South Sudanese President Salva Kiir has agreed to internal discussions and reconciliation within the leadership of his governing Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM), describing it as one of the biggest strengths of the party since its establishment.
The president made the remarks at a meeting on Wednesday with a group of former political detainees during his recent visit to the capital of neighbouring Ethiopia, Addis Ababa.
“The president had a historic meeting twice with the former detainees. It was a response to the initiative by these comrades.
They requested a meeting with the president and he accepted,” minister in the office of the president Awan Guol Riak told reporters in Juba on Thursday.
At the meeting were former cabinet affairs minister Deng Alor Kuol, former justice minister John Luk Jok, former finance minister Kosti Manibe and former SPLM secretary-general Pagan Amum.
Gen Salva Kiir
“The president welcomed the initiative by these comrades and expressed [a] readiness to work for the realisation of peace and reconciliation of the SPLM leaders so that there is a peace and stability in the country, which is very important starting point for us as a government [and] as a party. Because the people who are dying now are South Sudanese,” Riak said.
The groups of four were among 11 senior political figures detained by the government in connection to an alleged coup plot masterminded by former vice-president Riek Machar to overthrow the Kiir administration. All of the former detainees have denied the claims.
In April, the government announced it was dropping treason charges against the group of four. The decision came after the earlier release of seven other detainees, who subsequently left the country.
Meanwhile, in a separate interview on Friday, Kuol confirmed that he and three other colleagues, all of whom are members of the political bureau, had met with Kiir as part of an initiative for internal reconciliation spearheaded by the Intergovernmental Governmental Authority (IGAD), which is mediating peace negotiations.
sudantribune
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