Gov't optimistic over talks with northern rebels

The Uganda government has said it is confident that faltering peace talks with the rebel Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) will succeed, despite the slow pace that officials initially said was unanticipated.

"We thought that we would finalise the talks in less than two months, but we have been proved wrong," Interior Minister Ruhakana Rugunda, leader of the government's delegation to the talks in Sudan, told a news conference in the Ugandan capital, Kampala, on Thursday. "But we are confident the peace process will succeed."

The talks, he added, were on course and progressing. They are aimed ending 20 years of the LRA's insurgency mostly in the north of the country

Briefing reporters on the progress of the talks so far, Rugunda said the negotiations had been suspended to allow the LRA delegates time to consult their leaders, most of whom are in the jungles of southern Sudan and northeastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

Early in November, the two parties signed a renewed ceasefire agreement that gave the LRA more time to assemble its troops at two Sudan sites of Owiny Ki-Bul, near the border with the Uganda, and Ri-Kwangba, near the border with the DRC.

LRA fighters who had initially assembled at the two sites fled in September, fearing Ugandan army attacks. They claimed that the assembly areas lacked adequate facilities and security to guarantee their safety.

Rugunda said many of these complaints had been dealt with during the negotiations. "This time, the essential facilities at these assembly points are in place," he said.

Regarding one of the sticking points of the negotiations, he said the Uganda government would only approach the International Criminal Court (ICC) to waive charges against LRA leaders, after signing of a comprehensive agreement and LRA leaders having gone through traditional justice rituals.

The Court has indicted LRA leader Joseph Kony and four of his lieutenants, one of whom is dead, for crimes against humanity and war crimes committed during their 20-year-old rebellion.

"We have repeatedly stated that take the talks seriously, conclude them, sign a peace agreement, go through Mato Oput and the government will engage the ICC," Rugunda said.

Mato Oput is a traditional justice system in northern Uganda with which the government wants to replace the ICC indictments.

The talks, mediated by the South Sudan government, are seen by many as the best chance to end the conflict that has been described as one of the world's worst and most-forgotten humanitarian crises.

Kony and the LRA took leadership of the regional rebellion among northern Uganda's Acholi minority since 1988.

The United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Jan Egeland, is due to visit the talks' venue in Juba on Saturday, where he is expected meet the parties at the talks.

According to a UN statement, Egeland's visit is at the request of the parties to the talks. While in Juba, Egeland has indicated his willingness to meet with the LRA senior leadership "in the event of a significant humanitarian development such as a transfer of non-combatants, wounded and/or sick civilians into the care of specialised humanitarian agencies".

The UN added: "At such a meeting, he [Egeland] would focus on reinforcing the urgent need for a peaceful resolution to the 20-year conflict and discussing outstanding humanitarian issues. Egeland does not intend to raise the issue of the warrants issued by the International Criminal Court for members of the LRA senior leadership."

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