SUDAN/UGANDA: MUSEVENI VISITS GOSS, MEETS LRA

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 KHARTOUM 002559 SIPDIS SIPDIS FOR AF/SPG E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/26/2016 TAGS: PREL PGOV UG SU SUBJECT: SUDAN/UGANDA: MUSEVENI VISITS GOSS, MEETS LRA Classified By: Classified by CDA Chief Eric Whitaker, Reason: Section 1.4 (b) and (d) ¶1. (U) The Governments of Sudan and Uganda have traded accusations in the wake of Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni's one-day visit to Juba October 21. Khartoum says Museveni had no authorization to visit Sudan, and in any case should have first landed in the Sudanese capital. Ugandan officials reject the charge and say their embassy in Khartoum coordinated with the foreign ministry. The first visit by a head of state to Juba since the inauguration of the semi-autonomous Government of Southern Sudan (GoSS) also marked the first-ever meeting, albeit brief and contentious, between Museveni and representatives of the rebel Lord's Resistance Army (LRA). Museveni expressed "deep regret" that Southern leader John Garang "died on the border of Uganda and in Ugandan aircraft," and said the crash is still under investigation. Museveni also took up a public invitation to advise the new Southern government. His message: maintain unity, allow the private sector to take the lead in development, build a professional army, and maintain macroeconomic stability. End Summary. -------------- Museveni Meets the LRA -------------- ¶2. (U) Museveni, the first head of state to visit Juba since the inauguration of the GoSS in July 2005, held a brief, tense meeting with the LRA delegation. Sources say there was little dialogue, and that Museveni did almost all the talking. An LRA spokesperson later told the media that Museveni had been "abusive." ¶3. (U) In a speech at the Southern Sudan Legislative Assembly, however, Museveni said "I salute His Excellency Salva Kiir" for the peace talks initiative. "I salute him and I would like to encourage him to continue." Kiir also said the talks would continue to a "logical" conclusion despite "some few elements trying to disturb our peace." Prof. Hizkias Assefa, senior member of the mediation team, told us he thought Museveni's speech was "very good" under the circumstances. Talks reconvened briefly after Museveni departed, in an atmosphere still tense because of the recent upsurge in violence (septel). -------------- Charges and Counter-Charges -------------- ¶4. (U) "Any head of state coming on Sudanese soil must first come to Khartoum, meet the president, then meet the first vice president (Salva Kiir)," said a Sudanese Government spokesman on state radio. "Sudan is still one country," the statement continued. Southern Sudan was "acting like they are already a country." ¶5. (U) Nonsense replied the Ugandans. According to Ugandan press reports and Ugandan officials in Juba, Khartoum was informed of the visit in advance. Ugandan officials stress that Museveni's trip had been scheduled ahead of time, and called it a "working visit" intended to review GoSS-mediated peace talks between the GOU and the LRA. ConGen staff knew of the visit at least a week before, and a report of the planned visit appeared in the media before Museveni arrived. Sudan Information Minister Samson Kwaje told a Ugandan reporter that Kiir "duly informed President Omar Bashir about the visit and got a blessing." ¶6. (C) Whatever consultations transpired among Khartoum, Kampala, and Juba ahead of the visit, it sparked controversy even before the Ugandan president landed. Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) Major General Thomas Cirilo, Deputy Commander of the Joint Integrated Units (JIUs) for all of Sudan, told ConGen that Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) components of JIUs in Juba withdrew from arrangements to welcome Museveni at the airport. ¶7. (U) In remarks on October 22, at the church he regularly attends, GoSS President Salva Kiir reportedly criticized the people of Juba for failing to give Museveni an enthusiastic welcome. Security was extraordinarily tight for the visit, with both the airport and major roads in Juba closed for most of the day. The Museveni entourage included three helicopter gunships. Museveni himself chose to travel by helicopter. Museveni's plane, also dispatched to Juba, arrived nearly empty. ¶8. (U) This was not the first time a Museveni visit to Southern Sudan sparked controversy. In August 2005, he traveled overland from Uganda in a large military convoy to KHARTOUM 00002559 002 OF 002 attend a memorial service for John Garang in Yei. In that instance, too, the national government in Khartoum complained that they had not received adequate notice of, and had not approved, Museveni's plans. -------------- Garang Crash -------------- ¶9. (U) The Garang helicopter crash was also on Museveni's mind during his visit to Juba. In a speech to the Southern Sudan Legislative Assembly, Museveni expressed formal condolences and "deep regret" that Garang had died "on the border of Uganda" and in a Ugandan presidential helicopter. "It is terrible for us to take that responsibility," Museveni said somberly. The crash investigation, he claimed, revealed that there was "nothing wrong with the aircraft." Uganda and the GoSS were therefore "still trying to find out what else was the problem." Garang had flown on Ugandan military aircraft "many times," he pointed out. (Note: A joint Uganda-Sudanese investigation of the crash, chaired by a senior investigator from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB),found significant shortcomings in the operation of Museveni's helicopter fleet, and concluded that a combination of bad weather, impending darkness, and pilot error caused the crash. End note.) -------------- Advice for a New Government -------------- ¶10. (U) Museveni congratulated Kiir for keeping the SPLA together in the wake of Garang's death and also commended "my friend" General Bashir for overcoming the "Arab chauvinist ideas" of the people in the North and negotiating the January 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA). Museveni urged southerners to maintain a strong defense to protect the gains of the CPA. He saluted both Kiir and GoSS Vice President Riek Machar for persevering in ongoing peace talks with the LRA (septel) and said the problem of the LRA represented a "confluence" of the problems of Uganda and the problems of Sudan. Khartoum had used the LRA to keep the "black people" of the region separated, Museveni said, but this strategy was no longer working. ¶11. (U) When the speaker of the Assembly, James Wani Igga, invited Museveni to share the lessons of state-building gleaned over the 20 years of his rule, the Ugandan president was ready with well-received advice. First, he cautioned, the South should remain unified. Then, it must focus on economic recovery. "The most reliable agent of recovery is the private sector," Museveni said. "If you attract the private sector they will do the work for you." Third, he urged the South to "build a professional army." Finally, he advised the South to achieve "macroeconomic stabilization." Inflation in Uganda had remained in the single digits for many years, he pointed out. Southern Sudan should do the same, and should not "spend money it does not have." POWERS