Ugandan rebel 'prophetess' buried

Feb 3 2007 BBC report excerpt:

. The burial has taken place in Uganda of Alice Lakwena, the self-proclaimed prophetess who began the long-running insurgency in the north of the country.
She died in a refugee camp in Kenya last month, but was buried in her native village in Gulu district where she is still remembered as a healer.

Alice Lakwena led a rebellion against President Yoweri Museveni in the 1980s.

Her followers were defeated by government forces, but regrouped to form the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA).

The LRA - led by Ms Lakwena's cousin Joseph Kony - is now holding talks to end its 20-year conflict.

"Thousands of people attended her burial," a local official in Gulu district said.

Note, her followers believed magic potions protected them in battle.

LRA peace talks Juba completely cancelled

Juba Post article Jan 25 2007 by Badru Dean - excerpt:

According to The Monitor, Otti reportedly said they are still committed to peace talks to end the 20-year rebel insurgency but that nothing Khartoum can say or do will lure them back to negotiations in South Sudan.

The comments were in reaction to South Sudan President Salva Kiir comments on Monday on South Sudan TV that he would call for mass action against the Lord's Resistance Army rebels, if they continue to attack his people.

Uganda rebels 'welcome in Sudan'

BBC News Jan 17 2007 - excerpt:

South Sudan's Vice-President Riek Machar has told the BBC Ugandan rebels have not been asked to leave his country, the venue for peace talks.

The Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) want him to be sacked as chief mediator after comments by Sudan's president saying they were no longer welcome.

LRA leader Joseph Kony and three of his top commanders are wanted on war crimes charges by the International Criminal Court and have indicated that no deal can be signed while warrants for their arrest remain in place.

Uganda tightens security at Sudan border

Jan 6 2007 New Vision/ST article:

Jan 5, 2006 (KAMPALA) - Uganda said it has deployed more troops and beefed up security measures at the border of Uganda with Sudan, the Ugandan New Vision reported.

The northern-based army spokesman, Lt. Chris Magezi told journalists on Wednesday: "We are very vigilant along the Uganda-Sudan border."

He said the Lord's Resistance Army rebels raided Luru village in south Sudan and looted several property including goats and other food stuffs.

Magezi added that the rebels also grabbed a gun and pistol from a Sudan People's Liberation Army soldier.

"The rebels have refused to assemble at Owiny-Kibul as agreed by the two negotiating teams. Instead, they are roaming around committing atrocities," the army publicist said.

Magezi added that the army had deployed enough troops along the border to ensure that the rebels do not cross to Uganda before the talks are concluded peacefully.

He stated that the recent request by rebel commander Joseph Kony to shift the peace talks venue to Uganda was a way of coming back to Uganda to begin committing atrocities.

He revealed that the ambushes took place not far away from Owiny-Kibul where the rebels are assembling.

Landmark peace talks stumble

IRIN report 8 Sep 2006 excerpt:

Peace talks between Uganda and the rebel Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) have hit a hitch after rebels objected to the inclusion of war victims in the government delegation, Ugandan government officials said on Friday.

Mediators had been trying to make some headway after a landmark truce took effect on 29 August, but rebels broke from talks to consult with their leader, Joseph Kony.

"We disagreed on the representation of war victims at the talks," Captain Paddy Ankunda, spokesman for the Ugandan government delegation, said. "The LRA objected to their inclusion, but they have no business determining our delegation."

ICC still calling for Kony's arrest

Reuters report Aug 28 2006 [via CFD] excerpt:

International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutors said on Monday they still hoped for the arrest of leaders of the rebel Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) despite an offer of amnesty by Uganda under the terms of a truce.

Leaders of the cult-like rebels, who are infamous for massacring civilians, mutilating survivors and kidnapping thousands of children, are wanted by the Hague-based Court to face war crimes charges.

"We believe that the countries or the states which have an obligation to execute the arrest warrant will do so," the court's deputy prosecutor Fatou Bensouda told journalists.

"We still maintain that because we think those persons who bear the greatest responsibility should not go unpunished."

He was speaking at a news conference called to discuss a separate case and reiterating the Court's position.

The ICC issued arrest warrants against LRA leader Joseph Kony and his deputies last year but has no police force to hunt down its targets, so must rely on Ugandan, Sudanese and former southern Sudanese rebel troops to bring them to justice.

Under the terms of a truce agreed on Saturday, Uganda has offered amnesty to LRA leaders, including those hunted by the ICC, if they abandon their hideouts and assemble at two Sudanese camps within the next three weeks to thrash out a final deal.

The LRA said all leaders including the ICC indictees would come to the camps.

Asked about Uganda's truce offer, Bensouda said: "We certainly hope that they will execute the warrant that has been issued against the top leaders of the LRA."

Uganda begins ceasefire with LRA

Excerpt from BBC report today:

A ceasefire between Uganda's government and the Lord's Resistance Army rebels has come into force.

