The Ugandan government said today that it can only discuss, let alone sanction, a change of venue for the stalled South Sudan-mediated peace talks if the LRA negotiators return to Juba. "We have to return to Juba and discuss it and then agree or disagree," State Minister for Defence Ruth Nankabirwa said. "We cannot go to Nairobi (Kenya) or any other place to agree to a venue. It is Juba we have to talk about because there is no other venue that has been chosen." Nankabirwa's revelation, however, was overshadowed by the animosity that lingered in the Parliament after MPs voted on a motion that compels the LRA and the Government to return to Juba and no other location. Opposition MPs, who were the original architects of the motion, declined to vote saying it was wrong for Parliament to explicitly pronounce itself and limit the negotiating parties to Juba. Read more at The Monitor.

A host of Acholi leaders and key players in the Diaspora are set to meet on Thursday in Juba in a final attempt to revive the stalled peace talks. The Juba consultative meeting, funded by Denmark and Canada, will include about 100 political, religious, cultural leaders and representatives of civil society organisations from northern Uganda. The conference is organised by Acholi paramount chief Rwot David Onen Acana and will last three days. Sources said the Acholi leaders would meet together with the LRA, government delegation and South Sudan elders to chart a way forward for a resumption of the talks. Read more at The Monitor.

The Ugandan government has asked the LRA to renew the truce, which expires tomorrow. "We are asking the LRA to respond to our call and renew the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement, for the sake of the Internally Displaced Persons," the State Foreign Affairs Minister said. The expiry of the truce was also debated in Parliament yesterday. MPs Betty Amongi (Apac) and Alice Alaso (Soroti) urged the two parties not to resume hostilities so as not to interrupt the ongoing resettlement programme in the North. In a further attempt to save the talks, the Acholi paramount chief, Rwot Achana Onen II, is convening a meeting of Acholi in Juba, starting tomorrow.

Finally, a coalition of 65 NGOs, united under the Civil Society Organisations for Peace in Northern Uganda (CSOPNU), has urged the Government, the LRA and the international community "not to betray the hopes of Ugandans that talks will deliver a just and lasting peace." The NGOs appealed to neighbouring governments, donors and the UN to pressure the parties into renewing the CoH Agreement and setting a timetable for the resumption of talks. They also called upon the Government to observe the rules about UPDF deployment in South Sudan, while asking the LRA to refrain from acts of violence against civilians. Read more at The New Vision.

Tomorrow is the last day of the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement between the government of Uganda and the LRA. The UPDF says it has strict instructions not to resume fighting against the LRA. "The Uganda People's Defence Forces still supports the Juba peace process; we believe peace talks are the best viable option for northern Uganda and we have strict orders not to attack the LRA even when the deadline elapses," said UPDF spokesman Major Felix Kulayigye yesterday. This development raises hope that failure to renew the truce will not herald resumption of hostilities, even as the LRA leaders say they would not endorse an extension of the ceasefire. Dr. Rugunda, the Ugandan Minister of Internal Affairs, said yesterday that efforts were underway to resume the Juba negotiations. Read more at The Monitor.

A UPDF commander said yesterday that the parties to the Juba peace talks should consider relocating LRA rebels from Owiny-Ki-Bul, one of the two assembly points for LRA rebels in South Sudan established by Cessation of Hostilities (CoH) agreement signed in August 2006. 5th Division Commander Lucky Kidega said, "They (the LRA) have instead continued to terrorise civilians and travellers on roads in the areas surrounding Owiny-Ki-Bul. All these are serious violations of the agreement and have reflected a serious lack of commitment by the LRA to talk peace." Kidega also said that the UPDF has clashed with LRA fighters trying to infiltrate Kitgum district in northern Uganda eight times since the signing of the CoH. The last incident was on February 17th, when the UPDF killed two LRA rebels attempting cross into Kitgum. Read more at The Monitor.

In response to media reports that the LRA will not endorse an extension to the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement, the LRA/M has issued a press statement. The statement says that, though the LRA is still refusing to return to the Juba talks, they will not resume hostilities unless provoked by the UPDF. The LRA/M also denies that its fighters are on the move to the Central African Republic. That statement finally urges the Government of Uganda to reconsider its stance on changing the venue and mediator so that peace talks can resume.

Martin Ojul, leader of the LRA delegation at peace talks, has issued a public statement that his delegation does not intent to return to peace talks until a new venue is established. The statement reads, " LRA/M has not held any meeting whatsoever with Government of Southern Sudan to express any change in the original position of LRA/M on the stalled Uganda Peace Process. Moreover, it is also not true that LRA/M intends to meet Dr. Riek Machar anywhere on the stalled Uganda Peace Process. If what has been reported in the mass media reflects the views from Dr. Riek Machar, LRA/M appeals to Dr Machar and his government to stop insisting on what will never be, and also stop interfering with efforts by other bodies that are working towards securing a new venue, host and Mediation."

