28/11/2024
FROM R-ARCSS TO TUMAINI: A NEW DAWN FOR PEACE AND STABILITY
Fellow Junubeen,
As we yearn for lasting peace in our nation, it is important for every citizen to remain vigilant regarding the current peace process, the Tumaini Consensus. Since its inception, traditional power elites have spread misinformation about its intent. These self-serving politicians are working tirelessly to ensure the peace process collapses.
The Tumaini Consensus, though initiated by President Salva Kiir to bring holdout groups from the South Sudan Opposition Movements Alliance (SSOMA) to the table, belongs to all citizens of South Sudan. It is not the property of the SPLM-IG, SPLM-IO, SSOMA leaders, or even the mediators. Tumaini - meaning "hope" in Kiswahili - is the latest opportunity for peace. If successful, we will all benefit from its dividends. If it fails due to our willful ignorance, only the dark forces that thrive in chaos will prevail.
This initiative is not meant to replace the Revitalized Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in South Sudan (R-ARCSS), as detractors claim, but to address what the Revitalized Transitional Government of National Unity (R-TGONU) has failed to implement since signing the agreement in 2018 and forming the unity government in 2020.
Compatriots,
The failures of the R-ARCSS are undeniable. Beyond the power-sharing provision in Chapter I, little has been achieved. Since its formation, R-TGONU has focused on dividing the national cake in Juba, while our people suffer in their cattle camps and villages. The economy continues to be in decline, intercommunal violence persists, and the displaced remain in refugee and Internally displaced camps without hope of return. Natural disasters, like flooding, compound these issues, yet the power elite remain indifferent to the immense suffering of our civil population.
Now, these spoilers argue for annexing Tumaini to the R-ARCSS - a clear tactic to sabotage the process. The R-ARCSS officially expired in February 2023, after extensions in 2022 and 2024, with little progress to show. Annexing Tumaini will not add value to the peace process; it is a ploy by traditional elites to maintain the barbaric status quo.
The solution does not lie in annexation or military escalation to strengthen the opposition's negotiating position. Both options would be catastrophic for our future. Tumaini represents the next logical step in our pursuit of peace. Just as the R-ARCSS evolved from the collapsed ARCSS of 2015-2016, Tumaini builds on the lessons of past failures with stronger guarantees for implementation. The ARCSS was not annexed to the R-ARCSS after its collapse. Similarly, with the R-ARCSS failing to be implemented, it is illogical to consider annexing Tumaini to the R-ARCSS.
The Tumaini Protocols, already initialed in July 2024, include:
1. General Principles
2. Humanitarian Access and Support
3. Trust and Confidence-Building Measures
4. Permanent Ceasefire, Security Arrangements, and Reforms
5. Communal Conflicts, Armed Civilians, and Land Disputes
6. Guarantors
7. Justice Sector Reform, Transitional Justice, and Accountability
8. Permanent Constitution-Making Process
9. Economic Recovery, Resource, and Financial Management Reforms
10. Responsibility Sharing
11. Implementation Matrix
If any party wants to renegotiate or refuses to sign the final document, they are spoilers obstructing our progress toward peace and prosperity. They benefit from the current state of suffering in our nascent Republic.
Fellow countrymen and women,
As negotiations resume, it is essential for revolutionary intellectuals and the public to remain vigilant against misinformation designed to sow confusion. Let us rally behind the Tumaini Consensus as the least costly way to deliver socio-economic transformation and fulfill the promise of our liberation struggle.
The struggle for self-determination continues!
Cpt. Mabior Garang
PM, NCSS
Mobile Office,
28/11/2024
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