VZCZCXRO1545
RR RUEHGI RUEHRN RUEHROV
DE RUEHKM #0243/01 0650538
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 060538Z MAR 09
FM AMEMBASSY KAMPALA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 1198
INFO RUEHKH/AMEMBASSY KHARTOUM 0774
RUCNIAD/IGAD COLLECTIVE
RUEHXR/RWANDA COLLECTIVE
RUEHGI/AMEMBASSY BANGUI 0046
RUEHTO/AMEMBASSY MAPUTO 0524
RUEHSA/AMEMBASSY PRETORIA 3538
RHMFIUU/CJTF HOA

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 KAMPALA 000243 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT PASS TO USAID AND OFDA 
 
E.O. 12958:  N/A 
TAGS: PHUM PREF ASEC EAID UG SU CG
SUBJECT:  NORTHERN UGANDA NOTES (FEBRUARY 1-28, 2009) 
 
REF: A. KAMPALA 94 B. KAMPALA 118 
 
KAMPALA 00000243  001.2 OF 003 
 
 
¶1.  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.  Joint military operations against the Lord's Resistance Army 
(LRA) in northeastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) continued. 
Ugandan President Museveni and Congolese President Kabila met on 
March 4 on the Uganda-DRC border in Kasese to discuss the extension 
of "Operation Lightening Thunder" (OLT).  In February, Uganda and 
DRC deployed additional forces into the area of operations to cordon 
off the LRA and provide additional protection for civilian 
populations.  MONUC (UN Mission in Congo) provided logistics and 
maintenance for Congolese troops.  Local populations have been 
expressing support for the continuation of the operation, according 
to Kampala-based diplomats that traveled to Dungu and Bunia from 
February 26-27.  There have been no reports of human rights 
violations by Ugandan or Congolese troops in OLT, according to 
various non-governmental organizations and journalists. 
 
¶3.  On February 27, LRA negotiator David Matsanga urged the Ugandan 
government to halt the military operation against the LRA.  Matsanga 
called for "an urgent and temporary ceasefire" to evaluate the 
failures and successes of the military operation in the region.  He 
proposed a stakeholders' conference.  Matsanga claimed that LRA 
leader Joseph Kony was committed to peace and alleged the LRA had 
captured 76 Ugandan, Congolese, and Sudanese prisoners of war. 
(Note: There is no evidence to support this claim.  End Note.)  The 
Government of Uganda (GOU) rejected Matsanga's proposal and 
reiterated its position that Kony must assemble at Riwkangba and 
sign the Final Peace Agreement (FPA). 
 
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SECURITY UPDATE 
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¶4.  In February, Human Rights Watch issued a report entitled "The 
Christmas Massacres: LRA Attacks on Civilians in Northern Congo." 
The report, based on eyewitness accounts in Doruma, Duru, and 
Faradje, detailed the LRA's deadly rampage that HRW claims left some 
865 dead and 160 abducted from late December 2008 to early January 
¶2009.  (Note: UNOCHA reports a lower number.  See below.  End Note.) 
 According to HRW, the LRA also conducted attacks in September 2008 
to punish local communities who helped defectors to escape.  HRW 
reported that UPDF planners had intended on protecting civilians but 
were unable to do so when troops meant to provide protection arrived 
late due to bad weather and other complications hampered air 
transport.  According to HRW, MONUC was instructed to give the 
situation in North Kivu top priority, which hampered its response to 
the area where LRA attacks were occurring. HRW urged enhanced 
protection for civilians, operational coordination between 
 
the allied forces and MONUC, increased logistical support from MONUC 
for the operation, and additional MONUC forces in the area. 
 
¶5.  We caution readers on the variability of the many estimates of 
casualties, abductions, and displaced persons.  UNOCHA put the 
numbers killed by the LRA at 620 between December 24, 2008, and 
January 13, 2009.  This is lower than the HRW estimate.  Both HRW 
and UNOCHA agree that the LRA killed and abducted hundreds of people 
throughout 2008.  UNOCHA says that between December 2007 and January 
2009, 900 civilians were killed and 711 were abducted in DRC and 
Central African Republic.  This includes two LRA killing and 
kidnapping sprees in February-March and from September to November 
¶2008.  In southern Sudan, UNOCHA reports 127 LRA-related deaths and 
66 abductions throughout 2008 and 2009.  Some 130,000 Congolese are 
displaced, including 30,000 that were displaced in Dungu during the 
September-November 2008 LRA killing spree, according to UNOCHA.  But 
humanitarian organizations report that it is difficult to get 
accurate figures because many Congolese are moving into larger towns 
with relatives for added protection.  As a result, these individuals 
are not necessarily working their fields for food. 
 
¶6.  To date, UNICEF reports 127 Congolese, Ugandan, and Sudanese 
 
KAMPALA 00000243  002.2 OF 003 
 
 
children have been rescued thanks to OLT.  UNICEF's protection 
officer reports that many Congolese children who escape are 
returning directly to their villages of origin, which has made it 
difficult to get accurate numbers.  The Ugandan military reports 
that the total number of people rescued since OLT began is 346 
adults and children. 
 
