JUBA – The Chairman of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement/Army in Opposition (SPLM/A-IO) Dr. Riek Machar has dispatched eleven Members of Parliament (MPs) from Great Upper Nile for a peace mission in the Sudanese capital Khartoum.
(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});The team is headed by Dr. Kuong Dak, the Chairperson of the SPLM-IO Parliamentary Caucus at the Reconstituted-Transitional National Legislative Assembly (R-TNLA).
Speaking to City Review in an exclusive interview yesterday, Puok Both Baluang, the SPLM-IO Director of Information and Public Relations who doubles as Machar’s Acting Press Secretary said the lawmakers were expected to meet with different South Sudanese communities and refugees in Sudan.
“The delegation from SPLM-IO Parliamentary Caucus, particularly from great Upper Nile, left for Sudan specifically for a peace mission,” he revealed.
The mission
He said the team will brief South Sudanese people as well as the SPLM-IO party members on the implementation of the peace process in the country while in Khartoum.
(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});“They have three main agenda; one of it is to meet with South Sudanese including those who are in refugee camps as well as our [SPLM-IO] members in Sudan to brief them on the implementation of the peace process in the country,” Baluang said.
“Secondly, they are going to disseminate the agreement to those [who are] specifically in the refugee camps and to [assess situations on] what our South Sudanese people are going through in these camps,” he added.
Baluang stressed that the last agenda was to urge the people of South Sudan and SPLM/A-IO members to unite to achieve lasting peace in the country.
“Our social success depends on our unity which [is] only through South Sudanese because [there] have been so many hate speeches. So, there is a need for the people of South Sudan to come together for the success of the country,” he stressed.
However, he said the delegation was expected to visit various South Sudanese Refugee camps in Sudan and expected to return to Juba to accomplish their tasks.
The delegation is composed of 11 members from both the Reconstituted Transitional National Legislative Assembly (R-TNLA) and the Council of States.
Last month, the SPLM-IO lawmakers in the RTNLA from the Chollo Kingdom where Johnson Olony hails from, assured Dr. Riek Machar of their unwavering loyalty.
“We are standing on our ground under the visionary leadership of Dr. Riek Machar Teny-Dhurgon without any doubt or confusion that undermines the peace implementation,” said Angelina Samuel Nyawela, the Chairperson of the Chollo Caucus in the transitional national legislature.
Flanked by fellow Chollo lawmakers, Angelina confirmed the MPs’ loyalty to Dr. Machar amid tensions within the SPLM/A-IO caused by the breakaway group led by Gen. Simon Gatwech, the leader of the SPLM/A-IO Kit-Gwang faction.
Angelina condemned the Kit-Gwang declaration, stressing that peace is their priority as lawmakers representing the Chollo community.
“We condemn [the] Kit-Gwang declaration in the strongest term possible and remain loyal to Dr. Riek Machar to implement the peace agreement,” Angelina said in the statement.
“Peace is our priority as Chollo community. We need to give peace a chance in our Kingdom,” she added.
The political outfit has gone through various leadership shake-up where the leaders SPLM-IO fired three generals in the command of Upper Nile state shortly after the generals declared that First Vice President Riek Machar had been ousted as head of the SPLM-IO and commander-in-chief of the Sudan People’s Liberation Army in Opposition (SPLA-IO).
Those fired were former chief of staff General Simon Gatwech, General Johnson Olony of Sector One Command who is from the Chollo Kingdom, and General Thomas Mabor Dhoal of Sector Three Command.
Gen Johnson Olony has been leading Chollo community-based militia known as Agwelek that was allied to then SPLA-IO.
The majority of the South Sudanese who fled to Sudan during the conflict are from the greater Upper Nile State where the headquarters of the SPLM/A-IO breakaway faction is established.