SUDAN/UGANDA/DRC: "DECLARATION ON ARRANGEMENTS

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 KHARTOUM 000898 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR AF A/S FRAZER, AF/SE NATSIOS AND AF/SPG, NSC FOR PITTMAN AND SHORTLEY E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/06/2017 TAGS: PREL PGOV MARR PHUM KPKO SU UG CG SUBJECT: SUDAN/UGANDA/DRC: "DECLARATION ON ARRANGEMENTS FOR LORD'S RESISTANCE ARMY FORCES TO CROSS THE NILE" REF: KHARTOUM 839 Classified By: DCM Roberto Powers, Reason: Section 1.4 (b) and (d) ¶1. (C) Summary: In one of the stranger twists of the protracted Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) peace process, the chief mediator has issued a detailed "declaration" of arrangements for the Ugandan rebel group to cross the Nile in southern Sudan and assemble at the Sudan/Congo border--despite the fact that all sides assert that most LRA forces have already completed the move. Government of Southern Sudan (GOSS) Vice President Riek Machar, mediator in the talks, signed the declaration June 3 in response to pressures from the LRA delegation. End Summary. -------------- Reaction to SPLA/UPDF Ultimatum -------------- ¶2. (C) LRA peace talks resumed in Juba June 1 with a mandate to focus on issues of justice and accountability. The two sides were soon locked in wrangling over an ultimatum issued in early May by the chiefs of staff of the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) and the Uganda People's Defense Forces (UPDF) requiring LRA forces to abandon sites east of the Nile within seven days (reftel). In contrast to a series of other assembly deadlines promulgated in the course of the talks, the SPLA/UPDF ultimatum followed a period of shadowy but reportedly effective anti-LRA operations east of the Nile. The ultimatum prompted a significant, but largely uncoordinated, movement of LRA forces across the Nile and west toward the Ri-Kwangba assembly point on the Sudan/Congo border. ¶3. (C) Once the peace talks resumed, LRA delegates objected strongly that the SPLA/UPDF ultimatum was inconsistent with the governing Cessation of Hostilities Agreement (CHA). After two days of intensive negotiations, and over the bitter objections of the Government of Uganda delegation (GOU), Machar promulgated a "Declaration on Arrangements for Lord's Resistance Army Forces to Cross the Nile." Acting CG was shown a copy of the principles by SPLA Maj. Gen. Wilson Deng, who oversees the Cessation of Hostilities Monitoring Team (CHMT),and otherwise handles military aspects of the ongoing peace process. ¶4. (C) Despite the fact that all sides assert that the majority of LRA forces have crossed the Nile, some small groups apparently remain in Eastern Equatoria province. There are also continuing reports of unidentified groups employing LRA-like tactics in looting villages and carrying out attacks east of the Nile. A Roman Catholic priest from the Diocese of Torit in Eastern Equatoria told us SPLA and UPDF forces were still "hunting" LRA bands in that area. -------------- UPDF/SPLA to Withdraw From 80 Mile "Exclusion Zone" -------------- ¶5. (C) The declaration, which had not been made public as of June 5, requires the LRA to complete its movement within three weeks. In a potentially significant development, the declaration establishes an "exclusion zone" along an 80 mile stretch of the Nile, to be implemented by the "withdrawal of UPDF and SPLA forces along the east and west banks." The LRA are permitted to cross anywhere along the 80 mile stretch, "between the Rejaf and Aswa confluences." The declaration establishes three "reporting lines"--presumably sites where LRA movements can be monitored by the CHMTs--on the Nile, on the road between Juba and Yei, and on the road between Yei and Maridi. The declaration also specifies that "food will be delivered west of the River Nile to facilitate the movement of the LRA forces." ¶6. (C) UN sources said the GOU delegation objected vociferously to these provisions. It also did not go down well with some elements of the SPLA. "I don't like this fake declaration," SPLA Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Oyai Deng told Acting CG after reading the document, which he called a political ploy. ¶7. (C) Former Mozambique President Joaquim Chissano returned to Juba for the opening of the talks on June 1 after two days of consultations in Kampala. Chissano told the delegates that time is running out to conclude a comprehensive agreement. A large delegation of traditional and religious leaders from northern Uganda was also present, and implored the LRA and GOU representatives to intensify their efforts. KHARTOUM 00000898 002 OF 002 LRA spokesmen made long-winded speeches, stressing that the GOU must be accountable for the destruction of livestock and other crimes committed by President Yoweri Museveni's National Resistance Army (NRA) after Museveni came to power in 1986. FERNANDEZ