VZCZCXRO1072
RR RUEHGI RUEHRN RUEHROV
DE RUEHKM #0727/01 1200926
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 300926Z APR 07
FM AMEMBASSY KAMPALA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 8664
INFO RUEHKH/AMEMBASSY KHARTOUM 0573
RUCNIAD/IGAD COLLECTIVE
RUEHXR/RWANDA COLLECTIVE
RUEHTO/AMEMBASSY MAPUTO 0398
RUEHSA/AMEMBASSY PRETORIA 3232
RHMFIUU/CJTF HOA

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 KAMPALA 000727 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT PASS TO USAID AND OFDA 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PHUM PREF PREL MOPS ASEC CASC EAID UG SU
SUBJECT: NORTHERN UGANDA NOTES (April 7-30, 2007) 
 
 
¶1.  (U) Summary: Post presents the eighteenth edition of Northern 
Uganda Notes to provide information on the situation on the ground 
and USG activities aimed at meeting Mission's objectives in northern 
Uganda.  These objectives include promoting regional stability 
through peace and security, good governance, access to social 
services, economic growth, and humanitarian assistance.  Post 
appreciates feedback from consumers on the utility of this product 
and any gaps in information that need to be filled.  End Summary. 
 
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PEACE AND RECONCILIATION PROCESSES 
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¶2.  (U) On April 15, U.N. Special Envoy for LRA-Affected Areas 
Joaquim Chissano briefed the diplomatic corps on the progress made 
in his meetings with the LRA.  Chissano described a perceptible 
change during the April 13 and 14 meetings in the demeanor of the 
LRA leadership from his previous encounters with Joseph Kony and 
Vincent Otti in March.  In the past, the LRA leaders and fighters 
were all dressed in combat fatigues.  However, during these meetings 
the two leaders were dressed in matching suits and ties and other 
LRA members wore safari suits. 
 
¶3.  (U) The GOU and LRA agreed to extend the Cessation of 
Hostilities Agreement to June 30.  LRA members in southern Sudan and 
northern Uganda would be allowed to cross the Nile River to assemble 
at Rikwangba.  The GOU offered to transport the LRA to the assembly 
area, but the LRA refused, preferring that its members travel on 
foot.  Kenya, Tanzania, Mozambique, and South Africa would each 
provide two observers for the negotiations.  The Democratic Republic 
of Congo did not send a representative with the team on this visit 
because the previous individual had been replaced.  Liaison officers 
would be posted to a town close to the assembly area to facilitate 
the movement of LRA fighters and communication between Rikwangba and 
Juba. 
 
¶4.  (U) On April 25, the eve of the resumption of talks, LRA deputy 
commander Vincent Otti participated in a local radio talk show with 
UPDF spokesman Felix Kulayigye.  Otti stated that the LRA delegates 
were in Juba for the talks.  He demanded more financial facilitation 
and improved security for the delegation, designation of the safe 
corridors for the LRA in southern Sudan to assemble, and the lifting 
of the International Criminal Court (ICC) warrants.  Otti also 
stated that he believed that all LRA members were going to be 
indicted by the ICC.  Talk show presenters, who have had 
interactions with Otti for the past three years, were concerned that 
Otti was spreading that rumor to try to unify the LRA rank-and-file. 
 Listeners raised concern that Otti's comments may have undone much 
of the groundwork laid by Chissano to change the negative dynamics 
of the talks. 
 
¶5.  (SBU) USG Activities: Ambassador Browning and P/E Officer met 
with Walter Ochora, Resident District Commissioner for Gulu District 
on April 19.  Ochora was traveling to the U.S. as part of the mass 
mobilization campaign being organized by Invisible Children to 
highlight the plight of displaced persons in northern Uganda. 
Ochora was part of the GOU team that met Kony and Otti on April 13 
and 14.  He also contacts them by phone on a regular basis to keep 
the parallel track open.  When asked if he thought the LRA leaders 
were ready to negotiate, Ochora said that their body language was 
different than on any previous occasion.  Ochora believes that the 
LRA leaders were beginning to feel guilty about their activities in 
northern Uganda and southern Sudan.  Ochora said that a settlement 
with Kony and Otti was possible and that the two always ask "what do 
the Americans say?"  He stated that during a photo opportunity, the 
LRA leaders changed into new Sudanese military uniforms.  Although 
Ochora was optimistic about the resumption of the talks, he said 
that the LRA leaders remain unpredictable. 
 
¶6.  (SBU) On April 25, P/E Officer attended a briefing by the 
Government of Uganda delegation on the resumption of the peace 
talks.  Government officials were optimistic that significant 
progress could be made on Agenda Item Three: Accountability and 
Reconciliation Mechanisms.  When asked what the LRA leadership's 
bottom line was for an agreement to be reached, one member of the 
GOU team stated that Kony and Otti want to be able to live out their 
lives on a farm, in comfort, and with security.  He stated that he 
believed that the LRA leaders understood that they will need to go 
before the Ugandan legal system and serve some type of a prison 
sentence. 
 
