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SSOA Press Release on The Entebbe Proposal on Governance

  • The South Sudan Opposition Alliance (SSOA), along with Other Political Parties (OPP) issue the

    following statement in response to the bilateral Agreement reached between two of the warring
    parties (the Juba regime and the SPLM/A- IO, led by Dr Riek Machar) in Entebbe, Uganda on 7
    th
    July 2018.
    SSOA is deeply concerned about the fate of the Khartoum phase of the peace process undertaken
    as mandated by the 32
    nd
    Extraordinary Summit of IGAD Assembly of Heads of State and
    Government held in Addis Ababa on 21/6/2018, that Khartoum should facilitate the HLRF with a
    view to narrowing the gap on the outstanding issues of governance and security.
    We are grateful to the government of Sudan for hosting these sessions of the HLRF and the
    progress on security arrangements that has now been achieved. However, we are yet to discuss and
    narrow gaps, let alone agree on, the outstanding issues of governance proposals that were given to
    us by the Khartoum mediators to which we had submitted our written responses.
    Fully cognizant of the fact that Khartoum was the chief mediator, and thus in that capacity it went
    to Entebbe to seek ideas on how to resolve the outstanding issues of governance, we were not
    expecting such a turn-around. To our dismay, the Entebbe meeting of 7/7/2018, attended byH.E.
    President Omar Hassan El- Bashir of Sudan, H.E. President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni of Uganda,
    President Salva Kiir of South Sudan and Dr Riek Machar (SPLM/IO) turned out to be a bilateral
    agreement between two of the warring parties, namely; the Juba regime and SPLM/A-IO! In our
    informed view, any bilateral agreement to the exclusion of other parties will not bring about
    sustainable peace in South Sudan! Therefore, we maintain our commitment to the inclusivity
    principles adopted by the HLRF as the only way for lasting peace. It is to be noted that the
    leadership of SSOA and Other Political Parties (OPP) were officially invited to Entebbe for the
    July 7
    th
    meeting but kept out of the 8-hour proceedings between the government and the SPLM/A-
    IO; only to be invited into the meeting to be briefed about what had been agreed upon by the two
    parties.
    We note the following in the Entebbe Proposal:

  • SOUTH SUDAN OPPOSITION ALLIANCE (SSOA)
    FDP; NAS; NDM; PDM; SPLM-FDs; SSNMC; SSPM; SSLM; SSUM; UDRA
    pg. 2
    1-It is all aboutjobs, accommodation and maintaining the status quo. Furthermore, the
    agreement is tailored to suit individuals rather than addressing the fundamental issues of
    governance.
    2-It does not address the root causes of the crisis in South Sudan.
    3- It maintains the illegality of imposing the creation of 28 States, which later became 32, in
    contraventionofthe ARCSS’ ten(10) States. It is surely a contradictiontotalk about
    revitalizing ARCSS when clear violations of its provisions are upheld. The people whose
    lands were grabbed as a result of this division of the country will have nothing to do with
    that.
    4- It is a repeat of the ARCSS 2015 in that it concentrates power in the hands of SPLM alone;
    the party that ignited the war in the first place.
    5-It is oblivious to the suffering of the South Sudanese peoplewho are at thereceiving end
    of this devastating war. If peace prevails, they will need every pound for repatriation,
    resettlement, relief and reconstruction of their livelihoods and infrastructure. The little
    money available is now to be spent on paying a bloated government of 550 MPs, 45
    Ministers and 10 Deputy Ministers in a country with about ten (10) million people. This is
    why SSOA is demanding a lean government.
    6-Lack of inclusivity in the responsibility sharing at the Presidency, States and Counties.
    7-It says nothing aboutthe adoption offederalism which all Parties have recognized to be
    the will of the people of South Sudan.
    Therefore, it is crystal clear that the Entebbe meeting was focusing on power-sharing instead of
    addressing the fundamental issues of governance. For that reason, we absolutely reject these
    proposals as they do not serve the interests of the suffering people of South Sudan.
    SSOA had all along been advocating for addressing the root causes to the conflict, lean government
    and a federal system of governance, beginning with a clear devolution of power and resources to
    the states as well as the localities. We wish to assure our membership, sympathizers and the public
    at large that SSOA will continue to engage in the peace process in search for a just and sustainable
    peace That is the only way to alleviate the suffering of our people and stop the current downslide
    of the country into an abyss.
    ####