NORTHERN UGANDA: KONY FAILS TO SIGN PEACE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 KAMPALA 001552

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/01/18
TAGS: PGOV PREL UG SU CG
SUBJECT: NORTHERN UGANDA: KONY FAILS TO SIGN PEACE
DEAL...AGAIN

REF: KAMPALA 1545

Classified By: P/E Chief Kathleen FitzGibbon for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d
).


1. (C) Summary: Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) leader Joseph
Kony told a delegation of LRA negotiators, northern elders,
and parliamentarians that he will not sign the Final Peace
Agreement (FPA) until the International Criminal Court (ICC)
lifts the warrants against the LRA leadership. Kony also
raised other complaints during the meetings on November 29
and 30. LRA delegation leader, Dr. David Matsanga, said that
Kony was under significant pressure from LRA senior officers
not to sign the deal, but also is facing serious dissension
among lower ranking officers, who mistakenly believe the FPA
is the only way they will get out of the bush. The next
steps in the process are not yet clear. End Summary.

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KONY MEETS NORTHERN DELEGATION
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2. (U) LRA leader Joseph Kony met with his delegation
leader, Dr. David Matsanga, northern Ugandan elders and
religious leaders, and several northern parliamentarians on
November 29 and 30. The gathering was the outcome of a
stakeholders' meeting held in Kampala on November 5, which
had urged Kony to sign the FPA by the end of the month. This
was considered by many to be Kony's last chance to
demonstrate interest in peace after skipping five previously
attempted meetings. Kony did not/not go to the Rikwangba
assembly area, but instead had the group meet him some five
kilometers away inside the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).


3. (C) The parliamentarians were taken aback by Kony's
disrespect for them and Acholi Paramount Chief, Rwot Acana.
The group was stripped naked and their belongings, including
money, were taken. Their satellite telephones were seized.
A member of the GOU delegation said that the elders and
members of parliament were held "hostage" until about one
hundred LRA child slaves portered the food from four lorries
from Rikwangba to Kony's camp. The food was supposed to be
held at Rikwangba for the anticipated signing ceremony. Kony
reportedly demanded that AFEX, a local southern Sudanese
logistics company, send food in for the visiting delegation
to eat, according to Captain Okello, a member of the GOU
delegation. The group re-emerged from the bush late in the
afternoon of November 30 and traveled back to Juba with the
GOU delegation, Machar, and Chissano in the evening. Kony's
lack of contact with the mediator irritated Machar and
Chissano, who were waiting, frustrated, in Rikwangba.

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KONY RAISED THE SAME OLD DEMANDS
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4. (C) Kony's primary reason for refusing to sign the FPA
remains the ICC arrest warrants for Kony, Okot Odhiambo, and
Dominic Ongwen. Kony told the participants that he would not
sign any peace deal until the ICC warrants are lifted.
(Note: Kony has been consistent on this demand since the
warrants were issued in 2005. End Note.) Kony wants a way
out of the "ICC confusion", according to Matsanga, and claims
Kony will send a group of five, including military officers,
to Juba to "finalize" the FPA's provisions on the ICC. Kony
also says he will appoint two new members to the Cessation of
Hostilities Monitoring Team (CHMT). (Note: Machar
unilaterally extended the life of the CHMT even though the
Cessation of Hostilities Agreement expired in May (reftel).
Kony also raised concerns that the Peace, Recovery, and
Development Plan (PRDP) was not being implemented and that
northerners were returning home without farm implements.

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MATSANGA: THIS IS NOT THE END OF THE STORY
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5. (C) LRA delegation leader Matsanga admitted to P/E Chief
on November 30 that Kony had once again "disappointed us" and
urged the United States to back the continuing efforts of
Machar to resolve the LRA conflict peacefully. He argued
that military options are more expensive than peace options.
He suggested that this included providing support to the
establishment of the Joint Liaison Group (JLG),called for in
the FPA and which consists of three representatives from the
GOU, three LRA delegates, and a person nominated by Machar to
chair the group. Its purpose is to oversee the
implementation of the FPA.


6. (C) Matsanga brushed aside P/E Chief's question on how
the donor community could support the JLG without a signed

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peace agreement. Matsanga said that Kony had not refused to
sign the document, but instead asked for "correction and
clarification." He then contradicted himself and said that
"Kony's signature will be elusive for the next ten years."
Matsanga added that Kony had appointed Nairobi-based LRA
loyalists, Justine Labeja and Margaret Abolo, to represent
him on the JLG.


7. (C) Matsanga, who sounded drunk and who rambled, said
that "he knew that the U.S. was sending tomahawks from the
Indian Ocean to Garamba." He also said that the U.S. "wants
Kony to come home horizontally." (Note: This is a reference
to remarks made by President Museveni in September that Kony
could sign the peace deal and come home vertically, or he
could home horizontally if he did not sign. End Note.) He
urged the U.S. to support Machar's "avenue to peace" instead.


8. (C) He also tried to scapegoat Jolly Okot Lacor, Kony's
childhood friend and a sometimes confidante, for sending Kony
a text message reminding him that it would be difficult for
him to come back home because he had killed many people in
northern Uganda. Matsanga claimed that Kony refused to sign
because he interpreted the text message to mean that he would
not be safe in Uganda. He accused the U.S. and other
countries of offering Kony exile and promoting defection,
which has split LRA members.

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DISSENSION WITHIN KONY'S CAMP
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9. (C) Kony was "besieged by his own generals" not to sign
the agreement, Matsanga explained. Members of the GOU team
and Chissano's office confirm problems within the LRA camp.
Allegedly, ICC indictees LRA deputy Okot Odhiambo and Dominic
Ongwen are adamantly against Kony signing the peace deal
because they fear Kony would get a light sentence or even
exile and that they would bear the brunt of the ICC warrants.
On November 27, Odhiambo told a contact in Nairobi that Kony
was upset that none of the lawyers he had requested showed
up, according to Jolly Okot Lacor. (Note: The two lawyers,
Jane Anwyar and Jacob Olanya, had committed to attend and
then backed out on November 28 without explanation. There is
reason to believe that the GOU persuaded them not to go as a
way of sabotaging the meeting. End note.)


10. (C) BG Bok Abudema, who is not one of the current
indictees, reportedly fears that he will be indicted soon due
to his activities directing the abductions and attacks in
eastern DRC, according to Warner Ten Kate, the head of
Chissano's Kampala Office. Kony also is under pressure from
lower ranking officers and other captives to sign the FPA so
that they can return home. Kony reportedly has told them
that they will not receive amnesty if they return to Uganda
outside the peace agreement. This group is extremely
disappointed by Kony's refusal to sign the deal, according to
Ten Kate.

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COMMENT
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11. (SBU) We do not yet have a read-out from the meeting
that Machar held with Chissano and the parties in Juba on
December 1. GOU delegation members expressed concern that
Machar will advocate for yet another last chance for Kony.
Chissano reportedly will meet with President Museveni later
in the evening or on December 2. Museveni reportedly will
tell Chissano that Uganda has had enough of the peace
process. We will follow up with the parties upon their
arrival to Kampala and report septel.
BROWNING