NORTHERN UGANDA NOTES (March 1-April 18, 2008)

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 KAMPALA 000552 SIPDIS 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 (March 1-April 18, 2008) KAMPALA 00000552 001.2 OF 003 ¶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. (U) The date for the signature of the Final Peace Agreement (FPA) slipped through March into April. The LRA delegation held a consultation with northern Ugandan leaders in Juba on March 26 and ¶27. The Government and LRA agreed to extend the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement to April 6 and then to April 15. The Government has not decided on whether it will renew the CHA. ¶3. (U) Ruhakana Rugunda, the leader of the Government's negotiating team, told Parliament that Kony did not show up at Rikwangba on April 10. Kony reportedly said that he was not expecting to sign an agreement and thought that he was meeting traditional and religious leaders to discuss the peace process. Kony reportedly wanted to know what procedures (mato oput) and institutions (Special Division of the High Court) were envisaged. Rugunda said that there was in-fighting within the LRA delegation, which may have contributed to conflicting reports reaching Kony. David Matsanga was removed as leader of the LRA delegation. Rugunda noted that Matsanga said he resigned and was not sacked. ¶4. (SBU) The GOU left Rikwangba on April 11 when it was clear that Kony was a few days walk from the venue. The GOU agreed with the Government of Southern Sudan mediator Riek Machar that the GOU would return to Kampala while Machar and religious and traditional leaders tried to make contact with Kony. ¶5. (SBU) Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni visited Juba on April 14 and reviewed the peace process with the Government of Southern Sudan's President, Salva Kiir. Rugunda told Parliament that the GOU was waiting for reports from Machar and the U.N. Special Envoy for 
LRA-Affected Areas Chissano, who was scheduled to brief the UNSC on April 28. ¶6. (SBU) Minister of State for International Relations Henry Okello Oryem updated the Partners for Democracy and Governance (PDG) meeting on April 16. He explained that the GOU delegation left Rikwangba on April 11 after receiving information that Kony was 70 kilometers from the venue. He said that it was not helpful to have between 100-200 people at Rikwangba, which became a rumor mill. The GOU advised the Acholi religious and elected leaders to make direct contact with Kony because without it, no progress would be made. Kony needed time to consider his position. Oryem warned against spoilers from the diaspora. Oryem advised that the situation required patience in order not to undermine the stability and economic progress being made in northern Uganda. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE AND ECONOMIC RECOVERY - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ¶7. (U) UNICEF reports that by late-2007, 54 percent of the 1.8 million internally displaced persons (IDPs) had entered the return process, including half a million people settling permanently in their villages of origin and approximately 400,000 having made the initial movement out of the camps into transit sites. The majority of the IDPs in Apac, Amolatar, Dokolo, Lira, and Oyam Districts have returned to their homes of origin. In the Acholi sub-region (Amuru, Gulu, Kitgum, and Pader Districts),35 percent of the remaining IDPs are expected to complete their return in 2008 with 45 percent in transit. ¶8. (U) The Government held a Planning and Consultative Workshop on the Peace, Recovery, and Development Plan (PRDP) in Kampala on March 13-14. District-level officials, civil society groups, donors, private sector organizations, and the development partners came together for the first time to discuss PRDP programs, Government financing, and monitoring mechanisms. The workshop helped to develop a common understanding of the PRDP among all stakeholders and implementing agencies. A PRDP annex will be added to the KAMPALA 00000552 002.2 OF 003 national budget request for the fiscal year beginning on July 1, ¶2008. ¶9. (SBU) USG Activities: USAID Administrator Henrietta Fore and Assistant Administrator for Africa Kate Almquist visited Uganda from March 12 to 15 and saw the transition from emergency relief to recovery in northern Uganda. Administrator Fore's delegation discussed the challenges of recovery and reconstruction in northern Uganda with the Principal Judge of the High Court, James Ogoola; district level officials from Gulu, Abim, Lira, and Pader; and Acholi traditional and religious leaders. A