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Watchdog warns Tumaini parties against rope pulling, urges citizen-centered talks

Author: Obaj Okuj | Published: January 27, 2025

Deng Bol Deng, Executive Director of Intrepid South Sudan speaking to Eye Radio, March 2024. Photo Credit: Charles Wote/Eye Radio.

A civil society activist warns the transitional government and United People’s Alliance (UPA) against rope pulling, urging them put citizens’ interest at the center of the ongoing Tumaini peace initiative.

The Nairobi peace parties are in a stalemate after presenting diverging positions on what the initiative should be – as the second phase of the talks initially expected to conclude in weeks, now drags on for about a month.

The current dispute revolves around whether the Tumaini initiative should be integrated into the 2018 Revitalized Peace Agreement or function as a standalone framework.

Bol Deng Bol, Executive Director of Intrepid South Sudan, commended the continuation of the talks despite recent disagreements that threatened to derail the process.

He said such contentions are normal in every peace negotiation and encouraged both parties to focus on compromises that benefit the citizens rather than advancing their own agenda.

“I want to urge the government and the UPA to keep these Tumaini Initiative not in the interest of the parties, but the interest of the citizens,” he said in an interview with Eye Radio.

“It should be citizen centered because when it started, it had resolutions that signaled sort of mindfulness about the situation in the country, about how they wish to solve this situation and bring back the conditions at home to normal as political leaders in the country.”

“These talks, I want to urge them to continue to be citizen centered and not to pull rope as the government and the opposition. They should look at the citizens.”

He also emphasized the need for a workable peace agreement that addresses the needs of political leaders, stakeholders, and citizens alike.

Bol called on all parties involved to return home with a solution that restores peace and stability in the country.

 

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