VZCZCXRO0583
RR RUEHGI RUEHRN RUEHROV
DE RUEHKM #0235/01 0371029
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 061029Z FEB 08
FM AMEMBASSY KAMPALA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 9952
INFO RUEHKH/AMEMBASSY KHARTOUM 0689
RUCNIAD/IGAD COLLECTIVE
RUEHXR/RWANDA COLLECTIVE
RUEHTO/AMEMBASSY MAPUTO 0475
RUEHSA/AMEMBASSY PRETORIA 3425
RHMFIUU/CJTF HOA

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 KAMPALA 000235 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT PASS TO USAID AND OFDA 
 
E.O. 12958:  N/A 
TAGS: PHUM PREF ASEC EAID UG SU CG
SUBJECT:  NORTHERN UGANDA NOTES (January 1-31, 2008) 
 
¶1.  (U) Summary:  The following Northern Uganda Notes provide 
information on the situation on the ground and USG activities aimed 
at meeting Mission 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)  The talks resumed on January 30, with the U.S. and European 
Union named as official observers.  The Government of Uganda and 
Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) signed an extension of the Cessation of 
Hostilities Agreement (CHA) until February 29.  The parties also 
agreed to a timetable to accelerate the talks. 
 
¶3.  (SBU) LRA leader Joseph Kony reshuffled his delegation on 
January 23.  He had met with the delegation near Rikwangba on 
January 22.  After the group returned to Juba, Kony then announced 
via teleconference that he dropped several members of his 
negotiating team, including the head of delegation, Martin Ojul, on 
January 23.  The new LRA delegation consists of:  Dr. David Matsanga 
(head), James Obita (deputy), Willy Oryem, Anyena Odongo (legal 
advisor), Yusef Adek, Justine Labeja, Santa Okot, and Peter Ongom. 
Seven other members from the diaspora and within northern Uganda 
also were named.  In November, Kony had become concerned about Ojul 
because the LRA leader believed that Ojul was funneling peace 
process funds to his cousin, LRA deputy Vincent Otti.  Kony cited 
"profiteering" as the reason for Ojul's dismissal and accused him of 
accepting USD 200,000 from the Government of Uganda. 
 
¶4.  (SBU)  Press reports describe Matsanga as a hard-line member of 
the diaspora.  He hails from eastern, not northern, Uganda.  He was 
a member of the Uganda People's Congress party and fled Uganda in 
¶1985.  He attempted to overthrow former President Milton Obote from 
the UPC party's leadership in 2005.  He used his World Media Limited 
organization to defend Zimbabwean President Mugabe and brought 
Britain's Sky Television into the LRA camp in September 2006.  In 
the past, he was critical of GOSS mediator Riek Machar and pushed 
for the re-location of the talks. 
 
¶5.  (U) U.N. Special Envoy for LRA-Affected Areas Joachim Chissano 
visited Kampala from January 24-26 to meet with President Museveni. 
He met with the LRA delegation in Nairobi on January 28. 
 
¶6.  (U)  On January 21, LRA defectors Sunday Otto and Richard 
Odong-kau received re-affirmation of their amnesty.  Amnesty 
Commissioner Justice Onenga explained that there were exceptional 
circumstances involved in their cases and that their previously 
granted amnesty was re-instated.  Vincent Okema, Ojok Alex, and 
Okello Opio received their amnesty certificates.  The Amnesty 
Commission was unable to provide their amnesty packages due to a 
lack of funds. 
 
¶7.  (U) USG Activities:  P/E Chief briefed Kenny Fenechek of Resolve 
Uganda, on January 3 and Julia Spiegel of ENOUGH on January 24 on 
current status and dynamics of the peace talks.  P/E Chief and PAO 
met with student groups from the University of Virginia's Human 
Rights Law Project and the University of Pennsylvania's Law School 
on January 2 and 7. 
 
¶8.  (U) Senior Advisor for Conflict Resolution Tim Shortley met with 
Ugandan government officials, European partners, and Chissano during 
a visit to Kampala from January 24-27.  He traveled to Juba to 
participate in the resumption of the peace talks on January 30 in 
Juba.  Uganda Desk Officer Bisola Ojikutu visited Uganda from 
January 28 to February 5. 
 
¶9.  (U) Business Executives for National Security, a group of 
private U.S. business owners, traveled to Gulu on January 23 to 
assess the security and humanitarian situation.  The group also met 
with Ugandan Government officials and businessmen in Kampala. 
 
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HUMANITARIAN AND ECONOMIC RECOVERY 
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¶10.  (U) Freedom of movement and forced evictions have become the 
top protection issue in the Acholi sub-region.  There was growing 
pressure from landowners and Government for the displaced population 
 
KAMPALA 00000235  002 OF 003 
 
 
(IDPs) to return home.   The issue was highlighted during a series 
of workshops and community meetings in Acholi sub-region in January. 
 A key conclusion was that balanced camp closure procedures were 
urgently needed to handle a multitude of issues related to returns, 
camp closure, and transformation of camps into viable communities. 
Members of the humanitarian community noted that these procedures 
should consider options for populations that would stay in the 
camps/trading centers for economic opportunities or because they are 
unable to move.  Another component of the issue is how to normalize 
these areas, including transitioning to renting or leasing land. 
 
¶11.  (U) In the short-term, it would be important to consider the 
coping mechanisms many households were employing by keeping one foot 
in the camp and one foot in the return area.  In the absence of a 
final peace agreement, large segments of the population remain 
apprehensive that the relatively secure environment of the past two 
years would not hold.  Recent radio broadcasts by Museveni, setting 
deadlines for the LRA, and Kony's public remarks that it was not 
safe to go home, have added to the level of concern among IDPs. 
 
