VZCZCXRO8260
PP RUEHROV
DE RUEHKH #2666/01 3181302
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 141302Z NOV 06 ZDK
FM AMEMBASSY KHARTOUM
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 5219
INFO RUCNIAD/IGAD COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KHARTOUM 002666 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
SENSITIVE 
 
DEPT FOR AF/SPG 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL PHUM SOCI PGOV UN SU UG CG
SUBJECT: SUDAN/UGANDA/DRC:  PREPARATIONS FOR UN U/S EGELAND 
MEETING WITH LRA'S KONY 
 
 
¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY:  UN Under Secretary General for 
Humanitarian Affairs (USYG) Jan Egeland departed Juba 
November 12 for a meeting with Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) 
chief Joseph Kony on the Sudan-Congo border.  Before the 
meeting, Egeland had expressed serious doubt about whether it 
would actually occur.  Egeland traveled to the rendezvous 
point with a large group, including Government of Southern 
Sudan (GoSS) Vice President Riek Machar and members of the 
LRA delegation to GoSS-mediated peace talks with the 
Government of Uganda (GOU).  Kony appeared after several 
hours of waiting.  The UN official then pressed for an 
agreement that the LRA would release an unspecified number of 
women, children, and sick people to his custody.  The LRA 
balked at the request, claiming they have no wounded and no 
civilians-- only combatants.  Egeland later said he would 
have settled for a statement of goodwill from the LRA and a 
promise of future releases, which he did not get.  End 
Summary. 
 
-------------------------- 
Egeland Ready to Meet Kony 
-------------------------- 
 
¶2. (SBU) Egeland told the press in Juba he would "speak to 
anybody, anywhere, if it advances the humanitarian cause." 
The senior UN official, due to leave his post by the end of 
the year, is making what is likely to be his final visit to 
Sudan and Uganda.  Though LRA representatives requested a 
meeting between Joseph Kony and the UN official, they balked 
at requests that the LRA release an unspecified number of 
women, children, and sick people to Egeland's custody, 
claiming no one wanted to leave.  LRA second-in-command 
Vincent Otti had earlier said the release of women and 
children would clear the way for the UN to "bomb" the rebel 
group.  After subsequent direct discussion with Otti, UN 
officials said they were optimistic that the LRA would issue 
a statement of goodwill and, at minimum, promise future 
releases.  However, this did not occur. 
 
¶3. (SBU) Egeland met separately November 11 with GoSS VP Riek 
Machar, the GOU delegation to the peace talks, and LRA 
representatives.  Egeland said he had come to support the 
talks and push for more progress.  He praised the GOSS for 
spearheading an "Africa-led" peace initiative, now receiving 
financial and other support from "half a dozen" countries. 
Both sides had respected the Cessation of Hostilities 
Agreement, Egeland said, and there had been "no major 
attacks" since last August.  He called on the international 
community to provide additional support for the process, 
citing specifically the need for international monitors, and 
for adequate food, water, and other provisions at designated 
LRA assembly points.  Under the Cessation of Hostilities 
Agreement, LRA forces east of the Nile are required to 
assemble at Owiny-Kibul, on the Sudan-Uganda border, and 
those west of the Nile must gather at Ri-Kwangba, on the 
border between Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo 
(DRC).  Though information is spotty and sometimes 
contradictory, there are apparently few LRA forces currently 
assembled at either location. 
 
¶4. (SBU) Egeland and his group met the LRA outside the 
village of Nabanga, near the Ri-Kwangba assembly point in 
southern Sudan's Western Equatoria State.  Both locations are 
a few kilometers from the DRC border and the Garamba National 
Park, where LRA chief Joseph Kony and deputy Vincent Otti are 
believed to be based. 
 
--------------------------------------- 
Mediators, LRA Delegation Remain Behind 
--------------------------------------- 
 
¶5. (SBU) Following Egeland's visit, the GoSS mediation team 
and the LRA negotiating team remained in Nabanga for further 
consultations with LRA leadership.  After renewing the 
Cessation of Hostilities Agreement November 1, the parties 
reached an impasse over a draft agreement on measures to 
address "root causes" of the LRA conflict.  The LRA 
negotiating team then requested time to consult with LRA 
leadership in the bush.  The GOU acquiesced in this request. 
It was not immediately certain how long the LRA negotiators 
or the mediation team would remain in Nabanga. 
 
¶6. (SBU) Ugandan Minister of Internal Affairs Ruhakana 
Rugunda flew back to Juba November 11 to meet with Egeland, 
who is also expected to visit Darfur and Uganda during his 
current trip.  Rugunda said he was "confident that a peace 
settlement that will be durable will come out of this 
process."  Asked if recent attacks around Juba, some of which 
have been attributed to the LRA, had a negative impact on the 
 
KHARTOUM 00002666  002 OF 002 
 
 
talks, Rugunda said "on the contrary, it has increased the 
determination" of negotiators to reach a comprehensive 
agreement. 
 
-------------------- 
Jongomoyi Okidi-Olal 
-------------------- 
 
¶7. (SBU) U.S. citizen Jongomoyi Okidi-Olal participated in 
the November 11 meeting between Egeland and the Government of 
Uganda delegation, wearing a polo shirt with the words "Joint 
Chiefs of Staff/Pentagon" prominently visible.  Invited by 
GOSS VP Machar to be an observer at the talks, Okidi-Olal has 
distributed business cards identifying himself as employed by 
the "U.S. Department of the Army."  ConGen staff have 
notified Egeland, GoSS VP Machar, and GOU negotiators that 
Okidi-Olal is not representing the United States in any 
official capacity. 
 
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Comment 
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¶12. (SBU) Egeland is clearly trying to cast a favorable 
international spotlight on the LRA peace talks, and if his 
trip to the Congo border helped the chances for the eventual 
release of LRA captives it will have been worthwhile.  The 
prospect of more direct consultations between LRA peace 
negotiators, GoSS mediators and the LRA's indicted leadership 
may be more significant in the long run.  The sooner the LRA 
issue is resolved, and sooner attacks near Juba cease, the 
better for Southern Sudan's stability. 
HUME