By Emmy Allio

President Yoweri Museveni has said the on-going peace talks in Juba are not for the purpose of power sharing but to give the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) leadership a soft-landing.

During a meeting with British High Commissioner Francois Gordon yesterday at his ranch in Kisozi, Museveni said the soft-landing would enable LRA chief Joseph Kony to get out of a tight corner.

Gordon was accompanied by his deputy, Charles Hamilton.

Museveni’s offer of limited amnesty to Kony and his four top commanders indicted by the International Criminal Court (ICC),has been criticised by ICC, UN, Human rights groups and the diplomatic community.

But he argued that Uganda opted for peace talks because it failed to win the cooperation of the UN and the government of the Democratic Republic of Congo to fight the LRA
in Garamba National Park in north-eastern Congo.

Deputy Presidential Press Secretary Tamale Mirundi said Museveni told the envoy that the Juba talks would also allow Kony to reconcile with his victims.
The LRA delegation at the Juba talks has demanded power-sharing with the government.

In their paper of July 21, the LRA, on participation in national politics and institutions, said, “The north and the east should not be politically persecuted and marginalised for any perceived wrong committed by any past regime. We demand a proportionate power sharing arrangement that takes care of regional and population balance of the country.”

Mirundi quoted President Museveni as saying, “The Government wants those who are still in the bush and want to go back to school to do so and those who want to join the army to be integrated while others will be resettled.”

Museveni said the reason why the government was flying 60 people to Maridi near Garamba National Park was for Kony and his commanders to be delivered the same message that the talks aim to give them, of soft landing.

The president said the issue of powering-sharing was resolved in the 1995 Constitution, which stipulated that power belongs to the people.

Uganda’s peace team to Juba was due to return to Kampala last evening for consultations with Museveni. The talks went into recess with power-sharing among the issues due for discussions.
The state minister for defence, Ruth Nankabirwa, told journalists on Sunday that most demands tabled by the LRA delegation were unrealistic.

A statement issued from State House said President Museveni also briefed Gordon about preparations for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting.

Gordon told the President that the international community and the UN were closely following with keen interest, the on-going talks in Juba.

Gordon said the UN was interested in helping to find a lasting solution to the problem so that peace can prevail in the Great Lakes region.