Dr. Ruhakana Rugunda, head of the Ugandan government’s delegation to the Juba peace talks, addressed the Ugandan Parliament yesterday on the government’s position on reconciliation and justice in northern Uganda and the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) warrants. The ICC’s arrest warrants for top LRA leaders have been a contentious issue in the Juba peace process, with LRA leaders demanding that they be dropped. Rugunda told the Parliament that the government would support traditional Acholi reconciliation mechanisms, but would not ask the ICC to drop the charges, saying “It is not possible for the ICC to lift the indictments before the question of impunity is addressed. The Government will formally engage the ICC only after a peace agreement has been reached and after the LRA has gone through the Mato oput process. ICC’s stand is that impunity should never be condoned. Uganda fully supports this stand.” Read more at The New Vision.

The Daily Monitor reports that the LRA peace negotiators have ironed out their differences and are willing to meet the LRA High Command, largely to set a date for the resumption of the peace talks. The announcement was made yesterday by the mediator Dr. Riek Machar. This comes one day after Army Spokesman Felix Kulayigye confirmed that LRA leaders Kony and Otti have left their camp in DR Congo's and relocated toward Central African Republic. "After the LRA delegates arrive, I am planning to travel with them to meet the LRA leaders and set a schedule for resumption of the talks," Dr Machar said. Read more at The Monitor.

The Amnesty commissioner in-charge of West Nile, Hajji Ganyana Miiro, today reported that about 8,000 former Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) rebels have been granted amnesty in the last six years. "We have been talking to the rebels. We have been putting pressure on them to stop fighting and engage in developmental activities," Miiro said. This underlines the important role the Amnesty Commission has played in deescalating the conflict in northern Uganda. Read more at The New Vision.

Gulu District Chairman Norbert Mao has criticized the international community for insisting that LRA leader Joseph Kony must be tried before the International Criminal Court in The Hague. Speaking at the recent national reconciliation conference, Mao said Uganda is capable of utilizing its own domestically grown justice process to bring an end to the 20-year war. "We must reject everybody who says Kony must be tried in The Hague. The ICC was set up to supplement domestic judicial systems, not to usurp their powers. We can only resort to ICC when the domestic systems have failed and I don't think we have failed yet. We are still in position to show the whole world that our processes are working," he said. Read more at The Monitor.

The landmark Cessation of Hostilities truce that raised hopes for an end to 21 years of war in northern Uganda is set to expire in nine days with no clear indication of what happens next. Ruhakana Rugunda, the leader of the government negotiation team, said today that Government is keenly aware of the expiry date of the truce and the failure by both parties to meet for a review. "The peace talks, in our view, are the only viable option to finding lasting peace in northern Uganda," Rugunda said. Oryem Okello, the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, said last week, "We want to reassure people we will not restart hostilities."

However, highly placed government sources told The Daily Monitor that key figures in the Ugandan military have been holding meetings with Congolese and South Sudanese authorities largely to prepare a military offensive against the LRA. The source said over the last two months key officers in the UPDF and Defense Ministry have held four important meetings with the Congolese Army (FARDC) and the Sudan People Liberation Army (SPLA) "planning for plan B."

Fears of a resumption of hostilities are also shared by the LRA which emphasizes the need to resume the peace process, but with a new mediator and venue. "The date of February 28 should not mean the resumption of war, and we call upon every peace-loving person to impress it upon the Uganda government not to take that line," said LRA spokesman Godfrey Ayo. "We are working around the clock to make sure the peace process resumes," he added. Read more at The Monitor.

The Catholic Church in Kenya has asked the Kenyan government to reconsider its decision not to host the northern Uganda peace talks that collapsed in Juba last month. Archbishop John Njue, the Chairman of the Kenya Episcopal Conference begged the Kenyan government to do everything in its power to ensure war does not break out again in Uganda. "All we are requesting is for Kenya to do anything that will ensure the suffering people of Northern Uganda start living a better life," he said. His comments comes only days after the Uganda Joint Christian Council (UJCC) appealed to the Ugandan government to restrain from taking any unilateral action that may lead to the resumption of hostilities between the UPDF and LRA. Read more at The Catholic Info. Service for Africa.