¶12.  (U) Returns across the Acholi sub-region continue at a 
relatively slow pace.  In addition to lack of a peace deal, IDPs 
cite the lack of building materials, clean water, education, 
healthcare and roads as impediments to return.  There was widespread 
bush burning in order to clear fields and hunt, that has limited the 
amount of grass available for thatching material.  The burning was 
largely uncontrolled and had become a public hazard.  In some cases, 
private property was destroyed.  Local leaders have begun community 
outreach and radio announcements to address the issue.  In the short 
term, bush burning does reduce labor required to clear fields, a 
priority for most households. 
 
¶13.  (U) USG Activities:  USAID held a meeting of its northern 
Uganda partners in Gulu, January 24.  A key concern was growing 
tensions between local government and NGOs.  Tensions are 
particularly high in Gulu District, where Government representatives 
frequently broadcast complaints about NGOs over the radio.  There 
are many NGOs that do not coordinate with local Government, operate 
without Memoranda of Understanding (MOU), or have poor performance 
record.  Local governments would like to increase their coordination 
and oversight of activities in their districts.  However, they have 
a limited capacity to do so, poor internal communication between 
line ministries and political leadership in Kampala, and no 
consistent policies on MOUs.  USAID's partners have sought support 
to help standardize MOUs and coordination procedures with local 
governments and to help educate local officials on how donor funding 
works.  USAID will be reaching out to northern leaders to discuss 
these issues and what steps might be taken. 
 
¶14.  (U) USAID launched three new conflict management and mitigation 
(CMM) programs for northern Uganda.  Pader Peace-building with Mercy 
Corps, Internews training and program development with radio 
journalists, Civil Society participation in the Peace Recovery and 
Development Plan (PRDP) with CARE, and the new SPRING program that 
will work in three areas, peace building, livelihoods, and access to 
justice. 
 
¶15.  (U) A Combined Joint Task Force Horn of Africa (CJTF HOA) Civil 
Affairs team conducted a month long Veterinary Civic Action Program 
(VETCAP) in Gulu and Amuru Districts during the month of January. 
The VETCAP assisted the Ugandan Ministry of Agriculture and Animal 
Industry and Fisheries in completing a district wide surveillance, 
treatment and control program for Trypanosomiaisis, tsetse fly and 
rabies.  The project provided hands on training to Ugandan 
veterinarian students from Makerere University and local animal 
health care providers in designing a comprehensive district wide 
herd health program, tsetse fly control program, infectious disease 
diagnostic program and zoonotic disease control programs.  Training 
on avian influenza was conducted and the proper method of 
inoculating for Newcastle Disease was demonstrated.  The project 
also assisted the Ugandan government in providing healthy livestock 
to civilians relocating from IDP camps to their former villages. 
The seven person team from CJTF HOA, working with their Ugandan 
counterparts, treated over 30,000 animals at 42 different sites. 
 
¶16.  (U) The CJTF HOA Civil Affairs Team, based in Kitgum, continued 
construction of the Children's Ward for the District Referral 
Hospital and a library in Kitgum.  The team continued to evaluate 
potential future projects as well as develop plans for drilling new 
boreholes and refurbishing broken boreholes. 
 
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FROM THE MEDIA AND THE WEB 
 
KAMPALA 00000235  003 OF 003 
 
 
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¶17.  (U) The Civil Society Organizations for Peace in Northern 
Uganda (CSOPNU) ran an announcement in the Saturday New Vision on 
January 25 calling for a speedy resumption of the peace talks at 
Juba, arguing that continued delay threatens to derail the process 
and prolong suffering in Northern Uganda. 
 
¶18.  (U) The Sunday Monitor on January 27 carried an editorial 
entitled "No So Innocent Bystanders to Juba Talks" by Adrian 
Bradbury and Peter Quaranto of GuluWalk and Resolve Uganda. 
Bradbury and Quaranto compare what they describe "as the 
international community's response or lack thereof surrounding the 
faltering Juba peace process.  The diplomatic corps, hampered by 
fatigue and impatience, has adopted a wait-and-see approach as 
events unfold."  The authors praise the role of Riek Machar, the 
Southern Sudanese mediator for keeping the process in motion despite 
domestic issues in Sudan and describe U.N. Special Envoy for 
LRA-Affected Areas Joachim Chissano as a crucial intermediary, but 
state that "his position too remains only part-time." 
 
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U.S. STATEMENT IN SUPPORT OF TALKS 
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¶19.  (U) On January 29, the following U.S. Statement on the 
Resumption of the Peace Talks in Juba was released from the 
Department: 
 
The United States welcomes the resumption of the peace talks in 
Juba, South Sudan, between the Government of Uganda and the Lord's 
Resistance Army aimed at ending the 22 year conflict. 
 
Assistant Secretary for African Affairs, Jendayi Frazer, has asked 
her Senior Advisor for Conflict Resolution, Tim Shortley, to be 
present in Juba on January 30 to work with the mediator and parties 
on moving the peace process forward.  The United States supports the 
peace talks, and maintains that the process cannot be open-ended. 
We urge the parties to work expeditiously on an agreement mechanism 
on accountability and reconciliation. 
 
The United States will work with the Government of Uganda and the 
international community to provide robust support for reconstruction 
and recovery efforts in Northern Uganda. 
 
BROWNING