Rebels reject government's terms

The rebel Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) in Uganda has rejected conditions set by President Yoweri Museveni for peace talks. Uganda's independent Monitor newspaper on Tuesday confirmed receiving a telephone call from Colonel Sam Kolo, the LRA's political commissar, who rejected Museveni's directive to assemble in three places in southern Sudan. He said the areas - Owiny Kibur, Panyikwira and Kisenga - were "hostile to human survival". The government has said the conditions should be met before it enters into talks with the rebels to end the 16-year insurgency in northern Uganda. Other conditions spelled out by the government included a demand for the LRA to cease attacking civilian and army positions. On 24 August, the LRA responded by declaring a "unilateral" ceasefire on condition that the army stop attacking LRA positions. The Monitor's editor, Wanga Wanyama - who spoke to Kolo - said the LRA had claimed the three areas were either infested with the Ebola virus, or full of snakes and mosquitoes. "He [Kolo] said the Ugandan government had no right to tell them to stay in Sudan, because it is not Ugandan territory," Wanyama told IRIN on Tuesday. "They [the LRA] think the international community will have a role to play," he added. "They don't trust Museveni. They said they are not interested in talking to Museveni. They want to follow the established mechanisms." The Ugandan army - which has been waging a military campaign against the LRA in southern Sudan with the permission of the Sudanese government - rejected the LRA's terms and urged the group to meet the government's conditions. Army spokesman Major Shaban Bantariza told IRIN on Tuesday the LRA was "not serious" in its demands. "I have never heard of rebels who fear mosquitoes and snakes, except maybe if they are not serious with starting peace talks," he said. "If they want to be taken to the Sheraton, then they should say so."