What is rocking the boat in the LRA Camp?
Dec 03, 2007
SINCE the hasty flight of LRA Number 3 Opio Makasi and the tales he related of an internal rift in the LRA, anxiety has hung like a dark cloud over the Juba Peace Talks.
By Nobert Mao
SINCE the hasty flight of LRA Number 3 Opio Makasi and the tales he related of an internal rift in the LRA, anxiety has hung like a dark cloud over the Juba Peace Talks.
Opio Makasi said that a faction led by Number 2, Vincent Otti was facing arrest and possible purge by Joseph Kony.
He claims that he got a tip-off that he was also one of those targeted for arrest and that is why he fled ending up in the hands of UN Peacekeepers in Congo, the Kinshasa government and eventually Kampala from where he speedily got an amnesty from the government.
It has to be assumed that Makasi has not said everything he knows or at any rate all he has revealed has not been made public.
He spoke of intense rivalry in the LRA Camp between Kony and his powerful No.2 Vincent Otti. It is this rivalry that prompted Kony to carry out the strong-armed purge.
Those purged included Odong Kau and Otto Sunday, two LRA combatants who had since returned to Uganda and got amnesty. They were considered resettled to civilian life only to flee back to the bush to re-join the LRA.
Now these same two are said to be leading a contingent of about 30 LRA combatants who have since parted company with Kony and are making their way back to Uganda. Unconfirmed reports say they have handed themselves over to the SPLA.
Under the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement, the SPLA are responsible for the security of the LRA in the assembly areas.
Yet due to the mistrust between the LRA and the SPLA, the bulk of the LRA are across the border in the Congo and thus beyond the watch of the SPLA. Only a small number of LRA combatants are fully stationed in the official assembly area in Ri Kwang Ba – the last SPLA outpost towards the Congo border.
Notwithstanding that part of the LRA, especially the top leadership are stationed in Congo, they were in a defined area and therefore easy to reach.
This has facilitated several outreach efforts not only by the Mediation Team but also by international missions and community delegations from South Sudan and Uganda.
The last hitch had been overcome when the contingent on the East Bank of the River Nile at Owiny Ki Bul had been allowed to join their colleagues across the river.
This atmosphere of predictability and accessibility on the part of the LRA was a strong boost to the talks. Suspicion appeared to wane. Food supplies were made available to the LRA.
Confidence was growing by the day. The LRA leadership, particularly Vincent Otti, made several public statements in the local and international media.
This open channel of communication overcame a lot of scepticism harboured by those who thought it was impossible to talk peace with the LRA.
The many deadlines that had been set by President Museveni were passed and left behind.
In the meantime, three agenda items were signed —the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement, the Agreement on Comprehensive Solutions and the Principles for Accountability, Justice and Reconciliation.
Back home, the population basked in a long and uninterrupted peace that had eluded them for over two decades. The consistent commitment of the LRA to the talks even brought renewed international support.
European and US diplomats visited Juba to declare support to the talks. The United Nations appointed former President Joachim Chissano as a Special Envoy to support the process. This support also came with much needed financial resources that kept the process going full throttle.
Even the US, a country that has the LRA on its list of terrorists declared support. Both the House and Senate passed two Congressional resolutions in support of the talks.
Over 40 members of Congress signed letters addressed to both President Bush and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice urging more US involvement in the process. Eventually, a high level diplomat Tim Shortley an adviser to US Assistant Secretary of State for Africa, Jendayi Frazer, was detailed to support the Juba Talks.
The process has overcome many obstacles. Even the consultations inside Uganda by the LRA have taken off with much success. Many observers were looking forward to a Comprehensive Peace Agreement being signed in Juba before March 2008.
And then the news of this unravelling, implosion and splits in the LRA started coming.
In particular, the news of Vincent Otti’s arrest and even rumours that he had been killed sent shock waves. Otti has become the most recognisable face and voice of the LRA. He has been a credible spokesman in the media giving the viewpoint of the combatants and filling gaps left by the LRA peace team in Juba.
This lent wholesomeness to the process.
If Otti who has been a most trusted partner to Kony is now a victim of the infighting within the rebel group, then the peace process is in danger. The infighting will distract everyone from the business at hand in Juba.
It will mean that Juba may represent but a part of the LRA. Above all, if it is true that the government of Uganda has a hand in the internal conflicts in the LRA, then the Juba Talks are in danger of collapsing.
Mistrust will grow and the process will lose credibility.
This is the time for the international community to support the Cessation of Hostilities Monitoring Team (CHMT) and the Mediation Team to send clear signals to the LRA that the splits will have consequences.
The CHMT should visit the LRA camp and seek to pacify the factions. Those rocking the peace boat should be restrained. There is no point for continued speculation.
Dr. Riek Machar should dispatch a team to the LRA hideout to verify all these rumours. There is a saying that when you see a frog darting about in broad daylight then there must be something amiss in its normal habitat.
People with the proper mandate namely, Riek Machar, the CHMT and President Joachim Chissani should step forward and find out what is happening. Continued defections show that the seams at the centre of the LRA are not holding. Otherwise why would key LRA loyalists jump ship? Is the ship sinking? If so why?
