Ugandan President wants direct contact with LRA leader

By James Gatdet Dak

December 10, 2008 (JUBA) — Uganda’s President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni said he wanted to have direct phone contact with the leader of the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), Joseph Kony, after the rebel leader failed again to sign the concluded peace deal with the government.

President Museveni expressed his offer for direct phone talks with the rebels during a joint consultative meeting in Kampala with the Vice President of the Government of Southern Sudan, Riek Machar Teny and the LRA chief negotiator, David Nyekorach Matsanga.

Machar who mediates the peace process between the two parties this week separately briefed both President of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Joseph Kabila, in Kinshasa and President Museveni of Uganda in Kampala on reasons that led to the failure of Kony, for the third time, to sign the final peace agreement.

He explained that the rebel leader demanded for deferment of arrest warrants issued on him by the International Criminal Court (ICC) before he could ink the Final Peace Agreement (FPA).

Kony and his other two colleagues are accused by the ICC of allegedly committing war crimes and crimes against humanity during the rebellion.

The agreement was successfully negotiated, concluded and initialed by the two parties since March this year under the mediation of the Government of Southern Sudan, but Kony refused to finally sign it.

The agreement’s protocol on accountability and reconciliation provides for trial of the rebel leader in Uganda’s Special Court, not The Hague’s ICC.

President Museveni assured that his government would not handover Kony to the ICC if he signs the peace agreement.

Museveni also provided his phone number to the LRA chief negotiator, David Matsanga, so that Kony could talk to him directly on the phone to assure him of his commitment to resolve his concerns over the ICC.

The three regional leaders agreed to continue with the path of peace and to support the facilitation of available contacts with the LRA leader to convince him to sign the peace agreement.

Machar and the two regional leaders also discussed bilateral cooperation between Southern Sudan with their two respective countries.

Museveni also pledged to contribute to the donors’ programme that supplies food to the LRA combatants if they assemble in Ri-Kwangba assembly area at Southern Sudan and DR Congo border.

Upon his arrival at Juba International Airport from visits to DR Congo and Uganda, Dr. Machar also said the Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) was also instructed to protect the civil population in Southern Sudan from any LRA attacks.

“SPLA is under instructions to protect citizens from any attacks whether by LRA or any body else,” said Dr. Machar.

He said as Mediator, the Government of Southern Sudan will continue to push the two parties, particularly the LRA to sign the final peace agreement.

The 22-year war in northern Uganda is blamed for the death of tens of thousands of people and displacement of nearly two million others.

The Government of Southern Sudan’s mediated peace process is seen by analysts as the best chance to end the war that has proved to be a threat to regional security.

(ST)