South Sudan Machar says LRA deputy is still alive Sunday 25 November
2007 02:10.
November 24, 2007 (JUBA) The government of South Sudan believes that the
deputy leader of the Ugandan rebel Lords Resistance Army, Vincent Otti, is
still alive but being held in house detention, Vice President Riak Machar said.
Sudans Machar (L) and LRAs Otti at a recent meeting at the Sudan-Congo
border. (The Monitor)
"I talked to [LRA leader] Joseph Kony a week ago and asked him about the
rumours that Otti may be sick or in jail or dead," Machar told IRIN in Juba,
capital of South Sudan, on 22 November. "In his words, his forces and the
forces of his second-in-command had a conflict, but Otti is alive."
"I asked him: Is Otti in jail? He said: No, he is not in jail but he is
alive. I think Otti is under house detention," he added.
Rumours about Ottis whereabouts have persisted for over a month. Analysts
believe his death would set back an ongoing peace process aimed at ending more
than two decades of insurgency which has displaced more than 2 million people
from their homes.
Since talks between the Ugandan government and the LRA started in Juba in
July 2006, Otti emerged as a moderate among the rebel ranks. He has been the
link between the mediators, northern Ugandan leaders and the rebels.
Along with Kony and three other LRA commanders, including Okot Odhiambo, who
has been appointed as the rebels new deputy leader, Otti faces indictment from
the International Criminal Court (ICC) on charges of war crimes and crimes
against humanity. Local leaders in northern Uganda and the rebels have called
for the indictments to be dropped, but the ICC insists they must be upheld.
Ugandan media reports and army officials say Otti was arrested in October and
killed in early November. On 22 November, the government-owned New Vision
newspaper quoted LRA fighters who had surrendered as confirming Ottis death.
"I have no reason to doubt Konys word because he is on board and committed
to the peace process," insisted Machar, who is the talks mediator. "In any
case, I am meeting him [Kony] soon - before the 6 December consultative
meeting."
The meeting is expected to bring together hundreds of local leaders from
areas that were affected by the insurgency, as well as observers, mediators and
other stakeholders to discuss the next steps in the protracted northern Uganda
peace process. It is expected to take place in Ri-Kwangba, near the Sudan-DRC
border where Kony is camped.
Ahead of the talks, representatives of the rebels have been touring northern
Uganda to consult local people and victims of the conflict. They have also met
Ugandan leaders including President Yoweri Museveni.
"The consultation that is going on is a major boost to the (peace) process,"
Machar explained. "It is a major psychological break through for the LRA and
for the Uganda government."
Humanitarian workers in Juba said the process raised hopes that the conflict
could end soon. "I am more optimistic today than I was at the beginning," David
Gressly, UN Deputy Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Southern Sudan
said.
"The reports from the consultations are very good - a prelude to further
talks," he told IRIN in Juba. "The process is not yet irreversible, but it is
moving in the right direction."
According to Machar, delegates for Ri-Kwangba meeting will be chosen during
the consultations. After that meeting, the government and LRA representatives
are due to return to Juba to prepare to resume talks.
The northern Uganda conflict started in 1986, when disgruntled Acholi took up
arms against Musevenis government which had just toppled their sons from
power. The LRA later assumed leadership of the rebellion and launched a brutal
strategy characterised by killings and rape of adults, and abduction of
children either to fight in rebel ranks or to offer sexual gratification to the
commanders.
According to UN estimates, at least 25,000 children have been abducted by the
rebels since the war started. Some of these children are still in rebel
captivity, including scores produced by Kony and his commanders from their
wives.
(IRIN)
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