Gov't to return to talks despite absence of rebel commander

The Ugandan government has allayed fears that talks with the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), which are due to resume in Juba, could collapse after the rebels announced that their top leaders would not travel to the southern Sudanese town. The head of the Ugandan government team and internal affairs minister, Ruhakana Rugunda, told a press conference in Kampala on Friday that though it was the preference of the government to have one of the two top LRA commanders at the talks, their absence would not stop the team from pushing for a peaceful solution to the conflict that has killed thousands in the past 20 years. "Government is pushing for peace and we are not going to be derailed by non-issues. We wanted either Joseph Kony or Vincent Otti to be there because it would help decision-making, but even if neither of them comes, this will not stop the Ugandan government's search for peace," he added. On Thursday, the LRA rejected demands by the mediators that LRA deputy Otti attend the next phase of the talks in the southern Sudan town of Juba, saying Otti feared arrest. But Rugunda said: "We are ready and waiting for a signal from the mediators to return to the talks." He added Kampala was confident the mediation team would succeed in its endeavours. The talks in Juba are seen as the best bet to end a two-decades-long insurrection that has killed thousands and driven up to two million people out of their homes. Rugunda added that his delegation was ready to re-open a debate on the demand by the LRA for an immediate ceasefire, saying this would be the next item on the agenda. In addition, a military legal expert had joined the government delegation to help in discussions about a ceasefire and the cessation of hostilities. "Government has appointed Col Ramathan Kyamulesire, the chief of legal services in the army, to facilitate the debate on a ceasefire with competence and experience," Rugunda said. At the press conference, members of a delegation that met Kony near the border between Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo this week told reporters that their impression was that the rebels this time "were serious about the talks". Anglican bishop of Gulu, Onono Onweng said: "After talking to Kony, then to President [Yoweri] Museveni and government delegates at the talks, it seems to me that this is the time to have peace in northern Uganda." Meanwhile, media representatives were told that the LRA had rejected calls to hand over children it holds in the bush until a peace agreement had been finalised. Busho Ndinyenka, Uganda’s Consul-General in Juba, said the request had been made by the United Nations’ children agency, Unicef, which had been allowed to see up to 101 children in one camp, but was not allowed to remove them. vm/mw/eo