LRA peace talks kick off

JUBA, 14 Jul 2006 (IRIN) - Peace talks between the Ugandan government and the rebel Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) formally opened on Friday in the southern Sudanese capital of Juba, in a bid to end the brutal 20-year conflict ravaging northern Uganda. "I have the distinct honour and privilege to open these peace talks between the government of Uganda and the Lord Resistance Army," southern Sudan's President Salva Kiir said. "We, the people of Sudan, know all too well the pain caused by conflict," Kiir said, warning that tough decisions lay ahead in order to achieve peace. "I know that there is a lot of bitterness that has accumulated over the years," he observed. "In these talks, you are required to always keep at the back of your mind, the untold misery ad suffering of the people of Uganda." The Ugandan government had initially insisted it would come to Juba only if rebel leader Joseph Kony or his deputy, Vincent Otti, headed the LRA-delegation, but agreed when the LRA leaders firmly refused to come out of hiding. "The government is serious about these talks," said Internal Affairs Minister Ruhakana Rugunda who leads the Ugandan team. He stressed that his delegation would work for a "speedy, expeditious and thorough" conclusion of the talks. "The conflict has been long and the suffering has been horrendous," he observed. "The Ugandan people deserve a solution and a peaceful end to this conflict." Obonyo Olweny, the LRA spokesman in Juba who read out a statement for delegation leader Martin Ojul, also stressed that a negotiated settlement was the best way to end the conflict. "The LRA will do its utmost best to achieve a just peace," he said, and called for a "fair and reasonable" treatment of the people of north Uganda and an equal share "of the national cake." Uganda suffered from political imbalance and inequity for the benefit of a few, he added. "The principles of good governance are in shambles." Olweny added that the strength of the LRA should not be underestimated. "If they [the Ugandan government] think they can defeat the LRA in the field militarily, they are in for a good shock," he warned. President Kiir observed, however, that the difference between the two parties could be bridged. "I dare say that your differences are less profound than those of other adversaries who resolved their conflict through peaceful means." he said. The talks were originally scheduled to start on Wednesday. On Tuesday, Otti told the mediator that neither he nor Kony would be included in the rebel delegation to Juba, according to a source in the mediator delegation, which met the rebels in a remote village near the border between Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo over the weekend. The rebel leaders are reluctant to come out of hiding in the absence of solid security guarantees because the International Criminal Court (ICC) has issued arrest warrants for Kony and four of his commanders for war crimes and crimes against humanity. The president of southern Sudan said he was aware that some members of the international community had received the news of the southern-Sudan brokered peace talks "with a frown", because of the indictments against the top 5 LRA leaders. "It is not that we don't care about accountability," Kiir explained, "it is because we care about saving lives in Uganda ad southern Sudan." ds/ccr