Uganda’s Museveni holds talks with Sudan’s Salav Kiir
May 14, 2006 (KAMPALA) — Ugandan president Yoweri Museveni and the Sudanese First Vice-President, Salva Kiir, held talks on the bilateral issues between the two country and particularly the existence of the Ugandan rebels in South Sudan.
According to the Ugandan Monitor, the Sudanese First Vice-President Salva Kiir delivered to the Ugandan president a message from the Joseph Kony the leader of the rebel LRA.
Kony last week met and held talks with Kiir’s deputy, Riek Machar, in the Southern Sudanese jungle of the Equatorial province and expressed his readiness for talks with the Ugandan government.
The South Sudan ruling party Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) leadership under Kiir offered to mediate in the talks between Kony and government.
South Sudan government thinks that Uganda has to engage talks with the LRA rebels, and Sudan could not indefinitely be the theatre of Ugandan army operation against the rebels.
In a meeting held on 4 May, with the LAR, Sudan gave Kony three conditions namely; that the rebel leader ceases killing civilians in Southern Sudan, enters negotiations with Uganda and the third option was failure to comply with the last two, the LRA leaves their territory.
Kony, said he had killed people in Southern Sudan in retaliation for Uganda’s support to the SPLA/M and that he should be given time to stay in Sudan as he negotiates with Museveni’s government.
We want irrevocable and irrefutable evidence that Kony is interested in talks,” Minister Oryem said on Saturday. He confirmed that SPLM wanted to mediate in the talks.
Oryem said, that apart from the LRA, President Museveni and Kiir discussed the Sudan peace process and its implementation. He said, Museveni appealed to the
The insurgents have traditionally operated from bases in southern Sudan and northern Uganda. However, Otti moved into northeastern DR Congo’s Garamba National Park in September 2005 with up to 400 fighters.
The LRA has waged war in northern Uganda for close to two decades, kidnapping thousands of boys and girls and forcing them to serve as child soldiers and sex slaves.
In 2005, the International Criminal Court at The Hague issued arrest warrants for Kony and four of his senior commanders – including Otti – for war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Salva Kiir and his delegation once again congratulated President Museveni for successfully attaining the mandate of the people of Uganda to lead them for another five-year term.
Kiir is being accompanied by the minister of foreign affairs Lam Akol and the state minister at the Presidency, Telar Deng.
(ST)