Why Salva Kiir refused to ink Igad-Plus peace deal

South Sudan President Salva Kiir. He refused to ink a peace deal brokered by Igad-Plus in Addis Ababa because it gave some states to rebels, his diplomat in Nairobi said on August 19, 2015. PHOTO | SAMIR BOL | AFP

What you need to know:

  • South Sudan Deputy Ambassador in Nairobi James Morgan says his President walked away from the deal because some of the proposals challenged his bid to unite the country.
  • President Kiir is against a provision that requires him to cede two states in the Greater Upper Nile region to rebels.
  • The region has been mostly in control of rebels since the violence and has experienced some of the worst casualties since December 2013.

South Sudan President Salva Kiir decided not sign the peace deal on Monday because it offered “to divide the country further”, an official in his government has said.

South Sudan Deputy Ambassador in Nairobi James Morgan on Wednesday said the president walked away from the deal because some of the proposals challenged his bid to unite the country.

“He cannot do anything that his people do not like. This agreement is difficult to be implemented because it wants us to divide the country further between the rebels and the government,” the diplomat told Nation.co.ke.

South Sudan’s rebels signed the peace deal, known as the Compromise Peace Agreement.

Dr Riek Machar, the leader of the rebels, the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement in Opposition SPLM/SPLA-IO, inked the document alongside former detainees and other political parties.

POWER SHARING

President Kiir, however, asked for more time before putting pen to paper.

Proposed by Igad and its international partners (Igad-Plus), the agreement indicates the kind of power-sharing the two sides and other smaller parties will get in the transitional government.

The interim government is envisioned to last 30 months, and comes into force 90 days after all sides have signed the deal.

Mr Kiir’s side is to get 53 per cent of national government slots in the Transitional National Government, rebels 33 per cent while former detainees and other political parties will get seven per cent each.

But President Kiir is against a provision that requires him to cede two states in the Greater Upper Nile region to rebels.

The region has been mostly in the control of rebels since the violence started and has experienced some of the worst casualties since December 2013.

KAMPALA DEAL

According to the agreement, the rebels will have to nominate governors for the Upper Nile and Unity States while Kiir’s side will nominate one for Jonglei State.

The three states are in the Upper Nile region, one of the three major areas that form South Sudan.

The other two are Equatoria and Bahr el Gazal.

The agreement also provides for parties to share out ministerial posts in these states in the ratio of 46 per cent for the government, 40 per cent for rebels and seven per cent each for detainees and other political parties.

This provision is a departure from an agreement proposed by Igad when its leaders met in Kampala two weeks ago.

The Kampala deal had been accepted by Kiir because it limited power-sharing at the national level.

2 MILITARY CHIEFS

Even then, Mr Kiir is also opposed to a provision that creates two commanders-in-chief, one for the government forces and the other for rebels, in the same country during the transitional period.

According to Mr Morgan, President Kiir is also against a provision that requires him to consult a First Vice-President from the rebels’ side on most national security issues, including declarations of states of emergency, war and other national security issues.

“The President cannot consult all the time because that will be questioning the executive powers given to him by the people,” Mr Morgan argued.

On Wednesday, the US threatened to ask the United Nations to impose targeted sanctions if Mr Kiir did not sign the agreement within the 15 days he requested.

But Juba insists that it will risk the consequences if the agreement is unpopular.

US WARNING

“The President is consulting, if it will be rejected by the people, let the international community not hold the President responsible. It will be the people who didn’t want it,” Mr Morgan added.

Members of Igad-Plus included Algeria, Chad, Nigeria, Rwanda and South Africa.

The 20-month talks have been financed largely by the US, the United Kingdom, the European Union, Italy, and Norway.

China, the African Union and the United Nations have also supported the negotiations.

When President Kiir asked for more time, the US State Department warned it must be within the next two weeks.