NORTHERN UGANDA NOTES (October 1-31, 2008)

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KAMPALA 001449 SENSITIVE SIPDIS DEPARTMENT PASS TO USAID AND OFDA E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PHUM PREF ASEC EAID UG SU CG SUBJECT: NORTHERN UGANDA NOTES (October 1-31, 2008) KAMPALA 00001449 001.2 OF 002 ¶1. (U) Summary: The following Northern Uganda Notes provide information on the situation on the ground and USG activities aimed at meeting Mission's objectives in northern Uganda. These objectives include promoting regional stability through peace and security, good governance, access to social services, economic growth, and humanitarian assistance. Post appreciates feedback from consumers on the utility of this product and any gaps in information that need to be filled. End Summary. -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - PEACE AND RECONCILIATION PROCESSES -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ¶2. (SBU) On October 8, Southern Sudan's President Salva Kiir demanded a timeframe within which the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) must sign the Final Peace Agreement (FPA). Kiir told southern Sudanese parliamentarians that he could not wait indefinitely for LRA leader Joseph Kony to sign the FPA. Kiir appealed to the UN Special Envoy for LRA-Affected Areas, Joachim Chissano, and Chief Mediator Riek Machar to provide a deadline for the signing of the FPA so that other options can be explored. ¶3. (U) The establishment of the War Crimes Division of the High Court could be delayed, according to Principal Judge James Ogoola. On October 3, Justice Ogoola told a human rights consultative meeting that the absence of an appropriate domestic law could limit the scope of the new division. Meanwhile, on October 28 the International Criminal Court (ICC) announced the commencement of a pre-trial court to determine if Kony would be tried by the international court or the Ugandan High Court. The ICC appointed a lawyer to defend Kony and the other two ICC indictees. The GOU, the ICC Prosecutor Luis Moreno Ocampo, and Kony's lawyer were invited to submit views on the court by November 10. ¶4. (U) Ocampo renewed calls for the arrest of Kony following recent LRA attacks in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and southern Sudan. On October 22, the ICC pressed the DRC to execute arrest warrants for the LRA leaders. The ICC called on the DRC to provide detailed information on measures it was taking to execute the warrants of arrest. The responses are due on November 17. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE AND ECONOMIC RECOVERY - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ¶5. (U) On October 2, leaders in the north appealed to the World Food Program (WFP) not to end school feeding programs. The leaders argued that it is too early to end school feeding because many families can only afford one meal per day for their children. ¶6. (U) The Acholi Parliamentary Group is seeking a court injunction to halt the Peace, Recovery and Development Plan (PRDP) for northern Uganda, claiming that the implementation of the PRDP is vague. Aruu County MP Samuel Odonga Otto said that the recovery project captures a large geographic area, including districts such as Kapchorwa, Busia, Arua, Mbale and Tororo, which were not LRA-affected. The parliamentarians argued that the project may not help the communities actually affected. Otto also said the government does not have money available for the PRDP activities and is waiting for donations from the international community. ¶7. (U) On October 27, Minister of State for Northern Uganda David Wakikona warned leaders in northern Uganda against politicizing government programs, which are meant to rebuild the war-ravaged region. Wakikona urged the leaders to focus on recovery of their areas instead of politics. He added that if the leaders politicize developmental programs that investments, stability and security, and the local people would suffer. ¶8. (U) USG Activities: Ambassador Browning participated in the handover ceremony for Invisible Children projects in northern Uganda on October 29. Invisible Children started operations in northern Uganda in September 2005. In 2007, it began a program named "Schools for Schools" which has linked 850 schools in the US to ten schools in LRA-affected districts of Amuru, Gulu, and Pader to reconstruct and rehabilitate damaged schools. Invisible Children raised $1 million, primarily from U.S. schoolchildren, in 100 days for the renovations, text