The truce, signed on Saturday, gives rebels three weeks to assemble at points in southern Sudan where the regional government will protect them.

Comprehensive peace talks are then meant to start. Uganda has pledged that it will not try to attack the rebels.

Thousands have died during the 20-year conflict in northern Uganda, and more than one million have fled their homes.

The ceasefire took effect at 0600 local time (0300 GMT) on Tuesday.

Ugandan army spokesman Maj Felix Kulayigye told the BBC that so far the truce was holding.

Lukwiya death angers LRA

The Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) delegation to the peace talks in Juba has reacted angrily to reports that one its top commanders, Raska Lukwiya, was gunned down by the UPDF in northern Uganda.



Photo: END OF THE ROAD: The body of Raska Lukwiya lying at Pajimo army detachment in Kitgum district

See full article Lukwiya death angers LRA by Henry Mukasa in Juba, New Vision Online, Aug 13 2006. Excerpt:

Sunday Vision reported yesterday that the LRA third-in-command, Maj Gen Raska Lukwiya, was killed on Saturday by the UPDF in Kitgum district. Lukwiya's body, clad in a green army uniform, was reportedly identified by former LRA commanders at Pajimo barracks in Kitgum.

He was killed together with his bodyguard at Obem village, 7km southwest of Mucwini sub-county at about 10:00am.
Lukwiya was the third on the list of the International Criminal Court (ICC) of LRA commanders wanted for crimes against humanity. Others are Joseph Kony, Vincent Otti and Okot Odhiambo, based in DR Congo.

Also indicted is Dominic Ongwen, who is said to be trapped in northern Uganda.

Meanwhile, the Government has said it is awaiting the LRA response to its ceasefire proposals, as talks resume in Juba today, reports Cyprian Musoke.

Internal affairs minister and government chief negotiator Dr. Ruhakana Rugunda told a press briefing at the media centre yesterday that despite the 'temporary hitch' of the LRA side walking out of the talks, the Government is still resolved in its search for peace.

"We had a temporary hitch, which came when we were still talking. Each side presented their case on disarmament and cessation of hostilities and how they should be handled.

"We waited for our colleagues on the other side to present their case, but they said because government had not declared a unilateral ceasefire, they decided to walk out of the talks."

He said his team and the mediators headed by Southern Sudan Vice-President Dr Riek Machar continued with the talks, in which the Government presented its stand on the remaining item No.5 concerning disarmament and reintegration of the LRA 'compatriots'.

"We agreed that the mediators liaise and share with them (LRA) our proposal on disarmament and cessation of hostilities.
"They did and on Monday (today), we are resuming talks. We expect the LRA to respond on what they think about our proposals on disarmament, cessation of hostilities and reintegration," he said.

Commenting about the killing of Lukwiya, defence minister Crispus Kiyonga said although the Government regrets the loss of any Ugandan, his death should not stop the talks.

Rugunda said he was on an agreed two-day recess, but state minister for foreign affairs Okello Oryem was in charge of the Juba team.

"I also came for consultations to make sure that we remain as focused as before," he said.

He denied that the Government was arrogant and was using the carrot-and-stick trick to 'hammer' the LRA.

"We are engaged genuinely in peace talks for an agreement to conclusively end the war. We believe these brothers and sisters should end the conflict and get reintegrated. The soft landing we are talking about is multi-faceted," he said.

He said the Government had proposed two assembly points for LRA, one in Nabanga, Sudan and another in Waliggo, Kitgum district. The areas will be guarded by the Sudan People's Liberation Army.

"This is why we have said, there must be conditions for ceasefire, like mechanisms for monitoring it," he said.

He said depending on the outcome of talks, the ICC should appreciate a peaceful resolution.

Meanwhile, the ICC has asked the UPDF for Lukwiya's body to confirm whether he is the one.

The northern army spokesman, Lt Chris Magezi and the regional UPDF child protection officer, Capt Patrick Ochira, who took journalists to Pajimo army detachment to view the body, said, "An official from ICC called me yesterday evening (Saturday) and this morning again (Sunday), asking to have a chance to look at the body of Lukwiya.

" told them that the body would be taken to Gulu district where he hailed from so that the relatives could claim and give it a decent burial. They want to confirm if he is the one to avoid wrong identification like it happened for the case of Dominic Ongwen,"

Ongwen was reported killed in Teso about a year ago but was later seen alive.

Ugandan LRA terrorist organisation to spill army secrets

July 22 2006 Monitor Online report from Juba/Kampala by Frank Nyakairu, Angelo Izama, Jude Luggya:

Just when observers felt the chemistry between the government delegation and that of the Lord's Resistance Army negotiating an end to the 20-year northern Uganda crisis was getting better, they were treated to yet another shock yesterday.

At a press conference at the RA International Hotel in Juba yesterday, LRA dropped another bombshell on the government delegation sticking to their demands that the UPDF be disbanded.

