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The Economist July 22, 2006
A rumble in the jungle; Uganda and Sudan
Peace talks with Uganda's rebels
The Lord's Resistance Army tries to explain itself
MORE renowned for kidnapping children, massacring peasants and chopping off lips than anything else, the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) has rarely bothered to articulate its grievances. But now that the secretive Ugandan rebel group has finally come out of the bush to attend peace talks with the Ugandan government, hosted by neighbouring southern Sudan, it is seizing every opportunity to paint itself as a group of valiant freedom fighters, battling the oppression of the Ugandan president, Yoweri Museveni, and his power-hungry ethnic elite.
Few in Uganda will believe much of this. But since the talks started last weekend, the rebels realise that they have to give some sort of justification for the mayhem they have caused, not least among their own Acholi people. Up to now, what most people have learnt about the LRA is that it wants to rule Uganda according to the Ten Commandments.
Long regarded as nothing more than a small bunch of madmen roaming the wilds of northern Uganda, the LRA has come under increased international scrutiny in recent years. The dreadful consequences of its guerrilla war are partly what has forced it to the negotiating table. Almost 2m northern Ugandans have been forced to live in squalid camps as part of the government's counter-insurgency strategy, while the rebels' move last year to Garamba, in Congo, broadened the conflict. The first-ever indictments for war crimes by the International Criminal Court in The Hague were issued last year against the LRA's leader, Joseph Kony, and his four top commanders.
Mr Kony faces 33 charges, including murder and sexual enslavement. Now eager to cast himself as the defender of a legitimate cause, he has given his first television interview, denying the charges and saying he wants peace.
The rebel delegates at the talks in Juba, southern Sudan's capital, started outlining their demands for a political solution to a rebellion that started 19 years ago. They want a greater share of power and wealth for their native north, though they have yet to spell out specific proposals, beyond calls for compensation for cattle looted by Mr Museveni's forces and a quota system to give northerners more access to state jobs and education. They also want the Ugandan government to close its camps in the north and to disband the national army, before reconstituting it under international supervision to redress what they say is discrimination against northerners.
Also on the agenda this week was a ceasefire. The rebels want one immediately, but Uganda says that the LRA has used such agreements in the past to rearm, so it will not accept a truce until a final, comprehensive agreement is signed. Whether the two sides can broker such a deal will depend a lot on whether Mr Kony and his fellow indictees feel confident enough to take part in the negotiations.
Mr Kony sent others to this first round in his stead. Mr Museveni has offered to protect Mr Kony and the four wanted commanders from prosecutors in The Hague for the duration of the talks, though he has no legal authority to do this. The rebels are mindful of the fate of Liberia's former president, Charles Taylor, who was flown off to The Hague last month to face war-crimes charges, three years after he had agreed to a peace deal.
The absence of the LRA leaders will complicate and slow the talks. The rebel delegates in Juba are mostly members of northern Uganda's Acholi tribe who live in London and Nairobi, many of whom have not been home for years; they include a teacher, a lawyer and a businessman. Some see them as little better than opportunists who are after personal gain and have little idea of the revulsion the rebels have generated among their own people in the north.
The irony is that their complaints about graft and nepotism would resonate with many Ugandans, were it not for the rebels' brutality. Mr Museveni changed the constitution last year, allowing him to win a third term in February's elections and raising fears that he intends to hang on for life. Meanwhile, Ugandan officials regard the LRA as a vanquished force; proposals to reconstitute the army under foreign control are, they say, unthinkable. The only thing the government still wants to discuss is the terms of the LRA's surrender.
Peace talks with Uganda's rebels
The Lord's Resistance Army tries to explain itself
MORE renowned for kidnapping children, massacring peasants and chopping off lips than anything else, the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) has rarely bothered to articulate its grievances. But now that the secretive Ugandan rebel group has finally come out of the bush to attend peace talks with the Ugandan government, hosted by neighbouring southern Sudan, it is seizing every opportunity to paint itself as a group of valiant freedom fighters, battling the oppression of the Ugandan president, Yoweri Museveni, and his power-hungry ethnic elite.
Few in Uganda will believe much of this. But since the talks started last weekend, the rebels realise that they have to give some sort of justification for the mayhem they have caused, not least among their own Acholi people. Up to now, what most people have learnt about the LRA is that it wants to rule Uganda according to the Ten Commandments.
Long regarded as nothing more than a small bunch of madmen roaming the wilds of northern Uganda, the LRA has come under increased international scrutiny in recent years. The dreadful consequences of its guerrilla war are partly what has forced it to the negotiating table. Almost 2m northern Ugandans have been forced to live in squalid camps as part of the government's counter-insurgency strategy, while the rebels' move last year to Garamba, in Congo, broadened the conflict. The first-ever indictments for war crimes by the International Criminal Court in The Hague were issued last year against the LRA's leader, Joseph Kony, and his four top commanders.
Mr Kony faces 33 charges, including murder and sexual enslavement. Now eager to cast himself as the defender of a legitimate cause, he has given his first television interview, denying the charges and saying he wants peace.
The rebel delegates at the talks in Juba, southern Sudan's capital, started outlining their demands for a political solution to a rebellion that started 19 years ago. They want a greater share of power and wealth for their native north, though they have yet to spell out specific proposals, beyond calls for compensation for cattle looted by Mr Museveni's forces and a quota system to give northerners more access to state jobs and education. They also want the Ugandan government to close its camps in the north and to disband the national army, before reconstituting it under international supervision to redress what they say is discrimination against northerners.
Also on the agenda this week was a ceasefire. The rebels want one immediately, but Uganda says that the LRA has used such agreements in the past to rearm, so it will not accept a truce until a final, comprehensive agreement is signed. Whether the two sides can broker such a deal will depend a lot on whether Mr Kony and his fellow indictees feel confident enough to take part in the negotiations.
Mr Kony sent others to this first round in his stead. Mr Museveni has offered to protect Mr Kony and the four wanted commanders from prosecutors in The Hague for the duration of the talks, though he has no legal authority to do this. The rebels are mindful of the fate of Liberia's former president, Charles Taylor, who was flown off to The Hague last month to face war-crimes charges, three years after he had agreed to a peace deal.
The absence of the LRA leaders will complicate and slow the talks. The rebel delegates in Juba are mostly members of northern Uganda's Acholi tribe who live in London and Nairobi, many of whom have not been home for years; they include a teacher, a lawyer and a businessman. Some see them as little better than opportunists who are after personal gain and have little idea of the revulsion the rebels have generated among their own people in the north.
The irony is that their complaints about graft and nepotism would resonate with many Ugandans, were it not for the rebels' brutality. Mr Museveni changed the constitution last year, allowing him to win a third term in February's elections and raising fears that he intends to hang on for life. Meanwhile, Ugandan officials regard the LRA as a vanquished force; proposals to reconstitute the army under foreign control are, they say, unthinkable. The only thing the government still wants to discuss is the terms of the LRA's surrender.
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