Leaders of the holdout groups, from left: Gen. Thomas Cirillo, Gen. Paul Malong and Pagan Amum in Rome in January 2020 | Credit | Courtesy

The government has postponed its participation in the Rome peace talks with a section of the SSOMA, citing health reasons.

The peace talks had been scheduled to resume on Tuesday, February 2, 2021, but now the government has requested the mediator—the Community of San’t Egidio – to postpone it.

A press statement issued by the Minister of Presidential Affairs, Nhial Deng Nhial, on January 30 says the talks will no longer be possible due to last-minute developments that are totally beyond their control.

Nhial Deng requested the secretary-general of Sant’Egidio to adjourn the peace talks (with Paul Malong and Pagan Amum) till further notice.

However, when contacted, the head of the government delegation said the decision was made due to health reasons.

Dr. Barnaba Marial Benjamin told Eye Radio that all members of the different parties are required to do Covid-19 tests before their participation in the talks.

“They will be testing them just anytime from now and then they will fix the second date for that,” he told Eye Radio on Monday. “So the talks are not in any danger at all. The spirit of talking is still there.”

But Dr Marial could not explain why the team did not ready themselves for the talks, yet it knew when the talks were going to resume.

The Saint-Egidio-led mediation is aimed at supporting an inclusive peace agreement in South Sudan by persuading the hold-out groups to join the revitalized peace deal signed in September 2018.

In January 2020, the parties signed a declaration in Rome to observe the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement and further negotiations on root causes of political violence in South Sudan.

But little progress has been made in concluding the talks.