Government woos LRA back to talks
Feb 27, 2007
THE Government has asked the rebels of the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) to renew the truce, which is expiring today. “We are asking the LRA to respond to our call and renew the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement, for the sake of the Internally Displaced Persons,†state minister for foreign aff
By Emmy Allio, John Odyek and Joyce Namutebi
THE Government has asked the rebels of the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) to renew the truce, which is expiring today.
“We are asking the LRA to respond to our call and renew the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement, for the sake of the Internally Displaced Persons,†state minister for foreign affairs, Henry Oryem, said.
“The Government still hopes that the LRA delegation will return to Juba. The only way forward is to engage in dialogue.â€
According to the agreement, which was signed on August 26, 2006, the LRA rebels were supposed to assemble at two points, Ri-Kwangba and Owiny-Kibul, by February 28.
However, the group that briefly gathered at Owiny-Kibul later proceeded to DR Congo, while those in the vicinity of Ri-Kwangba are said to have moved to the Central African Republic.
The Juba talks stalled last month when the LRA demanded a change of venue and mediator, a request which the Government rejected.
Foreign ambassadors and donors are also insisting that Juba is retained as the venue.
The expiry of the truce was also debated in Parliament yesterday. MPs Betty Amongi (Apac) and Alice Alaso (Soroti) urged the two parties not to resume hostilities so as not to interrupt the ongoing resettlement programme in the North.
In an attempt to save the talks, the Acholi paramount chief, Rwot Achana Onen II, is convening a meeting of Acholi in Juba, starting tomorrow.
Participants are expected from the Acholi community in the diaspora, Kenya, Uganda and Sudan. Non-governmental organisations, envoys and government officials have also been invited. The objective of the meeting is to discuss the way forward for the peace process.
Meanwhile, security sources said the LRA rebels have continued looting and abducting Congolese and Sudanese civilians around Nagero and Yambio respectively.
Leaders in the Western Equatoria state are asking the government of South Sudan to get rid of the LRA, according to the Sudan Tribune.
The international community has expressed concern about the deadlock.
The International Rescue Committee Alert warned that Uganda faced an imminent return to armed conflict unless urgent action was taken to rescue the talks.
A coalition of 65 NGOs, united under the Civil Society Organisations for peace in northern Uganda, urged the Government, the LRA and the international community “not to betray the hopes of Ugandans that talks will deliver a just and lasting peace.â€
The NGOs appealed to neighbouring governments, donors and the UN to pressurise the parties into renewing the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement and setting a timetable for the resumption of talks.
They called upon the Government to observe the rules about UPDF deployment in South Sudan, while asking the LRA to refrain from acts of violence against civilians.
The coalition also urged the LRA to release children and women as a confidence-building measure and recommended the setting up of an AU monitoring office in Uganda.
The NGOs further advised both parties to the conflict and the Sudan Government to abstain from making inflammatory statements, and asked the Government to speed up efforts to “demilitarise†law-enforcement in northern Uganda.
They pointed to UN security reports suggesting that small groups of LRA crossed into northern Uganda last month. The NGOs told the Government to provide enough security for displaced persons as they leave the camps and return home.
THE Government has asked the rebels of the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) to renew the truce, which is expiring today.
“We are asking the LRA to respond to our call and renew the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement, for the sake of the Internally Displaced Persons,†state minister for foreign affairs, Henry Oryem, said.
“The Government still hopes that the LRA delegation will return to Juba. The only way forward is to engage in dialogue.â€
According to the agreement, which was signed on August 26, 2006, the LRA rebels were supposed to assemble at two points, Ri-Kwangba and Owiny-Kibul, by February 28.
However, the group that briefly gathered at Owiny-Kibul later proceeded to DR Congo, while those in the vicinity of Ri-Kwangba are said to have moved to the Central African Republic.
The Juba talks stalled last month when the LRA demanded a change of venue and mediator, a request which the Government rejected.
Foreign ambassadors and donors are also insisting that Juba is retained as the venue.
The expiry of the truce was also debated in Parliament yesterday. MPs Betty Amongi (Apac) and Alice Alaso (Soroti) urged the two parties not to resume hostilities so as not to interrupt the ongoing resettlement programme in the North.
In an attempt to save the talks, the Acholi paramount chief, Rwot Achana Onen II, is convening a meeting of Acholi in Juba, starting tomorrow.
Participants are expected from the Acholi community in the diaspora, Kenya, Uganda and Sudan. Non-governmental organisations, envoys and government officials have also been invited. The objective of the meeting is to discuss the way forward for the peace process.
Meanwhile, security sources said the LRA rebels have continued looting and abducting Congolese and Sudanese civilians around Nagero and Yambio respectively.
Leaders in the Western Equatoria state are asking the government of South Sudan to get rid of the LRA, according to the Sudan Tribune.
The international community has expressed concern about the deadlock.
The International Rescue Committee Alert warned that Uganda faced an imminent return to armed conflict unless urgent action was taken to rescue the talks.
A coalition of 65 NGOs, united under the Civil Society Organisations for peace in northern Uganda, urged the Government, the LRA and the international community “not to betray the hopes of Ugandans that talks will deliver a just and lasting peace.â€
The NGOs appealed to neighbouring governments, donors and the UN to pressurise the parties into renewing the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement and setting a timetable for the resumption of talks.
They called upon the Government to observe the rules about UPDF deployment in South Sudan, while asking the LRA to refrain from acts of violence against civilians.
The coalition also urged the LRA to release children and women as a confidence-building measure and recommended the setting up of an AU monitoring office in Uganda.
The NGOs further advised both parties to the conflict and the Sudan Government to abstain from making inflammatory statements, and asked the Government to speed up efforts to “demilitarise†law-enforcement in northern Uganda.
They pointed to UN security reports suggesting that small groups of LRA crossed into northern Uganda last month. The NGOs told the Government to provide enough security for displaced persons as they leave the camps and return home.