NORTHERN UGANDA: LRA TALKS TO RESUME APRIL 23

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KAMPALA 000630

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PREF PREL MOPS UG SU
SUBJECT: NORTHERN UGANDA: LRA TALKS TO RESUME APRIL 23

REF: KAMPALA 448


1. (U) This is an action request. See paragraph 10 for proposed
press guidance.


2. (SBU) Summary: Negotiations between the Government of Uganda
and the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) are set to resume in Juba,
Southern Sudan on April 26. The two parties agreed to extend the
Cessation of Hostilities Agreement to June 30 and that LRA remaining
in southern Sudan and northern Uganda could assemble at Rikwangba.
The resumption of the talks is a positive development, for which
U.N. Special Envoy Chissano has requested support from the
international community. End Summary.


3. (SBU) On April 15, U.N. Special Envoy for LRA-Affected Areas
Joacquim Chissano briefed the diplomatic corps on the progress made
in his meetings with the LRA. During the April 13 and 14 meetings,
Chissano described a perceptible change in the demeanor of the LRA
leadership from his previous encounters with Joseph Kony and Vincent
Otti in March. In the past, the LRA leaders and fighters were all
dressed in combat fatigues. However, during these meetings the two
leaders were dressed in matching suits and ties and other LRA
members wore safari suits. The LRA accepted the food Chissano
brought along in sharp contrast with past encounters in which the
LRA refused the offering for fear it was poisoned.


4. (SBU) Kony opened the April 13 meeting with an outline of the
reasons the LRA walked out of the talks. Kony requested that the
Ugandan military stop attacking the LRA and that the United Nations
supervise the peace process. He asked to be left alone with the
Government of Uganda team to discuss the status of the International
Criminal Court (ICC) indictments, renewal of the Cessation of
Hostilities Agreement, and the way forward at the negotiations. The
GOU's lead negotiator Ruhakana Rugunda reiterated the Government's
desire for peace and offered to facilitate the movement of the LRA
to the assembly areas.


5. (SBU) Chissano orchestrated a photograph of Kony and Rugunda
shaking hands over their agreement that they wanted peace. For
Chissano, the symbolism of replicating his own handshake with RENAMO
leaders in Rome years ago was important. Chissano told the
diplomatic corps that once such a commitment for peace was made,
"all the rest is details." Chissano and mediator Riek Machar also
were able to hammer out agreement on festering issues such as food
supply for the fighters as they assemble, allowances, and the number
of delegates allowed at the negotiations. It was agreed that the
LRA delegates would receive 70 USD in per diem and 50 USD worth of
satellite telephone airtime per day. Initially it was agreed that
each side would send 15 delegates to Juba, but Chissano later argued
to increase the number of LRA allowed to 17 so that fighters could
be included at the table. Machar promised to assign better security
to the LRA team in Juba to alleviate their complaints about alleged
unfair treatment and abuse at the hands of the Sudan Peoples'
Liberation Army soldiers.


6. (SBU) The GOU and LRA agreed to extend the Cessation of
Hostilities Agreement to June 30. LRA members in southern Sudan and
northern Uganda would be allowed to cross the Nile River to assemble
at Rikwangba. The GOU had offered to transport the LRA to the
assembly area, but the LRA refused, preferring that its members
travel on foot. Kenya, Tanzania, Mozambique, and South Africa would
each provide two observers for the negotiations. The Democratic
Republic of Congo did not send a representative with the team on
this visit because the previous individual had been replaced.
Liaison officers would be posted to a town close to the assembly
area to facilitate the movement of LRA fighters and subsequent
communication between Rikwangba and Juba.


7. (SBU) Chissano stated that he believed that the LRA was much
more serious than during his previous meetings. Members of the GOU
negotiating team also were pleased with the outcome of the meetings.
Felix Kulayigye, the Ugandan Peoples' Defense Forces' member of the
negotiating team, told emboffs that Kony and Otti had become
confused over whether or not the indictments could be lifted. In
meetings and telephone calls from the LRA delegation, Kony and Otti
may have been told that the ICC indictments could be dropped. Owiny
Dollo, the GOU's lawyer, explained to them the GOU's constraints and
options regarding the ICC. Kulayigye said that Dollo appeared to
have convinced Kony and Otti that a peace deal maximized the options
of all parties. Chissano emphasized to the indicted LRA leadership
that the best way forward on the indictments was for a peace deal to
be concluded that would bring lasting peace to northern Uganda. The
international community would then have to weigh the benefits of
peace relative to international forms of justice. Chissano also
told the LRA that solutions to the political problems raised during
the negotiations must be dealt with in Uganda by Ugandans, not at
Juba.


8. (SBU) In addition to the Cessation of Hostilities agreement, a

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communique was signed. A draft of the communique released as was an
April 11 press statement by Pax Christi, a Netherlands-based
non-governmental organization. The press statement touted
"significant agreements" reached between the LRA's Juba delegates
and President Museveni's brother, Salim Saleh, in Mombasa.
According to GOU sources, however, Saleh went to Mobasa to listen to
the LRA delegation but did not agree to anything. Kony and Otti
also were surprised by the Pax Christi release, which they had not
seen. Chissano was not pleased with Pax Christi's intervention.
According to Kulayigye, nor Pax Christi and San Egidio would be
welcome to Juba.


9. (SBU) Comment: The resumption of the peace talks is a welcome
development and Special Envoy Chissano requested that the assembled
members of the diplomatic corps show support for the Juba process.
We are encouraged by this development and the apparent seriousness
on the part of the LRA, but remain cautious that the devil may be in
the details as the parties thrash out the next agenda item on
accountability mechanisms. A final agreement must also contain an
acceptable solution to ensure the security of Kony, Otti, the other
indictees, and the fighters. End comment.


10. (SBU) Proposed press release: To respond to Chissano's request
for support and to support the GOU's efforts, post recommends the
Department release a press statement. "The United States Government
welcomes the agreement between the Government of Uganda and Lord's
Resistance Army to resume peace talks on April 26 in Juba, Southern
Sudan to extend the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement. We
appreciate the efforts of the U.N. Special Envoy and the mediator to
resolve outstanding issues that had been obstacles to the process.
A durable peace agreement that puts an end to the 21-year old
conflict and the suffering of hundreds of thousands of displaced
northern Ugandans is vital to the region and the future of Uganda."

BROWNING