2006–2007 JUBA TALKS

The 'Juba talks' are a series of negotiations between the government of Uganda and the Lord's Resistance Army rebel group over the terms of a ceasefire and possible peace agreement. The talks, held in Juba, the capital of autonomous Southern Sudan, began in July 2006 and are mediated by Riek Machar, the Vice President of Southern Sudan. The talks, which had resulted in a ceasefire by September 2006, have been described as the best chance ever for a negotiated settlement for the 20-year-old war.Uganda hopeful about rebel talks, BBC News, 14 August 2006

Contents

Preparations

Initial negotiations

Ceasefire

Attacks

Notes and references

External links

Preparations

A delegation from the LRA arrived in Juba, Sudan on 8 June 2006 to prepare for talks with the Ugandan government, to be mediated by the Government of Southern Sudan ^[1] and by the Community of Sant'Egidio ^[2]. These talks were agreed to after Kony released a video in May in which he denied committing atrocities and seemed to call for an end to hostilities, in response to an announcement by Museveni that he would guarantee the safety of Kony if peace was agreed to by July. Museveni had pledged to grant Kony total amnesty if he gave up "terrorism". Uganda's security minister Amama Mbabazi urged the International Criminal Court to drop the indictments issued in 2005 against leaders of the LRA, but LRA legal adviser Krispus Ayena Odongo rejected the offer, saying that accepting amnesty "presupposes surrender" and would mean the LRA was no longer available for discussions.^[3][4] Several organisations, including the ICC^[5] and the International Bar Association's Human Rights Institute^[6] insisted that LRA leaders must be arrested in accordance with the Rome Statute.
Joseph Kony gave his first interview to the press after 20 years of carrying out the conflict in late June 2006. He denied that the LRA had carried out any atrocities and blamed President Museveni for oppressing the Acholi.^[7] Regardless, in late June 2006, the Government of Southern Sudan formally invited Uganda to attend peace talks.^[8]

Initial negotiations

On July 14 2006 talks began in Juba between delegations from the LRA and Uganda, with the Vice-president of Southern Sudan Riek Machar as the chief mediator. The leader of the Ugandan delegation, Internal Affairs Minister Ruhakana Rugunda stated that his priority was to obtain a quick ceasefire.^[9] The LRA delegation, led by Martin Ojul, said that LRA's acceptance of the peace talks should not be interpreted that LRA can no longer fight, but stressed that a negotiated settlement is the best way to end the conflict.^[10]
The initial delegation was criticized as largely consisting of expatriate Acholi, rather than members of the fighting force. However, after many delays Vincent Otti arrived for meetings on the 29th,^[11] followed the next day by Kony's 14-year old son Salim Saleh Kony (sharing a name with brother of President Museveni, Salim Saleh).^[12] Kony himself met with local religious and political leaders from northern Uganda and southern Sudan on the following day. On 2 August, Kony held his first ever press conference in which he demanded a ceasefire before LRA-government negotiations resumed on the 7th and denied ever abducting children. Some media sources noted that, of the approximately 80 LRA fighters surrounding the press venue, several appeared to be in their early teens.^[13][14]
The broader context of the talks remained confused. The government of Southern Sudan views the talks as a means of ridding itself of a foreign army that is complicating their delicate relationship with the Khartoum government. The request by the Ugandan Government for ICC to suspend war crimes indictments against leaders of the LRA, condemned by international human rights groups but largely supported by leaders and civilians within northern Uganda, led some political analysts to see Ugandan Government's request as a ploy to gain local support. The comment of a George Olara, an IDP living in a camp in Pader, was fairly typical: "He [Kony] should not be taken to The Hague. Let him come back and live with the community because this is how reconciliation will be achieved. ... Peace will come if the talks succeed, but there is the potential that they may also fail like they have done before".^[15]

