Sudan’s president vows to work with UN over Uganda rebels
Jan 18, 2007 (KHARTOUM) — Sudanese President Omar al-Beshir pledged his support for UN efforts to resolve the conflict between the Ugandan government and the rebel Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA).
“The Sudan has suffered a great deal from the acts being perpetrated by the LRA in south Sudan, a matter which has caused instability and impaired the process of implementation of the comprehensive peace agreement,” Beshir told visiting UN envoy former Mozambican president Joachim Chissano.
The LRA has been fighting the Ugandan government for nearly two decades, much of that time with Khartoum government support. Last week, however, Beshir told the group to leave Sudanese territory.
Peace talks have been stalled since a ceasefire was declared in August.
Beshir was quoted by the official SUNA news agency as saying accusations by the semi-autonomous southern Sudanese government, which is mediating talks, that his party supported the LRA were “unfounded.”
The UN envoy welcomed Beshir’s support and informed him about Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni’s offer of amnesty for all LRA rebels if they agree to a lasting peace.
Chissano will go on to visit Congo on to gain their support in restarting the peace talks, a foreign ministry official said.
The LRA said Thursday it would send a delegation to The Hague to meet International Criminal Court prosecutors to discuss the indictments of its leaders for crimes against humanity.
It said the court erred by issuing arrest warrants — a key stumbling block to the peace talks — without hearing the rebel movement’s side of the story.
The peace talks are currently stalled with the two sides remaining far apart on critical issues, including a reformed Ugandan military and power-sharing, but there has been only sporadic violence since a landmark truce was signed last August.
The LRA has refused to resume dialogue until it gets a new venue and new mediator. The rebels have accused the chief mediator, southern Sudan Vice President Riek Machar, of bias.
The LRA took over leadership of a two-year-old regional rebellion in 1988 to overthrow Museveni. The conflict has claimed tens of thousands of lives and displaced around two million people.
(AFP)