¶7.  (U)  A representative of ConGen Juba attended the opening of the 
peace talks on April 26.  Kampala-based diplomats also attended as a 
 
KAMPALA 00000727  002 OF 003 
 
 
sign of support for the peace process.  Chissano and Southern 
Sudanese President Salva Kiir chaired the opening session and urged 
the parties to negotiate in good faith.  Kiir stated that the 
"stability of Uganda and that of southern Sudan are inseparable." 
He expressed concern that the war zone had shifted to southern Sudan 
and that the atrocities being committed by the LRA were discrediting 
the Government of South Sudan before the citizens of eastern and 
western Equatoria.  The first session adjourned at approximately the 
same time an alleged LRA unit reportedly killed two civilians and 
injured a third at Kimoro Village in Magwi Country, Eastern 
Equatoria.  Press reports indicate that the LRA demanded that the 
GOU remove it from international terrorists lists, and written 
assurances that the LRA delegation would receive facilitation, 
better security, and a framework for dealing with the ICC warrants 
during the opening of the peace talks. 
 
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SECURITY UPDATE 
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¶8.  (U) On April 2, twelve Sudanese were killed and 14 people 
injured, including five Ugandans, in suspected LRA ambushes on three 
vehicles in southern Sudan.  There also was a report that LRA rebels 
associated with Thomas Kwoyello may have raided Mugali village in 
Sudan, killing two persons and abducting five others. 
 
¶9.  (U) The Ugandan military reported a clash between the LRA and 
UPDF in Eastern Equatoria, southern Sudan, on April 19 that left one 
Ugandan soldier dead. 
 
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HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE AND ECONOMIC RECOVERY 
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¶10.  (U) Two hundred landmines and unexploded ordnance were 
destroyed in Gulu and Amuru districts over the past two months, 
according to the National Mine Action program team.  The presence of 
landmines and unexploded ordnance has hindered resettlement of 
internally-displaced persons in some areas.  The team is clearing 
areas near satellite camps, trading and health centers, and 
schools. 
 
¶11.  (SBU) USG Activities: Democracy and Governance Advisor and P/E 
Chief met with U.S.-funded non-governmental organizations concerned 
about GOU statements that it was investigating NGOs.  They reported 
that the Resident District Commissioner in Lira announced that some 
NGOs may be "blacklisted" when it came time to re-register with the 
Government.  To date, no U.S.-funded NGOs have been targeted, but 
are concerned about negative remarks made by local officials on the 
radio.  The proliferation of NGOs in northern Uganda, some of which 
do not keep the GOU informed of their activities, has contributed to 
confusion over what resources are available for development 
activities.  The scrutiny of the NGOs is one part of a poorly 
coordinated GOU strategy to get a better understanding of what is 
being done by NGOs.  The GOU is using the re-registration exercise 
to get that information from NGOs that have not reported activities 
to local officials.  Another underlying dynamic that bears watching 
is an ongoing struggle between the central and local governments 
over resources.  Local government leaders have complained that the 
Prime Minister's Office, in charge of the Northern Uganda Peace, 
Development, and Recovery Plan, was trying to deny local districts 
funds if NGOs were providing those services. 
 
¶12.  (U) USAID's Peace Support Team Advisor attended the Joint 
Monitoring Commission meeting on April 27.  Regarding the issue of a 
Humanitarian Coordinator, Ugandan Foreign Minister Sam Kutesa told 
participants that the emergency phase of operations in northern 
Uganda was winding down and that Uganda was working in line with the 
UN reform program. At this point, there was no need for a 
humanitarian coordinator, according to the Foreign Minister. 
 
¶13.  (U) CARE International commissioned two USAID-funded motorized 
water systems on April 19 and announced it would be drilling 15 
boreholes and rehabilitating 30 more, and constructing 27 latrines 
in selected schools. 
 
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FROM THE MEDIA AND THE WEB 
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¶14.  (U) The Uganda Conflict Action Network (Uganda CAN)founders 
Michael Poffenberger and Peter Quaranto are planning to launch a new 
organization, Resolve Uganda, "to build public pressure for the 
 
KAMPALA 00000727  003 OF 003 
 
 
necessary political leadership."  In an April 19 newsletter, 
Poffenberger and Quaranto wrote to listserve recipients, "we know 
that the neglect we see from our leaders will be overcome only when 
enough people who care unite their resolve to achieve change."  They 
drew a comparison between the tragedy of the shootings at Virginia 
Tech and continued suffering in northern Uganda, quoting poet Nikki 
Giovanni's memorial service remark that "No one deserves a tragedy." 
 Quaranto's op-ed piece, "A Second Chance for Peace in Uganda," was 
published by the New Vision on April 16.  Hailing the restart of the 
Juba talks on April 26, Quaranto argued that one of the lessons 
learned from the first round of talks was that lack of involvement 
of "several influential actors, including the United States 
government" had "perpetrated" mistrust between the government of 
Uganda and the LRA.  According to Quaranto "greater regional and 
international engagement not only would bring leverage but also 
build confidence." 
 
¶15.  (U) Meanwhile, Human Rights Watch on April 25 released a 
statement from New York welcoming the resumption of the Juba talks, 
but emphasizing that "the negotiations must seek an outcome that 
also ensures fair and credible prosecutions for the most serious 
crimes in northern Uganda."  The statement quotes HRW's 
International Justice Program Director, Richard Dicker, as stating 
that "Impunity would only help fuel future abuses in Uganda.  By 
painting the ICC as an obstacle to peace, the LRA leaders have been 
trying to turn reality upside down."  According to the HRW 
statement, the UN Security Council could postpone the ICC's 
investigation or prosecution for 12 months under article 16 of the 
ICC statute, but HRW believes such a move would be a mistake.  "In 
the absence of credible alternatives at the national level, a 
deferral would shield LRA leadership from prosecution, perhaps 
indefinitely if renewed.  It could also open the door to dangerous 
interference by the Security Council in the judicial operations of 
the ICC." 
BROWNING