NORTHERN UGANDA NOTES (MARCH 1-31, 2009)

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 KAMPALA 000363

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 1-31, 2009)

REF: A. KAMPALA 241 B. KAMPLA 281

KAMPALA 00000363 001.2 OF 003



1. Summary: The following Northern Uganda Notes provide
information on the situation on the ground and USG activities aimed
at meeting Mission 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.

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PEACE AND RECONCILIATION PROCESSES
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2. (SBU) On March 4, Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni and
Congolese President Joseph Kabila met on the Uganda-Democratic
Republic of Congo (DRC) border to discuss bilateral political,
economic, and military issues (Ref A). The two presidents also
discussed the continuation of joint military operations against the
Lord's Resistance Army (LRA). Ugandan officials told the media and
diplomatic corps in a briefing on March 24 that Operation Lightning
Thunder (OLT) had moved from Phase I to Phase II. The Ugandan
Peoples Defense Forces (UPDF) handed over its headquarters and
command of the operation to the Congolese military on March 15. The
two presidents agreed to continue the operation under Congolese
command, with Ugandan intelligence and reconnaissance assistance and
UN Mission in Congo (MONUC) support.


3. (U) Ugandan Foreign Minister Sam Kutesa told Kampala-based
diplomats on March 24 that there will be no new talks with the LRA
and that Kony must sign the already negotiated Final Peace Agreement
(FPA). UPDF's Chief of Defense Forces, General Aronda, reported
that OLT had succeeded in consolidating regional unity and that Kony
is not safe in the region. Aronda reported that the assault against
Kony had resulted in the death of 98 LRA rebels up to that point.
The rebels had killed 12 UPDF soldiers and wounded 19 others. The
army rescued a total of 380 captives.


4. (SBU) UN Special Envoy for LRA-Affected Areas Joachim Chissano
briefed donors on March 16 after he met with President Museveni in
Kampala (Ref B). Chissano said that he maintained contact with LRA
spokesman David Matsanga. Kony reportedly wants a cease-fire, a
military force consisting of 200 soldiers from South Africa, Kenya,
Tanzania, and Mozambique to protect his assembly at Rikwangba, and a
stakeholders' conference. Chissano insists that Kony should call
him (Chissano) directly and maintain regular contact if he wants to
be taken seriously. To date, Kony has not called Chissano.


5. (SBU) USG Activities: Northern Uganda Transition Initiative
(NUTI) provided support for the latest Invisible Children community
advocacy campaign entitled "Rescue Our Children." The first events
kicked off in Gulu March 27 and 28 and were attended by thousands of
northern Ugandans. P/E Chief and Northern Uganda Advisor
represented the U.S. Mission at various activities including a peace
march, symbolic destruction of displaced persons huts to celebrate
the return home, along with traditional songs and dances. Some
10,000 Gulu residents and guests from other districts watched
Invisible Children's latest documentary, "The Rescue of Joseph
Kony's Child Soldiers," which details various failed peace processes
and the failure of Kony to sign the FPA. It also highlights the
continued abduction of children in DRC, Sudan, and Central African
Republic. Invisible Children will hold a worldwide campaign day on
April 25 in Washington, D.C., Mexico City, London, Paris, and Sydney
to push for the release of the remaining LRA abductees.


6. (SBU) The development of Uganda's legal framework to try war
crimes is in its final stages. The USAID-funded Public
International Law Group (PILPG) has been working with the Ministry
of Justice and parliamentarians to finalize the International War
Crimes Bill, which will criminalize war crimes and domesticate the
International Criminal Court statute. Progress continues on
formalizing traditional forms of justice and establishing a Truth
and Reconciliation Commission.


7. (U) On March 19, Ambassador Browning presented Sister Veronica
Oyela with a "Woman of Courage Award" certificate for her
contributions to the promotion of the prosperity of women, including
child mothers returning from the conflict in northern Uganda;
especially survivors of the LRA insurgency.

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SECURITY UPDATE
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8. (U) On March 3, the Ugandan military forces killed one LRA
fighter and captured Colonel Thomas Kwoyelo during an ambush at Ukwa
in DRC. Kwoyelo, who was injured during the fire exchange, was
treated and repatriated to Uganda on March 5. Kwoyelo is a senior
LRA commander and he is alleged to have killed 11 Ugandan students
on March 28, 2001. On March 5, the joint military forces captured
five LRA rebels and rescued two Ugandan women. On March 9, the
joint military forces killed another senior LRA Commander,
Lieutenant Colonel Okello Yape, and captured 16 fighters south west
of Ri-Kwangba, near the DRC border and southern Sudan.


9. (U) On March 9, the allied military forces rescued Catherine
Ajok, a former student of St. Mary's Aboke Secondary School and 18
Congolese captives. On March 12 Ajok returned home along with her
one year old baby after 13 years in LRA captivity. Ajok and her
parents met President Museveni on March 14. Ajok was abducted along
with over 100 other girls in October 1996. She was one of thirty
that were not released after initial pleas from local residents.
The fate of one "Aboke girl," Miriam Akello, remains unknown.


10. (U) An additional 3,000 Congolese soldiers and over 100 UN
peacekeepers will be deployed in the Garamba National Park to pursue
the LRA rebels. UPDF spokesperson, Major Felix Kulayigye said the
troops will fill the gap left after Ugandan troops withdrew on March

15.