Internal Affairs Minister Ruhukana Rugunda, who heads the government delegation at the peace talks, returned from Juba yesterday where he delivered a special message from President Museveni to the President of South Sudan Salva Kiir. "The message was about the peace process," Rugunda revealed. "It re-affirmed Uganda’s support for the peace process, for Juba as the venue of the talks and for the Government of South Sudan as the mediator." He only disclosed that in his assessment, the talks would resume in Juba soon. "Both the government of Uganda and the government of South Sudan are in contact with the LRA. We expect the peace talks in Juba to resume soon and we are working for that," Rugunda said. Read more at The New Vision.

Gulu District Chairman Nobert Mao has urged the government to investigate what he called "external forces that are advising the rebel Lord's Resistance Army to stay away from the South Sudan mediated peace talks." "I think the LRA are being cornered. The Ugandan intelligence should investigate whether there is a third party interest trying to confuse the talks," Mao said on Monday. Mao said the Uganda government should not blame the LRA for pulling out of the talks but instead identify and expose those people against the talks. "We need to identify the spoilers, dismantle their connections rather than merely blaming LRA," he said. Read more at The Monitor.

The chief Government negotiator, Dr. Ruhakana Rugunda and the LRA head of delegation to the Juba peace talks, Martin Ojul, have committed themselves to resuming the peace process. Rugunda, Ojul and the LRA spokesman Godfrey Ayoo, spoke during a teleconference on Friday. It was moderated by Fortunate Sewankambo, the World Vision communications director. In a press statement, World Vision revealed that although the LRA was reluctant to return to Juba, both Rugunda and Ojul agreed that the issue of a venue should not be an obstacle to peace. Read more at The New Vision.

The Ugandan government has revealed that it remains in close contact with the LRA top leadership. The Minister of Internal Affairs, Dr. Ruhakana Rugunda, said yesterday: "The Government is very committed to peace. We want peace to prevail in northern Uganda. We are in close contact with the LRA leadership and we are optimistic that the talks will resume." Rugunda, who is also the head of the Government peace talks negotiating team, hinted: "The issue of change of venue can be considered if it is for peace. The peace process is very precious and we have now reached at a point of no return. The Government will do everything possible to ensure that the peace talks resume." Read more at The New Vision.

Onyango-Obbo,former editor of The Monitor and well-known commentator on East African politics, writes today on the Washington Post's Post Global blog about "why Ugandan peace talks go nowhere." He writes, "Though Uganda has made impressive progress in the 21 years of Museveni’s rule (going from a country once synonymous with economic collapse through the 70s and 80s to become Africa’s 'economic success story' in the 90s), successes were always overshadowed by the war, dragging down the country’s image...For Kony, the end formal end of one-party rule in 2006 siphoned away LRA supporters in the Diaspora who once gave respectability to their campaign. It was left to the dynamics inside southern Sudan, following the Comprehensive Peace Agreement with the Khartoum government, to force Museveni and Kony’s hands." He concludes, "That the talks have been rocky suggests the belligerents are trying to achieve at the negotiating table what they couldn’t on the battlefield -- a clear victory. But that charade cannot go on forever." Read the full entry and comment at PostGlobal.

Acholi leaders have been asked by the UPDF to speak out against the LRA demand for a change of venue of the peace talks. Speaking at the Army Day celebrations in Pader district, the UPDF 5th division operation and training officer, Lt Col. Sam Kavuma, said that while the Government showed commitment to the talks by signing the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement, the northern politicians had done nothing. "I want to hear from local leaders. They have kept quite as if nothing has happened. I think as long as they remain silent, Kony will think that what he is doing is good," he said. However, Gulu LC5 chief, Norbert Mao, on Thursday said that the army's attack on politicians was misdirected. "Those of us who have been talking to the LRA have told them that Juba and the offer by the government of South Sudan to mediate is the best." Read more at The New Vision.

The Governments of Uganda and South Sudan have called for international pressure on the LRA to return to the negotiating table. The appeal was made by foreign minister Sam Kutesa and South Sudan regional cooperation minister Dr. Barnabas Marial Benjamin yesterday, after the two signed a historical trade pact. "We urge the international community to exert more pressure on the LRA," Kutesa said. "They acted in bad faith. They wanted (to move the talks to) Kenya and South Africa. Both countries have categorically stated that they will not host the talks." Read more at The New Vision.

In an effort to salvage the stalled peace talks, Acholi leaders plan to organize an all-inclusive Acholi conference in Juba, led by the Acholi Paramount chief Rwot David Onen Acana. The Governments of Sweden and the Netherlands have pledged $250,000 towards the initiative. The conference plans to draw in leaders from the national down to sub-county level, leaders of IDP camps as well as Acholi living in the diaspora. Gulu RDC Walter Ochola announced that the conference would deliberate on the fate of the peace process in Juba and the way forward. The conference is expected to take place in the first week of March, after a group of Acholi leaders have returned from a one week fact-finding mission to Owiny-ki-Bul. Read more at The New Vision.

The Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) today released a detailed statement explaining why they quit the Juba peace talks at the end of last year. The statement cites 32 reasons. "LRA/M never mandated Dr. Riek Machar to be (chief) mediator of the talks. LRA/M had mandated Professor Asefa and Dr. Simon Shimonsi to mediate the talks," the document says. The LRA, in their statement, allege that Dr Machar often coerced their negotiators and sometimes forced them at gun point to sign documents. In addition, the LRA say that Juba was full of spies and state agents. The document also discusses ill will between the LRA and SPLA. The LRA alleged that SPLA operatives ransacked their hotel rooms whenever they were out negotiating with the government team. The LRA allege they were once put under captivity by the Sudan government and were not free to leave their hotel rooms. Read more at The Monitor.

Investigation is needed to see if any of these allegations are true; however the LRA is deeply discrediting itself by leaving the talks without showing more commitment to compromise on the technical details of the talks. Columnist Opiyo Oloya wrote a powerful Op/Ed earlier this week in The New Vision on this very point. Read it at The New Vision.

The Community of Sant’Egidio, an Italian Christian organization that has been involved in peace mediation, has said the Juba peace talks offer the best opportunity and most concrete hope for peace in northern Uganda. In a statement, the group denied reports that it wants talks between the Government and the LRA rebels to take place in Rome. "Ever since the beginning we believed that there could not be any alternative to dialogue in order to reach a lasting peace. We welcomed the decision of the Ugandan President (Yoweri) Museveni and of South Sudan President Salva Kiir Mayrdit to begin a dialogue in Juba," Vittorio Scelzo wrote. Read more at The New Vision.

Responding to the rejection by the Kenyan and Ugandan governments of an LRA proposal to move the peace talks between the LRA and Ugandan government away from South Sudan, LRA commander Vincent Otti threatened a return to violence. Otti said, "If [President] Museveni does not want to shift to anywhere out of Sudan, then that is the end of the peace talks. We need somewhere else. If they reject, we can go back to war." Though the survival of the Juba peace process has been uncertain for most of the past eight months, the current impasse over the venue and mediator to the talks represents perhaps the greatest threat yet to hopes for peace. A return to violence would most likely reverse the improvements in security and humanitarian access to displaced persons’ camps in northern Uganda that have been made since July 2006. Read more at The Monitor.

Today’s Monitor reports that hundreds of LRA rebels are fleeing their bases in southern Sudan and the DR Congo and are headed in the direction of the Central Africa Republic (CAR). Although it remains unclear exactly how many LRA rebels are moving towards the CAR or what their motivation is, the head of the Ugandan government’s delegation to the Juba peace talks confirmed the reports of the rebel movements. Internal Affairs Minister Ruhakana Rugunda said, "We are aware there have been movements in the general area towards the border of the Central African Republic.” Last year it was rumored that LRA leader Joseph Kony expressed interest in a peace agreement that would guarantee him asylum in the CAR.

If the reports are proven to be true, it would be a major setback to the Juba peace process. Under the terms of the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement signed between the Ugandan government and the LRA in August 2006 and extended three months ago, LRA rebels must gather in two assembly points in southern Sudan. The past several weeks have seen several other troubling developments, such as LRA demands that the venue and mediators of the peace talks be changed and reports that the Ugandan military and LRA rebels are preparing for renewed hostilities. However, the Juba talks remain the best chance for peace in northern Uganda, and renewed international support for the peace process would significantly boost their chances of success. Read more about “What’s at Stake in the Juba Peace Talks” and how YOU can add your voice to those urging our leaders to support peace in northern Uganda!

The Kenyan government yesterday rejected a request from the LRA delegation to the Juba peace talks that they host peace talks between the LRA and Ugandan government. In recent weeks the LRA delegation has demanded that the venue and mediators of the peace talks with the Ugandan government be changed, accusing the South Sudan officials mediating the current talks in Juba of being biased in favor of the Ugandan government. Kenya’s Foreign Minister Raphael Tuju said, “While Kenya will be ready to play a positive role in the resolution of this problem, we have no reason to cast doubt on the process currently going on in Juba. We have therefore decided that we will not be offering to host these talks so that the current momentum already set in Juba may proceed unimpeded.” President Museveni of Uganda also reiterated his government’s commitment to the Juba peace talks and mediator Dr. Reik Machar, saying that the LRA demands to move the talks were “diversionary.” Read more at The New Vision.