¶7.  The LRA continued to suffer losses of fighters and equipment as 
the UPDF stepped up the pace of its operations.  On January 29, the 
UPDF freed 119 Congolese abductees, including children, which was 
the largest rescue of the operation.  On January 30, Major Okello 
Opore, an escort to LRA Deputy Okot Odhiambo, died of injuries 
suffered in a firefight with the UPDF in Doruma.  The joint forces 
rescued three Congolese individuals during the skirmish.  On 
February 16, allied forced captured nine LRA members, mostly female 
fighters, in Dungu, and repatriated them to Uganda and southern 
Sudan.  On February 22, the UPDF killed three LRA rebels and 
captured another in a battle that took place northwest of Duru. 
 
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HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE AND ECONOMIC RECOVERY 
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¶8.  On February 4, the Speaker of Parliament, Edward Ssekandi, 
ordered fresh consultations with all stakeholders on the Peace 
Recovery and Development Plan (PRDP) after northern parliamentarians 
rejected Minister for Northern Uganda David Wakikona's PRDP progress 
report. 
 
¶9.  Amuru District Chairman, Patrick Okello Oryem said 52% of IDPs 
in the LRA affected north had left the main camps to resettle in 
their homes.  Kitgum's District Chairman, Komakech John Ogwok, 
reports that 70% of the people in his district have returned to 
their homes.  This was the result of the improvement of the security 
situation in the region and the increasing presence of government 
institutions in the villages, including police and local council 
officials. 
 
¶10.  USG Activities:   The Livelihoods and Enterprises for 
Agricultural Development (LEAD) program is a key initiative 
targeting economic development throughout Uganda, including a 
dedicated presence and activities in northern Uganda.  LEAD is 
active in a number of PRDP districts and is beginning activities in 
key LRA-conflict affected districts including Gulu, Amuru, Kitgum, 
and Pader.  LEAD is unique among current donor projects in the 
agricultural sector in the north because whereas many donor 
interventions focus on food security and providing seeds and 
implements to returnees to restart subsistence agriculture in their 
villages.  LEAD focuses on enhancing farm-to-market opportunities 
and rebuilding commercial agriculture in the north. 
 
¶11.  USAID's Office of Transition Initiatives (USAID/OTI) completed 
the handover of a block of administrative offices for Purongo 
Sub-County, Amuru District to the Local Council Chairman.  The Amuru 
County District Chairman attended along with other leaders from the 
district and county levels.  The event created a great deal of 
excitement in the new district and featured local dancers and 
musicians. 
 
¶12.  USAID/OTI completed the rehabilitation of eleven soccer pitches 
at primary schools in each of the sub-counties in Gulu District. 
The U.S. Government donated nets, uniforms, and soccer balls to the 
counties.  The pitches will contribute to the normalization of life 
for returnees, and provide opportunities for communities to come 
together for the first time since the war began.  It also provides 
an outlet for young people, many still suffering from the trauma of 
the conflict. 
 
¶13.  USAID/OTI approved several grants in February, including one 
providing support for the  Acholi Cultural Organization, Ker Kwaro, 
to carry out cleansing ceremonies for return populations across 
Kitgum district.  The USG also supported a Ugandan Football 
Association-sponsored soccer competition for the north in Gulu, and 
an activity assisting the upgrading of Opit internally-displaced 
persons (IDP) camp in Gulu District to town status. 
 
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FROM THE MEDIA AND THE WEB 
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¶14.  Media reports in February 2009 primarily called for the GOU and 
the international community to restore the social fabric and provide 
support for people in the North, who have returned to their homes 
after many years in IDP camps.  On February 9, Gulu District 
 
KAMPALA 00000243  003.2 OF 003 
 
 
Chairman Norbert Mao's weekly column in the government-owned New 
Vision criticized the slow progress on implementation of the PRDP in 
an article entitled, "Has the Government moved a vote of no 
confidence in itself?"   Mao comments that "the ordinary people, 
who, after years in the IDP camps have decided to go back to their 
homes, may not know what the PRDP is, but the one thing they know is 
that the government has pledged to restore social harmony and to 
support them to rebuild their lives.  This explains the concern 
following the announcement by the government that the implementation 
of the PRDP has been suspended" (ref B).  Mao likened the 
announcement from the Minister's office that the PRDP process needed 
"to be redone" to a government voting "no confidence" in itself. 
 
¶15.  In the article, Mao cited the September 26, 2008, letter from 
seven U.S. Senators to President Museveni urging the implementation 
of northern recovery plans.  He also cited the United States 
Ambassador to the United Nations, Susan Rice, who in her maiden 
speech to the UN Security Council on January 29, stated that the 
U.S. is determined to ensure "that peace building and post-conflict 
assistance consolidates peace durably once conflict ends." 
 
¶16.  Invisible Children, a San Diego-based non-governmental 
organization, is planning a worldwide campaign entitled "Kony Must 
Be Stopped.  Our Children Must Be Rescued."  Events will kick off in 
Uganda in March and culminate in rallies in several cities 
throughout the world on April 24.  Any funds raised will be used to 
continue rebuilding northern Ugandan educational facilities and help 
residents overcome the trauma of the conflict. 
BROWNING