The Juba meeting between leaders of the Revolutionary Front on the peace process with the Forces for Freedom and Change (FFC) and the Sudanese Transitional Military Council (TMC) is likely to witness developments, according to a South Sudan official.
South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir Mayardit invited leaders Malik Agar, Yasir Arman, Jibril Ibrahim, and Minni Minnawi as part of his efforts to help Sudanese parties reach a common ground.
South Sudan's Presidential Advisor Tut Galwak announced that President Kiir and South Sudan government are sponsoring the meeting between FFC and factions of Sudan People's Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N), hoping it will unite the forces currently in Juba.
Speaking to Asharq Al-Awsat, Galwak noted that if the two factions led by Abdel Aziz al-Hilu and Malik Agar do not unite, they will sit at the same table with the FCC delegation, just like the factions of South Sudan held talks in Khartoum resulting in a peace treaty.
For his part, spokesman for the South Sudan National Movement for Change (SSNMC) Stephen Leal Naqour, told Asharq Al-Awsat that members of the Revolutionary Front responded to Juba’s request and this came within the framework of President Kiir initiative to mediate between the Sudanese parties.
The initiative was announced last year to address issues of peace and war in Sudan.
Naqour indicated that Kiir's invitation to the Revolutionary Front will likely succeed in strengthening the will of all Sudanese parties and forces to reach a consensus on the political agreement and the constitutional charter.
South Sudan is a pivotal area and accepted by all parties.
He noted that the Revolutionary Front, Darfur movements, FFC, and the TMC agreed on Kiir’s mediation, which will facilitate reaching a comprehensive peace agreement.
Naqour noted that the mediation in Juba provided the parties with a complement to the negotiating platforms in Addis Ababa and Egypt. The parties were given a starting point for an integrated negotiation to bring about comprehensive peace in the country.
He pointed out that this step facilitated the mediation of President Kiir to persuade FFC and armed movements in Darfur to engage in direct negotiations.
The first meeting brought together the Sudanese parties represented by FFC and the Revolutionary Front on one hand, and the Military Council on the other, resulted in supportive steps for the peace process in Sudan, most notably the parties' agreement on a ceasefire and its extension for six months.
Naqour explained that Kiir’s initiative included the factions of Agar and Hilu as representatives of the SPLM-N to reunify and enter the negotiations as a single bloc.
The agreement between Sudanese parties in Juba as well as the stability process in the two regions of Southern Kordofan and Blue Nile were represented in the six-months agreement to ceasefire and end hostilities between the SPLM-N and the Sudanese government, according to Naqour.
He noted that this period is sufficient to address all the controversial points, most notably the war, security arrangements, inclusion of SPLM-N and Revolutionary Front's vision in the negotiation, and achieving peace that meets the aspirations of the Sudanese people.