"We are constrained to comment that the GoU Delegation includes a Colonel who one time went to Gulu Government prison cells at night with armoured vehicles, forcefully removed out some 23 detainees suspected of being rebel collaborators and shot one of them called Yumbe Lukac dead," said LRA spokesman Obonyo Olweny.

This allegation is apparently in response to claims by the Ugandan delegation two days ago that the LRA delegation harboured a man responsible for hacking civilians in Patongo Pader district and boiling their bodies in cooking pots in 2002.

The rebels delegation did not name the killer Colonel but the remarks seem to be aimed at the head of UPDF's northern intelligence, Col Otema Awany, who together with Col Leopold Kyanda are the only Colonels on the Ugandan delegation.

"This circus cannot go on," said Mr Robert Kabushenga of the Uganda Media Centre yesterday in reaction to the LRA deluge. He said the government feels the LRA delegation is unserious.

"Some of the demands made by the delegation are not practicable, which leads to the feeling that the LRA are not genuinely committed to the peace talks.

They should stop monkeying around" Kabushenga added saying the LRA High Command in Garamba had a more "realistic" view of the situation.

The government, Daily Monitor has exclusively reported, is maintaining high-level direct contacts with LRA leaders Joseph Kony and his core commanders holed up in Garamba.

Those contacts achieved a diplomatic break through on Thursday when government agreed to re-unite the Garamba commanders with members of their close family.

A meeting of Kony and Acholi elders is also in the works. While both sides in Juba insist they are committed to the talks, the impasse created by LRA demands and the unwillingness of the Uganda team to give way appears unlikely to be broken.

Uganda's team, led by Internal Affairs Minister Dr Ruhakana Rugunda wants a comprehensive agreement at the end but still consider LRA a terrorist organisation whose leaders have been indicted by the ICC.

Yesterday LRA insisted its political agenda was there for everyone to judge and threatened to present more evidence on UPDF atrocities if further provoked. The peace talks in Juba are seen by many as the best chance to end the civil war, which is regularly described by aid agencies as one of the world's worst and most forgotten humanitarian crises.

Meanwhile, the South African government has said it is ready to give the peace talks a shot in the arm if the parties asked.

"If asked by Uganda or Southern Sudan leaders or anybody to participate, we would be available to do that," South African Minister of Security and Safety Mr Charles Nqakula told journalists in Kampala on Wednesday. South Africa and Uganda are involved in engaging FNL, the last rebel group still holding out in Burundi to abandon their fight and join the government of national unity.

Nqakula is the facilitator at the Burundi peace talks while President Museveni chairs the Great Lakes Peace Initiative, which is sponsoring the talks.

Like LRA, the Burundian rebels have caused a stalement in the talks by demanding the disbanding of the current army in Burundi on the grounds that it is dominated by the minority Tutsi ethnic group.

Elders cite atrocities committed by Ugandan rebels, army

Elders from various counties in southern Sudan and northern Uganda on Thursday presented a statement at peace talks in Juba, alleging atrocities committed against civilians by the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) and the Ugandan army. - Full report IRIN July 21, 2006.

Meanwhile, the Ugandan government is to fly Kony's relatives and elders from Acholi region to meet him in the Democratic Republic of Congo next week in an effort to build confidence with the rebel group and facilitate the Juba peace talks.

"Kony has asked to meet his mother, while other commanders want to meet their relatives and we are arranging for this," the spokesman for the Ugandan delegation in Juba, Paddy Ankunda, said. "Though decisions taken at the peace talks will be by the LRA delegation, we think that efforts of the relatives could be supplementary. This is a confidence-building measure."

LRA should drop unrealistic demands

July 20 2006 New Vision Online report excerpt:

Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) has made several demands at the on-going peace talks in Juba. Among others, they want the scrapping of UPDF and a power sharing arrangement. These demands are untenable.

What the LRA should insist on is integration of ex-fighters who qualify and wish to join the army. The Government would have no problem with this as it has done it in the past. For example, in June 2004 hundreds of ex-LRA fighters were integrated into the UPDF, after training, at a ceremony witnessed by the army chief, Gen. Aronda Nyakairima. Earlier, fighters from other armed groups like FEDEMU, UFM, WNBF, FOBA and UNLA were integrated. This alone makes the UPDF national in character.

It would be a joke, for example, if the LRA demanded that their leaders be made Vice-President, Prime Minister or ministers in the validly elected government in Kampala. Their demands should centre on personal security, re-integration in the community and resettlement packages.

LRA peace talks kick off in South Sudan

Peace talks between the Ugandan government and the rebel Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) formally opened on Friday in the southern Sudanese capital of Juba, in a bid to end the brutal 20-year conflict ravaging northern Uganda.

"I have the distinct honour and privilege to open these peace talks between the government of Uganda and the Lord Resistance Army," southern Sudan's President Salva Kiir said. Full report IRIN July 14, 2006.