Pretoria - Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa has lauded the reunification of the Sudanese People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM), saying he hopes the agreement will silence the guns in that country.
Addressing delegates at Wednesday’s late-night signing ceremony, Deputy President Ramaphosa, who is also the Special Envoy to South Sudan, paid tribute to Tanzania as a nation that inspires others to secure peace.
“This is a big night for peace on our continent. Tonight is Africa's peace night,” said the Deputy President.
“We expect this agreement will silence the guns that have been raging in South Sudan; that it will silence the guns of death, destruction and the displacement of thousands and thousands of people in South Sudan."
Deputy President Ramaphosa was in Arusha, Tanzania on behalf of President Jacob Zuma to participate in the Intra-SPLM Dialogue Summit and the final stages of consultations.
The SPLM intra-party dialogue was facilitated by Tanzania's ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi party, South Africa's African National Congress and the National Resistance Movement of Uganda, with the signing ceremony hosted by Tanzanian President Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete.
Divisions among three factions of the SPLM have engulfed South Sudan in conflict since December 2013.
The Arusha Agreement commits the SPLM to rebuilding and democratising the movement internally in order to promote national harmony and end the conflict afflicting the people of South Sudan, the newest state in the international community.
It also recognises the collective responsibility within the SPLM for the conflict in South Sudan and calls for a public apology to this effect by all SPLM groups.
The agreement commits the movement to expediting efforts to end the war and to enhance the values and culture of democracy, unity and development. - SAnews.gov.za