book supplies, and teacher incentives. While in Gulu, the Ambassador met with local government officials, non-governmental organizations that implement U.S. programs, and staff at the USAID Northern Uganda Office. KAMPALA 00001449 002.2 OF 002 ¶9. (U) USAID's office of Transition Initiatives (OTI) approved three new activities: a grant to provide engineering support to the Gulu District Engineer to advance a number of infrastructure projects; the purchase of furniture to equip sub-county offices and courtrooms; and rehabilitation of a borehole in Opaya primary school, an area of high levels of internally displaced persons (IDP) returns. This brings total funding under the OTI to $680,000 in support of 21 activities. In the Acholi districts of Amuru, Gulu, Kitgum, and Pader, approximately 37 percent of those who were internally displaced at the peak of the conflict remain in mother camps, 38 percent have moved to satellite or transit camps, and 28 percent have returned to their villages. ¶10. (U) USAID donated approximately $6,000 to assist in the fight against diseases such as malaria, bilharzia, trachoma and river blindness in Amuru District. The administrator in charge of Vector Control Program, Richard Odokonyero, announced that implementation started in October and will be completed in November. - - - - - - - - SECURITY UPDATE - - - - - - - - ¶11. (U) On October 8, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) reported that a total of 23,000 Congolese fled their homes due to LRA attacks in September. UNHCR estimates that up to 150 Congolese had crossed daily from the DRC to the villages of Sakure, 15 kilometers south of Yambio, and Gangura, 30 kilometers south-west of Yambio, in southern Sudan. Approximately 5,000 Congolese were reported in Yambio, while 17,000 others are in the Dungu area of northeastern DRC. The UN, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and the Southern Sudan Relief and Rehabilitation Commission undertook joint operations to assist the displaced. ¶12. (U) On October 10, the UN Mission in Congo (MONUC) said LRA rebels killed 52 civilians and abducted 159 children when they attacked Dungu town. MONUC's Political Affairs Officer Jacob Mogeni called for a strategy to deal with the LRA and other negative forces during a border security meeting. - - - - - - - - - - - - - FROM THE MEDIA AND THE WEB - - - - - - - - - - - - - ¶13. (U) The LRA resumed attacks on civilians in the eastern part of the DRC, according to the Daily Monitor's article entitled, "No Attack on Congo Planned - Uganda". According to the story, Uganda has assured the DRC that it would not send troops across the border "clandestinely" to carry out pre-emptive strikes on LRA rebels. Henry Okello Oryem, State Minister for International Relations, said that Uganda had told Kinshasa that its contribution to resolving the security challenges will be made in broad daylight. The paper also reported that defense ministry and military officials from Uganda, DRC, and southern Sudan have been working on joint plans to attack the rebel army in its bases in eastern Congo, but no action has been taken despite several meetings. ¶14. (U) The Army Spokesperson, Major Paddy Ankunda, was quoted as saying that the Ugandan Peoples' Defense Forces (UPDF) was monitoring the borders as a precautionary measure against the LRA, but that should the LRA attempt to enter Uganda, the UPDF was ready to take action. Ankunda reportedly said that the army was monitoring the DRC border on a daily basis and denied that General Aronda Nyakairima had given any orders. Ankunda urged displaced persons to continue returning to their villages, assuring them that there was no security threat. ¶15. (U) LRA peace delegation leader David Matsanga issued a communique to the international community and Chissano, demanding a new location for the LRA assembly. Matsanga said that the LRA has no faith in the security of the Rikwangba assembly area and staging point at Nabanga that have been the hub of peace activities since ¶2006. He added that recent troop movements in southern Sudan have given the UPDF a free hand, making the areas unsafe for the LRA. The Daily Monitor asked the leader of the Ugandan Government's peace team, Ruhakana Rugunda, for his thoughts on Matsanga's letter. Rugunda said that the way forward is for the LRA to sign the final peace agreement because time is not on their side. "If they (the LRA) have issues, they can raise them as part of and within the framework of the agreement," according to Rugunda. BROWNING