VZCZCXRO9280
RR RUEHGI RUEHRN RUEHROV
DE RUEHKM #1367/01 2801252
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 061252Z OCT 08
FM AMEMBASSY KAMPALA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0758
INFO RUEHKH/AMEMBASSY KHARTOUM 0742
RUCNIAD/IGAD COLLECTIVE
RUEHXR/RWANDA COLLECTIVE
RUEHGI/AMEMBASSY BANGUI 0025
RUEHTO/AMEMBASSY MAPUTO 0503
RUEHSA/AMEMBASSY PRETORIA 3490
RHMFIUU/CJTF HOA

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 KAMPALA 001367 
 
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 (SEPTEMBER 1-30, 2008) 
 
KAMPALA 00001367  001.2 OF 003 
 
 
¶1.  (U) Summary:  The following Northern Uganda Notes 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.  (SBU) Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) leader Joseph Kony again 
failed to show up for a September 6 meeting in Rikwangba to resume 
peace talks.  It was the fifth attempt to draw Kony out of the bush 
for talks since April.  Kony reportedly phoned Acholi Paramount 
Chief Rwot Acana II on September 11 to explain his intentions. 
Acana said that Kony apologized for the delay in signing Final Peace 
Agreement (FPA), but insisted that the ICC indictments were to 
blame.  UN Special Envoy for LRA-Affected Areas Joachim Chissano 
traveled to Juba on September 6 in anticipation of traveling with 
the LRA delegation to Rikwangba. 
 
¶3.  (SBU) Northern traditional and religious leaders traveled to 
Juba on September 17.  The delegation was originally scheduled to 
travel on to Rikwangba, but Kony's failure to show on September 6 
caused the trip's cancellation.  In Juba, leaders met with 
Government of Southern Sudan mediator Riek Machar to discuss FPA 
challenges.  Machar and the northern leaders, despite Kony's 
repeated failure to show, noted that they thought it was important 
for an LRA-affected conflict area delegation, led by Acana and 
accompanied by the LRA delegation, to meet with Kony. 
 
¶4.  (SBU) On September 17, six former LRA commanders, who defected 
between October and December 2007, returned to Gulu.  The 
ex-commanders include Opio Makasi, Vincent Okema, Raphael Jalobo, 
George Okech, Sunday Kidega, and Alex Ojok.  Traditional leaders and 
the Amnesty Commission held a welcoming ceremony for the defectors 
at Acana's palace on September 23.  The traditional ceremony 
signified the ex-combatants' return to the Acholi community and 
represented the first stage of the Mato Oput cleansing ceremony. 
USAID funded the ceremony through the IOM.  The UNDP also provided 
funding. 
 
¶5.  (SBU) Mercy Corps held a three-day, USAID-funded Peace Forum in 
the Pader District September 25-27.  Parish-level Peace Committees, 
established and trained by Mercy Corps, joined key decision-makers 
to build the capacity of local residents to participate in community 
peace and reconciliation activities.  USAID Deputy Director, during 
her keynote address, underscored USG efforts to support conflict 
mitigation and peace-building in the north.  The Pader Peace Forum 
was the largest event of its kind to be held in the relatively new 
Pader District and was well-attended by Ministers, Members of 
Parliament, central and local government officials, and members of 
the Ugandan press. 
 
¶6.  (SBU) USG Activities: The Ambassador, DCM, and P/E Chief 
attended UN-Special Envoy Chissano's debriefings on the status of 
the LRA peace process.  The DCM and USAID Deputy Mission Director 
discussed the future of the peace process and implementation of the 
Peace, Recovery, and Development Plan (PRDP) with local government 
leaders and non-governmental organizations during a September 22-25 
visit to Kitgum District. 
 
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HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE AND ECONOMIC RECOVERY 
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¶7.  (SBU) Oxfam released its "From Emergency to Recovery: Rescuing 
Northern Uganda's Transition" report on September 4.  The report 
indicated that despite the absence of an FPA, improved security in 
the north had allowed over 900,000 IDPs to return home.  Oxfam 
noted, however, that recovery actors and services were not keeping 
up with the pace of return on the ground.  The report suggested that 
many IDPs were also worried about the future of an FPA, and noted 
that the most vulnerable camp residents--widows, orphans, elderly 
people, the disabled and the sick--are being left behind in the 
camps, and that the dismantling of camp governing structures had 
left a leadership vacuum.  Oxfam called on the UN to articulate a 
transition strategy, recommended that the GOU publicize information 
on its transition programs, and urged the international community to 
 
KAMPALA 00001367  002.2 OF 003 
 
 
support the PRDP. 
 
¶8.  (U) USG Activities: CJTF-HOA launched a Veterinary Civic Action 
Project (VETCAP) on September 22 in Gulu district.  The VETCAP is 
expected to treat and inoculate up to 33,000 livestock.  As part of 
the VETCAP program, CJTF-HOA specialists will work with Ugandan 
veterinarians, veterinary students, and district health and 
agricultural officials to provide care to livestock in and around 
the Gulu and Amuru Districts.  On September 22, the DCM dedicated a 
CTJF-HOA-funded library and three buildings at the Kitgum District 
Referral Hospital. 
 