Ceasefire

On 4 August 2006, Vincent Otti declared a unilateral ceasefire and asked the Ugandan government to reciprocate. Ugandan Internal Affairs Minister Ruhakana Rugunda stated that they were waiting to see the effect on the ground.^[16] ICC indictee Raska Lukwiya was killed in battle on 12 August 2006; the LRA asked for three days of mourning though a spokesman said that talks would continue. Ugandan President Museveni set a 12 September 2006 deadline to finalize a peace deal.^[17] The government and LRA signed a truce on 26 August 2006. Under the terms of the agreement, LRA forces were required to leave Uganda and gather in two assembly areas, where the Ugandan government promised they would not attack and the government of Southern Sudan guaranteed their safety. Once this is accomplished, talks on a comprehensive peace agreement would begin.^[18] Although a final agreement was not reached by the 12 August deadline, LRA rebels began gathering in the assembly areas and the government delegation stated that they would not hold to the deadline. Machar stated that several hundred rebels, including Otti, had gathered either at Ri-Kwangba in West Equatoria or Owiny Ki-Bul in East Equatoria.^[19]
The government also began a process of creating "satellite camps" to decongest the main IDP camps. In Pader, 28 satellite sites were occupied out of 48 identified as of late September 2006, while the numbers in Kitgum were 21 of 36. IDPs farther south in Teso and Lango were being encouraged to return home directly. However, talks continued to be delayed. On 23 September, the LRA delegation threatened to walk out of the negotiations, claiming that the UPDF had attacked their forces at Owiny Ki-Bul and demanding that composition of the government delegation be changed and that the ICC warrants be voided before any agreement. Uganda denied the accusation of attacks. Both delegations met with mediator Riek Machar on 25 September 2006, but not with each other.^[20]

Attacks

Owiny Ki-Bul is in East Equatoria (in red) bordering Uganda to the south, Kenya to the southeast and Ethiopia to the east.

The negotiations were paused in early October while a Cessation of Hostilities monitoring team was sent to Owiny Ki-Bul. The team found that no attack had taken place, but that the LRA had simply moved away from the designated site. The team recommended that the LRA rebels regroup at Owiny Ki-Bul, while stating that the LRA had not honored the agreement and was using hostile propaganda, that the UPDF was located close to the assembly points and that the mediators had failed to provide armed guards for the assembled rebels. On 11 October 2006, the LRA proposed that Uganda adopt a federalist structure, prompting criticism from the government spokesperson.^[21]
On 20 October 2006, Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni traveled to Juba to meet the LRA negotiators face-to-face for the first time in an attempt to revive the talks, described as "stalled" by ''BBC News'' and "faltering" by ''The Monitor'' newspaper. A Uganda government source reported that the president spoke angrily and rebuked the LRA team several times, before later referring to the LRA as "unserious" in a subsequent address to South Sudan government officials. A pall had been thrown over the talks by the murder of several dozen civilians, including the shooting of women and children in the head, near Juba during the two previous days. The attacks were carried out by an as-yet unnamed group, but some suspected that the LRA was responsible for the mayhem.^[22]
After a week-long impasse, the LRA and government signed a second truce on 1 November 2006 that mandated the monitoring team until 1 December. The previous agreement had technically expired in September. As part of the agreement, the army was to withdraw from Owiny Ki-Bul, past a 30-km (18-mi) buffer zone. The LRA was given a week to regroup at Owiny Ki-Bul, and four weeks to gather at Ri-Kwangba. Both Kony and Otti refused to enter the camps, citing fear of arrest on the ICC warrants. The agreement further stated that food would not be provided to LRA units outside the assembly points except in "exceptional circumstances".^[23]

Huts in IDP camps are tightly packed together

In one of the most significant moments for the LRA during the talks, United Nations Undersecretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Jan Egeland met with Kony and Otti in the hopes of pushing the talks forward on 12 November 2006. Egeland had previously stated that he would meet with Kony only if the LRA released abducted children and wounded members, but Kony denied that anyone in the LRA was either wounded or held against their will.^[24]
The LRA declared that it was withdrawing from the talks on November 30, stating that UPDF had killed three of its fighters. The deadline for the LRA fighters to finish gathering at the assembly points was 1 December.^[25] Uganda denied the charge. Also, outgoing United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan appointed Joaquim Chissano, former president of Mozambique, to be the UN envoy to the conflict.^[26] The truce was further extended for two more months on 18 December.^[27]
On 2007-01-12, Ojul stated that recent comments made by al-Bashir and Kiir clearly signified that the LRA was not welcome any longer in Sudan, and that further talks should occur in Kenya instead.^[28][29] On 14 March 2007 the LRA stated it would once again return to the Juba talks.^[30] After South Africa, Kenya and Mozambique agreed to join the peace talks (a demand the LRA had made before it would return to Juba), the next round of talks was held from 13 April to 14 April 2007.^[31] In this round, the ceasefire was extended until 30 June 2007, and Ri Kwangba was the agreed upon assembly point. The next round of talks was set for 25 April 2007^[32].
Following this suspension in the peace talks, the Juba Initiative Project enabled the resumption of the talks in May 2007, thanks to the efforts of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for LRA-affected areas Joaquim Chissano. The talks were again mediated by the Government of Southern Sudan, but with the support of the United Nations and logistic facilitation from the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), under the leadership of her local head Eliane Duthoit.^[33]
On 29 June 2007, the sides agreed to the principles of how justice and reconciliation will be handled, the third of the five-point agenda. The LRA and government agreed that both formal justice procedures and the traditional Mato Oput ceremony of reconciliation would play a role. Government delegation spokesperson Barigye Ba-Hoku stated that they would attempt to convince the ICC that this would address their concerns about impunity and that arrests under ICC auspices would not be necessary.^[34]

