Ugandan govt ready for ceasefire – report

Aug 12, 2006 (KAMPALA) — The Ugandan government is ready to declare a ceasefire with the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) on condition that the rebels agree to discuss terms, and sign a final peace deal, local newspaper New Vision reported on Saturday.

Ugandan infantry convoy hunt for LRA rebels, near Aruu junction, 40 miles from Juba, southern Sudan, in 2002.

“The Uganda delegation has presented its position on item No.5 of the agenda on disarmament, demobilization and re-integration,” Uganda Media Center Director Robert Kabushenga was quoted as saying.

This was a part of the Uganda government position declared on Friday at the on-going peace talks in Juba, south Sudan.

“The government is ready to sign a comprehensive agreement. Theball is at the hands of the mediator and the LRA. We have done our bit,” Kabushenga said.

Meanwhile, Ruhakana Rugunda, head of the Ugandan government delegation, is returning to Kampala for a private event. During the period, Ugandan senior official Henry Okello Oryem will lead the team in the on-going talks.

The talks mediated by the southern Sudanese authorities had stalled after the LRA delegation refused to return to the negotiation table, demanding a reciprocation of their unilateral declaration of a cessation of hostilities.

However, the government team maintained its stance that it would not verbally and unilaterally declare a ceasefire, insisting that everything had to be discussed and signed.

Oryem described the situation as “a storm in a tea cup” and said the government team would wait for the LRA to return to the talks because it has 20 million Ugandans to account to.

“We hope to resume. We don’t think all is lost. These peace talks are important and a few people should not derail them,” he said.

The LRA team stayed at their residence at Juba Bridge camp, while their chairman Martin Ojulu said they would not budge even an inch.

“We are not going there (Juba Raha, the venue for the talks). We have not got any communication from the chief mediator. We want the government to declare a cessation of hostilities.

Oryem said after the government team presented its position paper for a cessation of hostilities and ceasefire, it expected the LRA to do the same.

Oryem said although the LRA declared cessation of hostilities, it was raiding camps in Amuru, Pader and Gulu for food and abducting people.

He said after a monitoring team and assembly areas for the rebels are agreed upon, a safe passage would be created for the LRA. Those outside would be considered hostile.

The peace talks, scheduled to resume on Monday, are seen as another chance to end the 20-year-old LRA rebellion in northern Uganda which has left tens of thousands of people dead and over 1.4 million others homeless.

(Xinhua)