement bringing together both parties on Wednesday as a positive move.
“We would like to communicate to the people of South Sudan, the region and international community about the progress that we are making in this phase of the mediation,” Mr Guyo said.
“With me is the government rapporteur and the spokesperson of the opposition. You have not seen us in this format before where everyone used to do their own unilateral statement.”
“So, this joint statement by itself shows our collective effort to communicate to the people of South Sudan the positive development in this mediation process.”
Dr. Martin Elia Lomuro – the government delegation’s rapporteur – underscored that the parties will tomorrow start discussing more important and more substantive matters.
He assured the people of South Sudan that the government delegation went to Tumaini with a positive heart and clear directive from the President to take back peace out of the Tumaini initiative.
“On Tuesday, we had a positive day in which we finally agreed on the agenda of the negotiations. That first we would like to discuss the issue of the identity of the parties that are negotiating, and then we want to loot the root causes of the conflict as a matter that always came up,” he said.
Dr. Lomuro said the two parties will also discuss relationship between the R-ARCSS and the Tumaini Initiative, and then proceed to power sharing.
“After that, we will see how the process proceed. So, having successfully agreed on the agenda in the matter that I have described, today we decided that in order not to stall the negotiations.”
On his part, the Secretary General of United People’s Alliance described the process as moving in the right direction.
Lual Dau – who is also the spokesperson of the opposition group – said speaking with government delegation spokesperson show their joint commitment to have one peace agreement in the country.
“It is a rare picture to see us, not only that but Hon. Martin Elia, we have not been agreeing on anything, as you all know, he will say something and I completely say something different.”
“But today as said by Dr. Lomuro, I agree with what he said. This is important because now the parties will stick to the agenda, in order to arrive to that it needs both of us to sit as brothers and sisters and come to understanding on how we can have one agreement.”
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