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SECURITY UPDATE 
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¶9.  (U) According to MONUC, ten LRA rebels ambushed and kidnapped a 
group of 16 Congolese villagers on their way to a market along the 
Dungu/Firaz/Isoro Road on September 4-5.  The villagers were from 
Dimba.  LRA rebels reportedly raped the women, killed two villagers, 
and wounded three others.  Angry villagers reportedly killed two LRA 
rebels in the scuffle.  The Congolese military was informed of the 
incident. 
 
¶10.  (SBU) There were several additional reports of LRA attacks and 
abductions in Kiliwa, Duru, and Dungu, DRC, between September 17 and 
¶20.  An estimated ninety school children were reportedly abducted 
from the Duru Institute and Kiliwa Primary School and a local chief 
and his son were killed.  Ugandan Minister of Internal Affairs 
Ruhakana Rugunda said that eight Congolese were killed in the 
attacks.  Catholic missionaries report that the LRA looted, abducted 
children, and burned down buildings.  MONUC confirmed the attacks 
and both MONUC and the Congolese military reportedly began deploying 
in the area.  Public demonstrations in Dungu have put pressure on 
the Government of DRC to take action against the LRA.  UPDF 
Spokesman Major Paddy Ankunda said that the UPDF was prepared to 
defend the border area from an LRA incursion. 
 
¶11.  (U) On September 18, LRA rebels reportedly killed two Sudanese 
civilians when they attacked a Sudanese Peoples Liberation Army 
(SPLA) barrack at Sakure.  Col. Joseph Ngere, a senior official in 
southern Sudan's Equatoria State Government, told BBC that the LRA 
rebels carried out several attacks after killing an unspecified 
number of Congolese civilians.  He reported that the rebels also 
burned houses among other abuses.  The Central African Republic 
(CAR) government reportedly announced its willingness to join the 
regional military solution to end the LRA insurgency in the region. 
According to press reports, Sudan and the DRC have committed 
themselves to deal with the LRA militarily if the rebels do not sign 
the FPA. 
 
¶12.  (U) On September 9, Harris Woboya, Coordinator of the Mine 
Action Program, reported that Lira District is free of unexploded 
ordnance following a five-month collection exercise.  Woboya said 
the team continues to search for unexploded ordnance in Kitgum, 
Amuru, Pader, Gulu and Kasese Districts. 
 
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FROM THE MEDIA AND THE WEB 
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¶13.  (U) The September 15 edition of the government-owned daily "The 
New Vision" featured an op-ed written by UPDF spokesperson Paddy 
Ankunda entitled "Juba Peace Talks Still on Despite Kony's 
Elusiveness."  Ankunda was among the international observers who 
traveled to Juba on September 6 expecting to witness the peace 
agreement signing.  President Chissano had expected to fly to Juba, 
move to Rikwangba on the same day, sign the agreement and return to 
Juba with the "good news."  On arrival in Juba, the UN team was told 
that Kony had sent two of his senior officers the day before, and 
that they had picked up drugs the rebels had asked for and departed. 
 Ankunda writes that he immediately knew that they had been duped. 
From that point on, Kony's phones were either off or not answered. 
President Chissano was so disappointed that he announced that this 
was the last time he would try to meet Kony.  According to Major 
Ankunda, reports indicate that the rebels have been abducting, 
cultivating, training and establishing contacts. 
 
¶14.  (U) Ankunda also commented that if it is true that the LRA were 
attacked by the DRC forces and MONUC, it was long overdue.  Under 
the Tripartite Plus mechanism, the DRC and MONUC should have 
attacked the LRA by June.  The UPDF and the SPLA, under the 
 
KAMPALA 00001367  003.2 OF 003 
 
 
agreement, were supposed to support the operation with intelligence 
information.  He added that because Kony has refused to sign the 
agreement, the GOU has nothing to show the ICC and the UNSC to 
support suspension of the arrest warrants.  He added, however, that 
the door for peace talks will remain open and that the GOU is 
willing to support anyone who tries to get Kony to sign the FPA. 
 
¶15.  (U) Resolve Uganda issued a memo to U.S. Policymakers entitled 
"Crucial Window of Opportunity Must Not Be Missed" dated September 
¶2008.  The recommendations for the U.S. Congress included: "passage 
of legislation to ensure U.S. support for the comprehensive 
reconstruction of the north, authorization of USD 35 million over 
the next five years, and to ensure the U.S. Administration leads 
multilateral efforts to rebuild northern Uganda and address the 
continued LRA threat."  Resolve Uganda recommended that "the U.S. 
Administration hold the Government of Uganda accountable for its 
responsibilities to coordinate the recovery process and bring 
northern Uganda to a development level equal to the rest of the 
country; convene a conference of major donors in Uganda to ensure 
funding commitments are secured for a sustained recovery process; 
appoint a full-time diplomat to work with the U.N. and other 
regional governments to advance dialogue with the LRA leaders, 
defections of LRA members, protection of civilians, and a viable 
strategy to arrest rebel leader Joseph Kony, and commence an 
inter-agency process to assess prospects and develop a strategy for 
apprehending LRA leader Joseph Kony, in coordination with regional 
governments and U.N. forces." 
HOOVER