LRA rebels demand $2m for travel
Jul 25, 2007
A failure by Ugandan rebels to raise $2m to fund foreign travel and reach commanders in their forest hideouts will delay the planned resumption of peace talks next week, LRA participants said yesterday.
By Henry Mukasa
and Agencies
A failure by Ugandan rebels to raise $2m to fund foreign travel and reach commanders in their forest hideouts will delay the planned resumption of peace talks next week, LRA participants said yesterday.
Talks between representa- tives of the LRA and the Ugandan Government are due to resume in Juba, South Sudan, next Monday.
But Martin Ojul, the head of the LRA delegation at the talks, said his group had been unable to raise enough money from donors to organise a visit by 500 people to meet the rebel leaders in Congo’s Garamba forest.
“We are still stuck,†Ojul said. “We want funds to ferry people from northern Uganda to Garamba, and to send people abroad to do research so that we can build a strong case of justice and reconciliation.â€
The Government has agreed to use a national process of accountability for atrocities committed by the LRA, implicitly rejecting demands by the International Criminal Court (ICC) that the top four leaders be handed over for trial in The Hague. The aim of the planned Garamba trip, Ojul said, was to discuss with Kony how to achieve accountability without the ICC. LRA representatives are also hoping to visit South Africa, Sierra
Leone and Argentina.
“Travelling to these countries will help us learn how people there dealt with situations of conflict, justice and reconciliation,†Ojul said.
He added that they would wait for the money, however long it would take.
“No matter when they will respond, we shall wait, even if it is two months. We are leaving Juba. From tomorrow, there will be no LRA in Juba.â€
Sources said the LRA demand was rejected by the donors. “The donors told them that they will be given an equal amount of money as the Government delegation,†according to the source.
The head of the Government team, Ruhakana Rugunda, confirmed the resumption of the talks would be delayed.
“Consultations on the government side are in advanced stages,†he said.
“We are supposed to resume on July 31 but we cannot due to some issues. A new date will be fixed in due course in consultation with the mediation team and both parties.â€
and Agencies
A failure by Ugandan rebels to raise $2m to fund foreign travel and reach commanders in their forest hideouts will delay the planned resumption of peace talks next week, LRA participants said yesterday.
Talks between representa- tives of the LRA and the Ugandan Government are due to resume in Juba, South Sudan, next Monday.
But Martin Ojul, the head of the LRA delegation at the talks, said his group had been unable to raise enough money from donors to organise a visit by 500 people to meet the rebel leaders in Congo’s Garamba forest.
“We are still stuck,†Ojul said. “We want funds to ferry people from northern Uganda to Garamba, and to send people abroad to do research so that we can build a strong case of justice and reconciliation.â€
The Government has agreed to use a national process of accountability for atrocities committed by the LRA, implicitly rejecting demands by the International Criminal Court (ICC) that the top four leaders be handed over for trial in The Hague. The aim of the planned Garamba trip, Ojul said, was to discuss with Kony how to achieve accountability without the ICC. LRA representatives are also hoping to visit South Africa, Sierra
Leone and Argentina.
“Travelling to these countries will help us learn how people there dealt with situations of conflict, justice and reconciliation,†Ojul said.
He added that they would wait for the money, however long it would take.
“No matter when they will respond, we shall wait, even if it is two months. We are leaving Juba. From tomorrow, there will be no LRA in Juba.â€
Sources said the LRA demand was rejected by the donors. “The donors told them that they will be given an equal amount of money as the Government delegation,†according to the source.
The head of the Government team, Ruhakana Rugunda, confirmed the resumption of the talks would be delayed.
“Consultations on the government side are in advanced stages,†he said.
“We are supposed to resume on July 31 but we cannot due to some issues. A new date will be fixed in due course in consultation with the mediation team and both parties.â€