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IRIN Web Special on the crisis in Northern Uganda
Peace efforts - Continued
Will Kony Negotiate?
Walter Ochora, the Gulu District council chairman, says Kony "has gone too far" to negotiate or surrender. "Kony as a person, unless he is cornered, will never accept to talk. Some of his commanders may come out, but what he is doing now has become a way of life. If he comes out now he knows he will not wield the kind of power he has now," Ochora told IRIN.
"It is only when the army destroyed his bases in Sudan, when the army began to intercept him, that Kony started sending signals that he wants to talk," he added. "The population was excited about the talks. The president decided to set up a peace team. Kony's message was even played on radio, but Kony was just buying time."
Those who are against a military solution to the conflict argue that the LRA, which is thought to consist of up to 90 percent abducted children, must be treated differently from other rebel groups. "These children are bitter with the society which failed to protect them. And we feel the government has no moral authority to pursue and kill the same people it failed to protect from abduction," one aid worker told IRIN.
But the loose structure of the LRA and its lack of a functioning political wing pose a major dilemma to those advocating dialogue. Many feel that if there is any negotiating to be done, Kony himself will have to come out of the bush to do it.
Future of the presidential peace team
Reagan Okumu, a member of the presidential peace team does not see a bright future for the team. Without any clear terms of reference, the team will continue to act as "window dressing", while the government continues on its military warpath, he says.
"We are supposed to initiate contact with the LRA and negotiate. But at the same time, the government is not showing commitment to peace. The language used by the government is bad; it is not a language for peace. The president himself has told us he does not believe in dialogue," Okumu adds.
In addition, he says, the government is not keen on financing the amnesty commission it had set up to encourage rebels to surrender their weapons. "The government is not serious about the commission," he argues. "It was only set up because of our lobbying but does not have enough money. The government has not made a deliberate effort to finance the commission."
Okumu is also frustrated by the rebel group's attitude, which he says is promoting the conflict and discouraging the peace process. "My biggest disappointment also is with the LRA. They are a difficult lot. Their methods are brutal. When the LRA goes around to kill the very people who have elected me, it discourages me. They are doing extremely negative things, the opposite of peace," he adds.
The only way forward, for Okumu, is an international force with a mandate, not only for peacekeeping, but also for the enforcement of peace. "International diplomatic pressure is enough to make Museveni act positively," he says. "But diplomatic pressure cannot make the LRA change. Kony needs military pressure before he can accept dialogue. Short of this, it will be extremely difficult."
Ugandan army spokesman Shaban Bantariza agrees with the idea of international facilitation, but not with any proposal for a peacekeeping force. "Our problem is not capacity, but we are dealing with a fluid enemy. An international force would just get caught up in the same mess," Bantariza told IRIN.
Links:
Acholi Religious Leaders Peace Initiative
UPDF Operation Iron Fist
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