Seafarers say when a ship is sinking passengers should follow the rats, not the captain. Let the rats speak and tell us the cause of the turbulence in the LRA. In the meantime, there is need for more pressure on the LRA to clear the air.
SINCE the hasty flight of LRA Number 3 Opio Makasi and the tales he related of an internal rift in the LRA, anxiety has hung like a dark cloud over the Juba Peace Talks.
Opio Makasi said that a faction led by Number 2, Vincent Otti was facing arrest and possible purge by Joseph Kony.
He claims that he got a tip-off that he was also one of those targeted for arrest and that is why he fled ending up in the hands of UN Peacekeepers in Congo, the Kinshasa government and eventually Kampala from where he speedily got an amnesty from the government.
It has to be assumed that Makasi has not said everything he knows or at any rate all he has revealed has not been made public.
He spoke of intense rivalry in the LRA Camp between Kony and his powerful No.2 Vincent Otti. It is this rivalry that prompted Kony to carry out the strong-armed purge.
Those purged included Odong Kau and Otto Sunday, two LRA combatants who had since returned to Uganda and got amnesty. They were considered resettled to civilian life only to flee back to the bush to re-join the LRA.
Now these same two are said to be leading a contingent of about 30 LRA combatants who have since parted company with Kony and are making their way back to Uganda. Unconfirmed reports say they have handed themselves over to the SPLA.
Under the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement, the SPLA are responsible for the security of the LRA in the assembly areas.
Yet due to the mistrust between the LRA and the SPLA, the bulk of the LRA are across the border in the Congo and thus beyond the watch of the SPLA. Only a small number of LRA combatants are fully stationed in the official assembly area in Ri Kwang Ba – the last SPLA outpost towards the Congo border.
Notwithstanding that part of the LRA, especially the top leadership are stationed in Congo, they were in a defined area and therefore easy to reach.
This has facilitated several outreach efforts not only by the Mediation Team but also by international missions and community delegations from South Sudan and Uganda.
The last hitch had been overcome when the contingent on the East Bank of the River Nile at Owiny Ki Bul had been allowed to join their colleagues across the river.
This atmosphere of predictability and accessibility on the part of the LRA was a strong boost to the talks. Suspicion appeared to wane. Food supplies were made available to the LRA.
Confidence was growing by the day. The LRA leadership, particularly Vincent Otti, made several public statements in the local and international media.
This open channel of communication overcame a lot of scepticism harboured by those who thought it was impossible to talk peace with the LRA.
The many deadlines that had been set by President Museveni were passed and left behind.
In the meantime, three agenda items were signed —the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement, the Agreement on Comprehensive Solutions and the Principles for Accountability, Justice and Reconciliation.
Back home, the population basked in a long and uninterrupted peace that had eluded them for over two decades. The consistent commitment of the LRA to the talks even brought renewed international support.
European and US diplomats visited Juba to declare support to the talks. The United Nations appointed former President Joachim Chissano as a Special Envoy to support the process. This support also came with much needed financial resources that kept the process going full throttle.
Even the US, a country that has the LRA on its list of terrorists declared support. Both the House and Senate passed two Congressional resolutions in support of the talks.
Over 40 members of Congress signed letters addressed to both President Bush and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice urging more US involvement in the process. Eventually, a high level diplomat Tim Shortley an adviser to US Assistant Secretary of State for Africa, Jendayi Frazer, was detailed to support the Juba Talks.
The process has overcome many obstacles. Even the consultations inside Uganda by the LRA have taken off with much success. Many observers were looking forward to a Comprehensive Peace Agreement being signed in Juba before March 2008.
And then the news of this unravelling, implosion and splits in the LRA started coming.
In particular, the news of Vincent Otti’s arrest and even rumours that he had been killed sent shock waves. Otti has become the most recognisable face and voice of the LRA. He has been a credible spokesman in the media giving the viewpoint of the combatants and filling gaps left by the LRA peace team in Juba.
This lent wholesomeness to the process.
If Otti who has been a most trusted partner to Kony is now a victim of the infighting within the rebel group, then the peace process is in danger. The infighting will distract everyone from the business at hand in Juba.
It will mean that Juba may represent but a part of the LRA. Above all, if it is true that the government of Uganda has a hand in the internal conflicts in the LRA, then the Juba Talks are in danger of collapsing.
Mistrust will grow and the process will lose credibility.
This is the time for the international community to support the Cessation of Hostilities Monitoring Team (CHMT) and the Mediation Team to send clear signals to the LRA that the splits will have consequences.
The CHMT should visit the LRA camp and seek to pacify the factions. Those rocking the peace boat should be restrained. There is no point for continued speculation.
Dr. Riek Machar should dispatch a team to the LRA hideout to verify all these rumours. There is a saying that when you see a frog darting about in broad daylight then there must be something amiss in its normal habitat.
People with the proper mandate namely, Riek Machar, the CHMT and President Joachim Chissani should step forward and find out what is happening. Continued defections show that the seams at the centre of the LRA are not holding. Otherwise why would key LRA loyalists jump ship? Is the ship sinking? If so why?
Seafarers say when a ship is sinking passengers should follow the rats, not the captain. Let the rats speak and tell us the cause of the turbulence in the LRA. In the meantime, there is need for more pressure on the LRA to clear the air.