Nairobi/Addis Ababa, May 29, 2015 (SSNA) — Former Secretary General of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) said he and rest of former political detainees are ready to work together to restore what he described as “dignity of South Sudan.”
Mr. Amum, who was speaking alongside Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta, vowed that he and his colleagues will restore dignity of IGAD and South Sudan.
“Your efforts have not failed. We will restore your dignity and the dignity of South Sudan,” Amum said at a news conference in Nairobi.
Amum’s comment appears to be a confirmation of G-10 support to IGAD’s upcoming round of peace talks.
Kenyatta, on his part, revealed that the Arusha talks aimed to unite senior leaders of the ruling SPLM party under one leadership and the ongoing IGAD-led peace talks between South Sudan warring factions in Ethiopia will be merged, adding that IGAD will bring ‘new momentum’ into the upcoming peace talks.
At the news conference, Kenyatta disclosed that the former detainees are ready to go to Juba and play an intermediary role between South Sudanese president Salva Kiir and rebel leader Dr. Riek Machar.
“Today, the two processes have come together and the former detainees who have been in Nairobi are ready to go back home to bring peace back to their country by reconciling the warring leaders,” Kenyatta told reporters in Nairobi.
"We want the people of South Sudan to enjoy the prosperity that independence should have brought them," he said.
However, Amum didn’t confirm or deny whether or not the G-10 will go to Juba.
The former political detainees are senior leaders of the SPLM who were detained in Juba by Kiir’s government, accusing them of plotting a coup. They denied the allegations.
Meanwhile, the office of the Chairman of the SPLM/A-IO said it is not ready to make any comment at the movement when contacted by the South Sudan News Agency (SSNA) about the possible return of former detainees to Juba and the role they will play between Juba and the armed opposition.