LRA reportedly demands unconditional ceasefire

The rebel Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) rebel has reportedly said the Ugandan government must declare an unconditional ceasefire before it will nominate a peace negotiating team. A statement sent to the presidential peace team in Gulu, entitled "LRA/M Press Release", but not signed by any LRA members, said that certain preconditions needed to be met before the LRA would engage in talks. "The National Resistance Movement (NRM) of President Yoweri Museveni must unequivocally issue an official declaration to the people of Uganda and the international community that he is genuine and favours an unconditional ceasefire between his government and the LRA/M and that he must make it explicit as a precursor to peace talks," the statement said. Ugandan army spokesman Shaban Bantariza told IRIN that he had not seen the statement, although a similar one had been received last week. "The document may most likely be from the LRA if not from their supporters, but I cannot categorically say it is," he said. He added that in the previous statement the LRA had threatened to kill "anyone they come across along the road because President Museveni has refused to negotiate peace with them". A member of the government peace team, Regan Okumu, said he had not seen the statement either, but noted that "the LRA has always written to the government and public through such releases and therefore there could not be doubt that they wrote and circulated it." The LRA statement said that peace talks must be held in a neutral country under a neutral chairperson and observers, and that any international community interested in facilitating peace talks between the LRA and the Ugandan government should come forward. It added that the government must free all LRA members from custody and withdraw all international police arrest warrants for LRA members.