US Dismisses Coup Attempt Claim; Calls on Presidemt Kiir to Release Political Detainees; Riek to Accept Ceasefire

THE WHITE HOUSE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

January 9, 2014

The United States strongly supports the efforts of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) mediators, Ambassador Seyoum Mesfin and General Lazaro Sumbeiywo, to secure a cessation of hostilities and to resolve the conflict in South Sudan peacefully through talks being held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.  This crisis must be ended swiftly through a negotiated settlement in order to prevent the escalation of a dangerous conflict that neither the people of South Sudan, the region or the international community can afford.

The United States calls upon rebel-leader Riek Machar and President Salva Kiir to sign immediately the cessation of hostilities agreement tabled by IGAD.  Mr. Machar, in particular, must commit to a cessation of hostilities without precondition.  His continued insistence on the release of detainees as a pre-condition for a cessation of hostilities is unacceptable and runs counter to the express will of the detainees who informed the IGAD mediators yesterday that they support talks on an unconditional cessation of hostilities and stated clearly that their status as detainees should not be an impediment to reaching an agreement on a cessation of hostilities.

At the same time, the United States is disappointed that the detainees being held by the Government of South Sudan have not yet been released.  The United States reiterates its call upon President Salva Kiir to release the detainees immediately to the custody of IGAD so that they can participate in the political negotiations.

It is the obligation of both President Kiir and Mr. Machar to ensure that the lives of their people and future of their young country are not further marred by continued violence and atrocities.

  A political rift within South Sudan’s governing Sudan Peoples Liberation Movement (SPLM) and not a failed coup attempt as government claims caused the widespread violence that hit the country in mid-December, a United States official said on Thursday

“Basing on reports from sources or the public, a fight at the SPLM convention on December 15 caused the violence. We have not seen any evidence that there was a coup attempt,” Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the assistant secretary of state for African affairs told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on the crisis in South Sudan.

We think that they should resolve this through political talks and negotiations, not war, she added.

The US official’s remarks could overshadow South Sudan leader Salva Kiir’s earlier claims implicating his former deputy Riek Machar in alleged coup attempt. Machar denied the accusation, saying it was the regime’s tactic to suppress party opposition.

The violence, which started in the capital, Juba later spread to the key town of the country, with the United Nation estimating more than 1,000 people killed and nearly 200,000 displaced.

Since then, however, the US and other international community have sought diplomatic efforts seeking an end to what has now been described as the worst-ever conflict in South Sudan’s post-secession era.

“We have galvanized support to end hostilities and open a broader dialogue between the two sides; called for accountability for atrocities; sought to secure the release of political detainees now being held in Juba”, Greenfield said.

The official, in her statement, also called on the warring parties in the conflict to cease all forms of hostilities, stressing that “this crisis will not be solved on the battlefield”.

She further expressed concerns the continued detention of political prisoners arrested in connection with the violence in Juba, saying they “must” be released to enhance the ongoing negotiations in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Direct talks between South Sudan’s warring parties are currently underway in Addis Ababa under the mediation of regional leaders from the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD).

“These negotiations offer the best hope for South Sudan and the region. An agreement to end hostilities will provide much needed time and space for dialogue to begin on the core political and governance issues that are at the root of this crisis”, stressed the US assistant secretary for state for African affairs.

INSTITUTIONAL WEAKNESSES

Princeton Lyman, the ex-US envoy to the two Sudan’s largely attributed the current crisis in new nation to the weaknesses within South Sudan’s political institutions.

He described the SPLM, which he likened to South Africa’s ruling African National Congress (ANC), as a liberation army with no political structures.

“The weakness of political institutions, the overlap of party and government, and party and army, all contributed to the inability of the SPLM as a party to resolve these growing developments”, said Lyman, now a senior advisor to the US Institute of Peace President.