Sudan assures LRA rebels of safety during Juba talks
July 15, 2006 (JUBA) — The President of the Government of Southern Sudan (GOSS), Salva Kiir, has said the LRA delegates cannot be abducted from Juba.
Kiir told an impromptu press conference at Juba international airport VIP lounge on return from Yei that GOSS’s impetus is to end rebellion in northern Uganda and usher in peace, the New vision reported.
While the presence of tight security at the LRA camp is not visible, Kiir said their security was guaranteed.
“Any member of the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA negotiating team) will be safe in Juba,” Kiir, flanked by his deputy Dr. Riek Machar, said.
Machar is the chief mediator in the peace process that is expected to end 20 years of a bloody conflict in northern Uganda that had spilled into southern Sudan.
“We have started to talk to the LRA directly. We aim at bringing a solution to the conflict in northern Uganda,” Kiir said.
Machar told journalists on Thursday that the LRA leadership did not honour his request for one of the indicted five commanders to lead their team because they felt insecure in Juba. LRA deputy chief Vincent Otti on Wednesday said the top commanders would not attend the talks, citing security concerns.
The International Criminal Court (ICC) indicted LRA leader Joseph Kony, Otti and three others for crimes against humanity. The ICC wants them arrested and brought before the court in the Hague.
The Government delegation, led by internal affairs minister Dr. Ruhakana Rugunda, arrived in Juba yestreday afternoon.
“We will go for substance not semantics,” Rugunda told reporters on Thursday. “Our interest is that the conflict comes to a quick end so that our people can live in peace,” he added.
It was not immediately clear whether negotiations would begin on Friday or whether preparatory meetings would have to be held first. Machar had scheduled the talks for Friday.
The LRA delegation is housed in RA International camp, a few kilometres from the airport. The team travelled from the airport after arrival on Thursday, in several sleek GOSS Land Cruisers VX.
The members of the LRA team mill around the camp, mixing freely with other residents. In the evening, they hang out in the mess and sip Ugandan beer brands, though most prefer Stim, an apple juice.
Before the opening ceremony for the talks at 4:00pm at the GOSS legislative assembly, the LRA team of 17 was locked in a preparatory meeting. Their leader, Martin Ojulu, said he hoped Uganda was sincere about the talks.
“This is a marathon. We hope government is realistic about the talks. We are here to see that peace returns to northern Uganda,” Ojulu said before joining the meeting with a kaveera (polythene bag) full of drinks.
A European diplomat based in Khartoum, who is in Juba to monitor the talks, said every mission in Sudan was invited as an observer.
The diplomat said no budget for the peace process had been agreed on because “there are still many unanswered questions.”
“We don’t know whether they will be meeting daily, once a week or monthly. Even the logistics needed have not been listed. Those are some of the questions, but my country will definitely contribute,” the envoy said on condition of anonymity.
(New Vision)