South Sudan Open to Dialogue: President Kiir
South Sudan is committed to dialogue with neighbouring Sudan despite the ongoing disagreements. 13 April 2012 South Sudanese President Salva Kiir Mayardit at the National Assembly briefing [©Gurtong/Waakhe Simon Wudu] By Waakhe Simon Wudu JUBA, 13 April 2012 [Gurtong] – The South Sudanese President Salva Kiir Mayardit told the national assembly Thursday that his administration was willing to negotiate with the Khartoum government in spite of the latter recurrently walking out of talks over contentious issues. He said the border demarcation, Abyei, Southern Kordofan and Blue Nile as well as oil issues remain the most pressing post secession matters that can only be solved in a table between the two countries. “However, despite this aggression from Khartoum we still consider the negotiations through the African Union High Level Implementation Panel (AUHIP) as the only forum for resolving our outstanding issues”, President Kiir told parliament during a briefing. “I am prepared to receive President Bashir in Juba or any other suitable location in order to have talks and resolve the outstanding issues amicably”, he said. Kiir urged the Sudanese not to allow themselves to be dragged into another civil war. “The people of Sudan should not accept to be led into a meaningless war of Jihad because we are not against any religion and we will not willingly take South Sudan to war. However, be assured that we will defend the lives of our citizens, resources of our land and the sovereignty of our territory”, said the President. President Kiir also criticised the United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki Moon for calling for the withdrawal of South Sudanese forces from contested oil fields in Unity State as Sudanese forces moved in to occupy the areas. “The intention of Khartoum is to take over the Unity oil fields. They have already begun constructing a pipeline from Panthou (Heglig) Central Processing Facility (CPF) to the Unity oil wells”, he explained to the lawmakers. He appealed to the international community to intervene and seek lasting solutions to the political impasse in the Sudan. Posted in: Home, Governance, Peace Documents -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "South Sudan Info - The Kob" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/SouthSudanKob?hl=en.
