By Emmy Allio

The enthusiasm exuded by the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) leadership in advocating a cessation of hostilities has fallen on deaf ears. The government is not considering ceasing fire against the rebels in northern Uganda.

In press interviews and while meeting delegations in Garamba National Park in north-eastern Congo, LRA leader Joseph Kony and his deputy Vincent Otti have

insisted that a ceasefire must be on the agenda when the talks resume in Juba.

“Where is the fire to cease?” the state minister for defence, Ruth Nankabirwa, asked in an interview yesterday.

“The UPDF will not withdraw from the north or ceasefire because they are there to protect the population from the rebels who are killing them, ambushing vehicles and abducting people,” the minister said.

She said a ceasefire would be considered after a comprehensive peace agreement is signed in Juba.

“Where is the frontline? Where is LRA in northern Uganda?” she asked.

The Chief of Defence Forces, Gen. Nyakairima Aronda, said whether the peace talks in Juba succeed or not, the LRA will never be able to operate in the north again.

He said Kony would be dead if Congo had allowed the UPDF to pursue him and his soldiers inside his hideout in Garamba National Park.

“I want to assure the people of northern Uganda that like the President says, whether Kony respects the peace deal or not, security in northern Uganda is assured,” Aronda said.

He told journalists at the parliamentary buildings yesterday that Kony was no longer a threat since most of his strong men like Kenneth Banya and Onen Kamdulu had been captured.

On the ceasefire requested by Kony, he said, “that is a decision that will be taken and communicated by government in collaboration with the chief talks mediator (Dr. Riek Machar).”

Nankabirwa said, “The LRA need to get amnesty, come out of the bush and learn to get acquainted with the prevailing situation in the country. Their demand for political inclusion should not be seen singularly, but rather in regard to the new political dispensation prevailing in Uganda under a multiparty system. They should know that there are few political appointments now these days.”

The spokesman of the Government peace team, Capt. Paddy Ankunda, hailed the northern leaders for visiting Garamba.

“It was a success as a confidence-building mission,” he said.

He said he hoped the delegation had convinced Otti to lead the LRA team in the talks in Juba. “I will be very happy if the Garamba delegation convinced Otti to come to Juba. Our position is that we want to speak to an authentic, authoritative and representative delegation,” Ankunda said.

Army spokesman Major Felix Kulayigye (above) said the LRA had always tried to equate itself to the UPDF.

“LRA wants to create a security vacuum that they would fully exploit. We are interested in peace talks but anyone thinking of ceasefire is simply an enemy of Uganda,” he said.