Notes and references

1. LRA rebels arrive for Sudan talks, BBC News, 8 June 2006
2. "Guerra in Nord Uganda: la fine è a portata di mano", Avvenire, August 20, 2006
3. Uganda LRA rebels reject amnesty, BBC News, 7 July 2006
4. ICC urged to drop LRA charges, BBC News, 12 July 2006
5. Museveni Amnesty to Kony Illegal - ICC, AllAfrica (The Monitor), 6 July 2006
6. IBA says Ugandan Government must meet obligations under the Rome Statute, IBA News Release, 13 July 2006
7. Sam Farmar, Uganda rebel leader breaks silence, BBC Newsnight, 28 June 2006
8. UGANDA: Gov't to send team to Sudan over proposed LRA talks, IRIN, 28 June 2006
9. Ceasefire First On Kony Agenda, AllAfrica (The Monitor), 15 July 2006
10. Opening speech of LRA delegation at Juba talks, Sunday Vision, 15 July 2006
11. Key Uganda rebel 'attends talks', BBC News, 29 July 2006
12. Uganda officials 'meet LRA chief', BBC News, 30 July 2006
13. UGANDA: Government, rebels to resume talks in Sudan, IRIN, 2 August 2006
14. Video footage of peace talks in Juba, plus snippet of Kony press conference, video and commentary by Ruud Elmendorp presented on Rocketboom, 16 August 2006
15. UGANDA: Locals want rebel leader forgiven, IRIN, 1 August 2006
16. LRA leaders declare ceasefire, BBC, 4 August 2006
17. Uganda resumes talks with rebels ''BBC News'' 18 August 2006
18. Uganda and LRA rebels sign truce, BBC News, 26 August 2006
19. Uganda drops peace talks deadline, BBC, 12 September 2006
20. UGANDA: Most rebels have left northern Uganda for Sudan - army, IRIN, 26 September 2006
21. UGANDA: Rebels propose federalist solution at Juba talks, IRIN, 11 October 2006
22. "LRA rebels meet Uganda's Museveni", BBC News, 21 October 2006; "SUDAN: Armed group kills 42 civilians", ''IRIN'', 20 October 2006; and "Museveni meets LRA face to face", ''The Sunday Monitor'', 21 October 2006
23. "UGANDA: Revised gov't-LRA ceasefire deal signed", ''IRIN'', 1 November 2006
24. "UN envoy sees Uganda rebel chief", ''BBC News, 12 November 2006
25. "UGANDA: Talks hit fresh snag amid rebel protest", ''IRIN'', 30 November 2006
26. "UGANDA: Museveni optimistic peace will prevail", ''IRIN'', 5 December 2006
27. "Ugandan LRA rebel truce extended", ''BBC News'', 18 December 2006.
28. "Rebels snub Ugandan peace talks", BBC News, 12 January 2007
29. "Uganda: LRA Quit Juba Talks, Govt Rejects Rebels' Demands", allAfrica.com, 21 January 2007.
30. http://allafrica.com/stories/200703140450.html
31. http://allafrica.com/stories/200704021629.html
32. "Govt, LRA talks underway", Sunday Monitor, April 15 - 21, 2007
33. "SUDAN-UGANDA: LRA talks, pencils and helicopters", ''IRIN'', 31 May 2007
34. "UGANDA: LRA talks reach agreement on accountability"

External links

Main articles: Bibliography of the Lord's Resistance Army