South Sudan’s SPLM groups sign reconciliation agreement

Various factions of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) have signed the Entebbe Declaration to operationalize the Arusha Agreement on the reunification of the SPLM.

The declaration was signed yesterday at State House Entebbe under the auspices of President Yoweri Museveni.

In furtherance of the objectives of the SPLM reconciliation and unity, the faction groups have resolved to establish a working group to revitalize and operationalize the implementation of the Arusha SPLM Reunification Agreement. The working group shall develop a matrix for the implementation of the Arusha Agreement with specific timelines and shall report to President Museveni after one week beginning Monday 31st July 2017.

Members of the working group include Simon Kun Puoch, Rebecca Joshua Okwaci and Oliver Moris Benjamin from SPLM-IG; John Luk Jok, Kosti Manibe and Majak D’Agoot from SPLM-FDs; Richard K. Mulla, Tijwog H. Agwet and Lubna Abdelgani from SPLM-IO.

The groups also called upon the SPLM-IO of Dr. Riek Machar to join the process of reconciliation and unity of the SPLM. It was also resolved that SPLM groups and cadres, who are not part of the Arusha Agreement, should join the reconciliation and reunification process and the SPLM cadres and the grassroots countrywide and in the diaspora to embrace the new spirit of reconciliation and unity for the interest of the South Sudanese and their country.

President Salva Kiir Mayardit of South Sudan requested President Yoweri Museveni to mediate the reconciliation and unity of the various SPLM Groups based on the Arusha SPLM Reunification Agreement. A meeting was held on 25th May 2017 and was attended by the three SPLM Groups: SPLM-IG, SPLM-IO and SPLM-FDs. Another meeting attended by SPLM-IG and SPLM-FDs, President Kiir and chaired by President Museveni was held on 20th July 2017.

Speaking during the meeting yesterday, President Museveni noted that the agreement by the SPLM to reconcile and work together to implement the Arusha Agreement, will lead to peace and feed into the regional Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) peace process in South Sudan.

President Museveni also met delegations of other South Sudanese political parties: David William of the National Democratic Movement (NDM), General Thomas Grillo Swaka Chairman of the National Salvation Front (NSF) and Bangasi Joseph Baigo Soro the Chairman of the South Sudan National Movement for Change (SSNNC).