Press Statement on VP James Wani Igga’s Visit to the UN — Part 3
5 min readPress Statement on VP James Wani Igga’s Visit to the UN (3)
A Possible Diplomatic Shift in New York
September 30, 2015 (SSB) — On Tuesday 29/9/2015 H.E. Vice President Igga attended a meeting organized by the UN Security Council, where Dr.Riek and Cde. Pagan were in attendance. President Kiir was present too via a satellite link organized by UNMISS in Juba, considering the swift advancement in technological innovations of the last two decades. The few who had access to radio and TV might have followed the event live. Important analysis might be advanced by pundits of the likely consequences of this historic meeting.
One important angle to examine the meeting is in the fact that it seems the world is slowly getting to appreciate the government of South Sudan for its bold decisions in the last two months, beginning by signing the agreement. For the first time, Ethiopian D/Prime Minister together with IGAD Chief Envoy Seyum Mesfin have come out clearly to point fingers to Dr. Riek Machar and accuse him of making procrastinations (unnecessary delays) and excuses. This statements could be the beginning of a significant triumph in South Sudan’s foreign policy and a game changer.
Only time will tell whether Ethiopia, a very old friend of the people of South Sudan, is sincere about accusing Dr. Riek of dragging his feet on the implementation of the IGAD-Plus brokered agreement. Having itself come under criticism from many South Sudanese at high political offices, Ethiopia needed to do something radical to show that it is impartial. Ethiopian PM Hailmariam Desalegn and Amb. Seyoum Mesfin have in many occasions tried to clarify that Ethiopia’s position has been misinterpreted and misconceived; they might have just been exonerated.
All countries pledged to support the implementation of the agreement with necessary resources. The Chinese, Norwegians, Germans and other Europeans, Russia, China, Japan, Turkey, have all called for the Transitional Government of National Unity (TGNU) to be formed without further delay. They all recalled their stands with South Sudan during those difficult days.
D/ Secretary General of the UN, Jan Eliasson and representatives of other countries have all emphasized the need for pledges and convening of a Donor Conference for mobilization imperative resources for the implementation phase to begin in earnest. Emphasis on humanitarian support and intervention has been made by almost everyone who spoke.
The President, H.E. Salva Kiir and Vice President H.E. Igga’s statements were well received as they expressed the government’s commitment to implementing the agreement. The two were praised for explaining the true meaning and intentions behind the government reservations. Dr. Riek and Cde. Pagan urged President Kiir to withdraw the reservations, but that call did not get support from the summit, since the same government that made them has not only acted on them but defined their meaning. It is important for them to embrace the positive spirit shown by their longtime comrades towards implementation of the agreement.
All in all, at the end of the meeting, it was clear that the Ethiopian statements could be the stand out intervention which many must have deemed to be the paradigm shift that the people of South Sudan and their government had waited to see for much too long. Considering that moral equivalence has been disproportionately used as the scale for judging the behavior of both parties to the armed conflict since its start, it seems that the government’s side is beginning to weigh heavier.
Such positive shift in South Sudan’s foreign policy may be, to a considerable extent, a result of the work of some dynamic individuals representing the country in the United States. The invisible work of individuals (especially in the U.S. Embassy and UN Mission) like Dr. Francis Mading Deng and his D/PR Ambassador Moum Majak, and Ambassador Garang Diing and others might have had some positive results.
We have seen that a couple of weeks ago the country’s Foreign Minister, Dr. Barnaba Marial, went to Russia where he met with Sudan’s FM, Ibrahim Ghandur and his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov. The result was Russia’s rejection of a looming UN Security Council sanctions regime against South Sudan which, if they were passed, might have complicated the entire dynamics of the conflict.
President Museveni, who was an arch enemy of Khartoum decided, possibly after consultation with Juba, to go and meet with Bashir in Khartoum. These diplomatic shuttling of the last couple of months could by no means be uncalculated. In such times, there is a purpose to every step, and it seems that the work of the Foreign Minister and his team is finally bearing fruits, after twenty months of frustration.
What is important is, however, that the time for cynicism must be buried deep down at sea, and it is important for all parties to the current senseless war to note that, in international relations, there is neither permanent friends nor permanent enemies. Considering that regional peace, security and stability are not divisible or apportion-able, countries in the region are being pushed to realize that even moral equivalence could be founded on interest and justice. And if the regional interest is in supporting Juba and appreciating it for its bold move to sign and start implementing the agreement, so be it.
Ironically, the same agreement which was strongly rejected by Juba has now become Juba’s favorite diplomatic card on the international stage. President Kiir and his deputy are now calling for SPLM-IO to implement this agreement to the letter and spirit. Dr. Riek, who possibly expected the President to be hanged for not signing the agreement, may have been caught napping. But there is no way that it could be reopened for another negotiations since, according to D/UN SG, it will be a disaster that will not happen under the watch of the world community.
At the end of the meeting, all shock hands and hugged to the surprise of other delegates. It was a sign that South Sudanese have an amazing capacity to forgive and start again.
David Mayen Ayarbior, Press Secretary of the VP, H.E. James Wani Igga. New York. Mayen.ayarbior@gmail.com
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