11. (U) Caritas Uganda, a Catholic charity organization, has again
denied involvement in the supply of equipment to the LRA rebels.
The organization was responding to media reports, where it was
listed among organizations accused of supplying communication
equipment to the LRA.

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HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE AND ECONOMIC RECOVERY
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12. (U) On March 13, the Prime Minister of Uganda, Apollo Nsibambi,
announced that the Government had secured $243 million to kick start
reconstruction programs for the rehabilitation of northern Uganda.
While chairing a consultative meeting attended by donors and
legislators from the north, Nsibambi said the funds will finance the
first year of the Peace, Recovery, and Development Plan (PRDP),
which will be implemented beginning in July. Meanwhile, northern
parliamentarians threatened to petition court to stop the government
from including eastern districts in the PRDP. The legislators argue
that PRDP should cater only to the 29 districts that were affected
by the LRA insurgency, and not to the 40 proposed by the government.



13. (U) The latest Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) return
figures from UN Office for the Coordinator for Humanitarian Affairs
(UNOCHA) for LRA-affected districts remain strong. Amuru District
remains the weakest in terms of return figures. Most experts agree
this is due to the poor level of health and education services
available at the sub-county and parish levels in the newly-created
rural district. Local and national government officials, who
consult regularly with USAID in Gulu, also believe that provision of
services "closer to home" is a key to ensuring continued returns in
the region. Many families in Acholiland have their feet in three
places: a hut in the original (mother) camp, some form of shelter or
hut in transit sites (satellite camps),and a shelter in their
village of origin where they are working the land. This was
confirmed during a recent site visit by a Food for Peace team that
saw people building at home, but clearly still living in the transit
camp eight kilometers away. The story is different in other
LRA-affected areas, including Lango and Pader Districts, where the
returns are complete and camps have been dismantled. There, it is
clear that formerly displaced persons have settled permanently in
their home areas.


14. (SBU) USG Activities: USAID's health and education programs
staff based in Kampala traveled to the north on March 23 for a
week-long review of programming and field visits. A combination of
50 USAID and implementing partner staff members separated into seven
groups to conduct field visits in the following districts: Gulu,
Amuru, Kitgum, Pader, Lira, Oyam, and Dokolo. Common findings from
the field visits included: a need for small infrastructure
development across the districts and an agreement that the north
lagged behind other parts of Uganda in terms of social
infrastructure including schools, clinics, sanitary facilities at
both schools and clinics, and water points; lack of comprehensive
understanding among district leadership about USAID programs; the
need for USAID to align programs with district development plans;

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weak civil society development and community capacity to advocate
for their needs or link to government; and clear need for USAID to
have greater outreach to district governments and communities to
enhance programming.

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FROM THE MEDIA AND THE WEB
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15. (U) Media reports in March 2009, tackled a range of issues
including the government troop withdrawal from the DRC after a
three-month onslaught and the release of funds for the PRDP.

16. (U) "Lightning Thunder A Great Milestone" (The New Vision,
March 17). This editorial commented that the UPDF had started a
week-long withdrawal from the Garamba National Park in the DRC after
a three-month onslaught that had sent the LRA rebels into disarray.
The article notes that the greatest achievement of the operation was
the dismantling of LRA camps and its command structure. The
greatest challenge now is not only how to keep Kony away from
Uganda's borders, but also how to ensure that he does not have the
capacity to wreak havoc on the civilian population wherever he is.
Therefore, while the UPDF is withdrawing, they should closely work
with Congolese and MONUC forces to ensure that LRA top commanders
are held to account.

17. (U) "Operation Lightning Thunder Weakened LRA" (Daily Monitor,
March 18). A Monitor journalist commented that now that the troops
are home, it gives Ugandans the opportunity to reflect on the
achievements and challenges of the operation with the benefit of
hindsight. The biggest challenge OLT faced was managing public
expectations. The public expected the capture or death of Joseph
Kony, but the military public relations machine left the public to
feed on the ominous opinions from people who could not articulate
issues related to the operation. He noted that there are secondary
achievements of a strategic nature that had accrued from the
operation such as the meeting of President Museveni and Congo's
President Kabila in Kasese. The summit meeting of the top political
leadership is a worthy achievement that could be the beginning of a
new diplomatic rapprochement.

18. (U) "What Is Exciting About 120 Billion Ugandan Shillings For
North?" (Daily Monitor, March 15). The editorial proposed that "it
appears naive for some of the politicians from northern Uganda to
get excited about the government announcement that it plans to
release 120 billion Ugandan Shillings (about $58 million) for the
much-touted PRDP for the greater north's 40 districts next financial
year. The PRDP project was hijacked and bungled according to those
in the know. This poor planning resulted in mainly European Union
donors, who should have provided 70 percent of the financing, having
second thoughts. The PRDP will get underway next financial year,
the President said - and with very little money at that. What will
120 Billion Ugandan Shillings do for the PRDP's 40 districts that
have the worst social infrastructure in the country?"

19. (U) "North Recovery Program Must Be Well Planned" (New Vision,
March 23). The editorial examined an emerging dispute between the
Government and the Members of Parliament (MPs),from northern
Uganda, over the implementation of the approximately $533 million
PRDP project for the region. The program will cover the northern
region and part of the eastern region. However, the MPs from
northern Uganda are opposed to the inclusion in the program of the
districts from the east. They want the program to concentrate on
areas that were directly affected by the Lord's Resistance Army
insurgency.
BROWNING