SOUTH SUDAN VP MACHAR OUTLINES TALKS WITH LORD'S

C O N F I D E N T I A L KHARTOUM 001484 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR AF A/S FRAZER AND AF/SPG NSC FOR COURVILLE E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/25/2016 TAGS: PREL PGOV PTER PINS PHUM SU SUBJECT: SOUTH SUDAN VP MACHAR OUTLINES TALKS WITH LORD'S RESISTANCE ARMY REF: KHARTOUM 1396 Classified By: CHARGE D'AFFAIRES CAMERON HUME REASON 1.4 (B) AND (D) ¶1. (C) Summary: Fifteen Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) negotiators in Juba are still awaiting the arrival of a Ugandan delegation for peace talks, Southern Sudan Vice President Riek Machar told the Assessment and Evaluation Commission (AEC) on June 23. The group -- which does not include any of the five people indicted by the International Criminal Court -- is currently at work on their position papers. But the Ugandan Government is reluctant to begin talks, Machar said, and refused to accept any delegation not constituted by LRA leader Joseph Kony. However, Machar had met twice with Kony, and had assured the Ugandans that Kony backed the delegation. Machar also defended the Government of Southern Sudan's willingness to mediate, noting that Kony was "a serious man," and that direct talks were "an African solution to an African problem." End Summary. ¶2. (C) Fifteen LRA negotiators are currently in residence at the RA International Camp in Juba, Southern Sudan, for peace talks with Government of Uganda, according to Southern Sudan Vice President Riek Machar. Twelve arrived before June 7 (reftel); at least one has already departed. According to the Ugandan Consulate in Juba, the entire delegation includes sixteen individuals: --Martin Ojul --Rock Okidi --Peter Ongom --Otim Okullo --Krispus Ayena Odong --Obonyo Olwent --Justin Lebeja --Joshua Otukene --Okwonga Yusuf Adek --Wilson Owiny --Ray Achama --Denis Okirot --Sunay Ocaya --Lt. Col. Santo Alit --Col. Leonard Bwone Lubwa --Dr. Lensio Onek ¶3. (C) Machar assured the AEC that the delegation does not include the five LRA members indicted by the ICC. However, Machar added, it does include several military officials, lawyers, and teachers, including some currently living in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Uganda. Ugandan consulate officials be all of the above to be Acholi, including the delegation's chairman, Dr. Onek -- who is Sudanese in origin. The officials also note that only Alit and Lubwa are believed to be active members of the LRA. ¶4. (C) Machar said he had written the Government of Uganda on June 13, inviting them to send a delegation. The Ugandan Ambassador had arrived on June 18 from Khartoum, but a delegation had still not arrived from Kampala. Machar believes that Uganda is reluctant to begin talks, and has told the Government of Southern Sudan (GoSS) that it will not deal with any LRA delegation not personally approved by LRA leader Joseph Kony. Machar revealed that he had met twice with Kony near the Sudan-Democratic Republic of Congo border-- once on May 3, and once on June 11 -- and believed that Kony was a "serious man." However, Machar added, "He's concerned that people think he is a terrorist." ¶5. (C) Responding to a question from the British Ambassador, Machar defended the GoSS' decision to mediate. The LRA was not a "criminal organization" but a "real political movement," he said, because a criminal organization could not have survived for so long without political aims. Moreover, Machar believed that negotiating with Kony had real benefits: first, it lured him out of hiding, and second, it helped to moderate the LRA. "There were no incidents for two weeks after I met with Kony on May 3," he said. ¶6. (C) Moreover, Machar continued, the first goal of the GoSS was to protect its people, and the fight between the LRA and Uganda had harmed the people of Southern Sudan. The ICC had indicted five LRA members, but that had done nothing to stop the violence. "I won't say the ICC was wrong, but it has no capacity to implement. The ICC is a European solution to an African problem, but what we're doing is an African solution to an African problem." HUME