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Don't Move Another Step, UPDF Tells Kony Rebels

The Monitor (Kampala)
NEWS
September 19, 2006
Posted to the web September 18, 2006

By Rodney Muhumuza, Frank Nyakairu & Paul Harera
Kampala
THE deadline for the rebel Lord's Resistance Army to assemble in South Sudan
expired this morning with Kampala sending out word that all rebels at large
should halt movement to the assembly points in South Sudan.
Speaking to Daily Monitor yesterday, the Minister of State for Defence, Ms Ruth
Nankabirwa said she expects the LRA members who have not been able to beat the
deadline "to stay put and wait for further instruction".
There is, however, uncertainty over whether the rebel outfit's leadership has
honoured its part of the August 26 truce.
At the centre of controversy is whether rebel leaders Joseph Kony and Vincent
Otti will avail themselves to the Cessation of Hostilities Monitoring Team for
identification, as required by the agreement.
Suspicion prevailed yesterday. In a late evening interview with Otti, the LRA
deputy commander spoke of a potential conspiracy between Uganda and South Sudan
to delay the LRA peace delegation, which is now in Ri-Kwangba.
"The Government of South Sudan is working with the Government of Uganda to make
us fall into a trap...they want to delay us," Otti said by phone yesterday,
adding that his fighters should be prepared to "disappear" should the process
falter.
Otti was bitter that the LRA delegation that had asked to consult with Kony at
the start of last week, had only arrived yesterday.
By press time the LRA High Command was in a meeting with the LRA peace
delegation headed by Mr Martin Ojul. Otti said he and Kony were already in Ri-
Kwangba, a claim Security State Minister Ruth Nankabirwa dismissed.
But a meeting yesterday between President Yoweri Museveni and the government
peace team resolved that it was satisfied with the overall conduct of LRA
rebels so far.
"When the truce expires tomorrow [Tuesday] morning, everything goes back to
where they were [sic] three weeks ago until our peace team flies to Juba for a
joint review and possible extension," Ms Nankabirwa told Daily Monitor.
A top government official, who attended the meeting with the President, told
Daily Monitor that the army has "received specific instructions not to do
anything until both parties review the truce".
Until the August 26 truce, the UPDF had been launching offensives against LRA
fighters in northern Uganda, in the process killing Raska Lukwiya, the third
senior-most LRA commander and one of five LRA top leaders indicted by the ICC.
Under the truce, which came into effect on August 29, all LRA rebels had three
weeks to assemble at two South Sudan camps of Ri-Kwangba and Owiny-Ki-Bul while
negotiations continued to work out a final deal.
The government delegation returns to Juba tomorrow after a one-week break
during which the LRA delegation also left to consult with Kony on potential
appointees to the Cessation of Hostilities Monitoring Team.
It is that team that will verify whether the parties have satisfied all the
terms of the truce. According to the pact, the truce period could be extended
for two more weeks.
Debate on the LRA's compliance, or the lack of it, will naturally be linked to
the LRA's strength in numbers, a much troublesome issue over the years of the
insurgency.
Yesterday Otti said that while he and Kony were already in the vicinity of Ri-
Kwangba, divulging their exact location or their strength in numbers was not an
option, "for security reasons". He declined to reveal how many LRA fighters he
expected to report in South Sudan.
With Otti admitting that some of his fighters are still languishing in northern
Uganda, it remains to be seen if the government will soon act tough over the
LRA's non-compliance.
"Splinter groups are in Uganda; they are still there," Otti told Daily Monitor
by phone. "If we [LRA High Command] agree on it, other [LRA] commanders will go
back to check on them in Uganda. They will go maybe tomorrow [Tuesday]."
Yesterday's meeting should result in the appointment of LRA delegates on the
cessation team. Any further delay may jeopardise the peace process. But even if
Kony names appointees on the team, it will have little effect as long as he and
other top commanders do not report to Ri-Kwangba or Owiny-ki-Bul. The spokesman
of the government delegation to Juba, Capt. Paddy Ankunda, said it would be a
breach of contract for Kony not to identify himself to the team.
"They will have breached the agreement. Since we have a review, we will have to
review the process immediately," Ankunda said.
According to the agreement, all rebels are supposed to converge in either of
the two bases. Otti has previously said he and Kony would not vacate their
hideouts until the ICC rescinded the arrest warrants for them.
Kony and five of his top lieutenants were indicted for war crimes and crimes
against humanity by the International Criminal Court, the charges of which are
seen as a hindrance to the peace process.
Mr Museveni has offered the LRA blanket amnesty if the rebels agree to a peace
deal, but his government will not ask the ICC to drop the charges until a
comprehensive peace accord is signed.
When the next round of talks resumes later this week, the parties will be
discussing comprehensive solutions. The talks started on July 14, not long
after Kony had told a British daily that he was a freedom fighter and not a
terrorist.


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