visit to Te-Tugu IDP camp showcases USAID's work on HIV/AIDS, malaria, and education. ¶10. (SBU) Deputy Assistant Administrator for USAID's Democracy, Conflict, and Humanitarian Assistance Bureau, Elisabeth Kviatshvili and Cynthia Brady of USAID's Conflict Management and Mitigation Office visited Uganda from February 24 to March 4. They visited several USAID activities and communities in northern Uganda to better understand the transition the IDPs were making from camps to home villages and determine appropriate interventions to support peace, reconciliation, and development. ¶11. (SBU) The Stability, Peace, and Reconciliation in Northern Uganda (SPRING) project started the first phase of its implementation on February 25. In March, SPRING teams began meeting with district officials, civil society groups, and development partners in the LRA-affected areas of the north. ¶12. (SBU) USAID's Office of Transition Initiatives (OTI) will implement a program to support media development and strengthen local government to increase the quality and quantity of information reaching northern residents about the peace process and the PRDP. Other program components will support the construction of a service delivery infrastructure in the north. ¶13. (U) The President's Malaria Initiative Indoor Residual Spraying (IRS) program in Gulu District reached 92 percent of the houses (9,220 out of 10,025) and provided protection for 28,341 individuals from mosquito bites. Insecticide treated nets are being used by 48.3 percent of the children under five years of age. - - - - - - - - SECURITY UPDATE - - - - - - - - ¶14. (U) LRA movements from Garamba National Park in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to Central African Republic, sometimes through southern Sudan resulted in numerous reports of abductions and lootings. The U.N. Mission to DRC (MONUC) reports that the LRA abducted over 200 people in DRC in February and March. The U.S Ambassador to CAR traveled to Obo to meet with villagers and individuals abducted by the LRA. They said that the LRA abducted 157 people. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - FROM THE MEDIA AND THE WEB - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ¶15. (U) Various press statements indicate divisions with the LRA and among its supporters in the diaspora. On April 10, a press statement claimed that Alex Oloya and Bill Okema were now speaking for Kony. On April 17, The Daily Monitor reported that Dr. James Obita had been named the new spokesman for Kony. David Mastanga disputed Obita's appointment and said that he had been named the Chief Advisor to the new consultative team headed by Oloya. Another individual, Obonyo Olweny also could be named. ¶16. (U) Matsanga issued a press statement on April 15 alleging that internal divisions within the LRA, greed, and bad advice led to the failure of Kony to sign the FPA. Matsanga alleges that Kony killed his deputy, Major General Okot Odhiambo and Major General Ceasar Acellam. (Note: These reports are likely false. End Note.) Matsanga stated the Kony killed his previous deputy Vincent Otti because he was involved in an arms deal with a South African and that funds given to Otti never reached Kony. He claimed that disputes over money and tribalism created divisions within the LRA negotiating team. ¶17. (U) Resolve Uganda issued a press release entitled "With Caution and Creativity, Hope Remains For Imminent End to Uganda's 22-Year War" on April 14. According to Resolve Uganda's Research KAMPALA 00000552 003.2 OF 003 Director, Peter Quaranto, "it seems likely that Kony was apprehensive about signing an agreement without clearer guarantees for his own personal security." Quaranto recommended that "sustained international involvement and outside-the-box creative thinking is needed to keep dialoguing directly with Kony and induce him to come out of the bush. Given the volatile region and risks for escalated violence, renewed military operations by the Ugandan army must remain a last resort. "Ultimately, peace in northern Uganda doesn't have to depend on the actions of Joseph Kony. If the Ugandan government pledges to uphold the commitments it made during the negotiations process to help redevelop war-affected areas and make amends for the crimes committee during the war, peace can still be achieved." ¶18. (U) Michael Poffenberger, Resolve Uganda's Executive Director stated that "we can't lose sight of the fact that this peace agreement is also about restoring the Ugandan government's relationship with the people of northern Uganda who have endured the brutal consequences of this war." BROWNING HHIHI