Uganda rebel Kony again a 'no-show' *KAMPALA:* Efforts to bring a definitive end to Uganda's two-decade civil were in limbo yesterday after rebel leader Joseph Kony's no-show at a weekend signing ceremony but the government refused to lose hope. "We are not saying the process is finished. Kony should have signed this weekend, but he didn't. Now the ball is in his court," said Ruhakana Rugunda, who leads the government of Uganda's negotiating team. The end of November was identified by some parties as a deadline for Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) leader Kony to sign the deal that was finalised in April after two years of negotiations. But yesterday, Rugunda, whose side has already inked the agreement, said he might be prepared to give Kony another chance. "It will depend on the circumstances," he said, when asked if he would again travel to south Sudan at Kony's request. "It will depend on how serious the prospect is that he will appear. If we go back, we want to be sure." Speaking from south Sudan, where Kony had been expected to turn up, LRA spokesman David Nyekorach-Matsanga would not comment on his absence but said the LRA might make further statements soon. Kony reportedly reiterated his demand that warrants for his arrest issued by the International Criminal Court be withdrawn before he signs a peace deal. But Rugunda completely ruled out that possibility yesterday. "Negotiations are complete and will not be re-opened. There are provisions in the final agreement to deal with his concerns, but first he must sign," he said. The next step will largely be determined by the UN and the government of south Sudan, which has hosted the peace talks, according to Uganda's top military spokesman. Major Paddy Ankunda said Uganda would now wait until Joachim Chissano, the UN special envoy to the LRA-affected areas, and south Sudanese Vice President Riek Machar, the talks's chief mediator, weighed in. "We are waiting for their reports," Ankunda said. "And if they can't move this process further, they have to tell the world." Ankunda added that any military strategy to deal with the LRA, must involve all the countries affected by the conflict. "Kony is staying 2,000km from the Ugandan border, so there must be a regional response to deal with him," he said. "The Central African Republic (CAR) must take some responsibility. (The Democratic Republic of) Congo must take some responsibility, and south Sudan must take some responsibility." While Kony's rebellion began in Uganda some 20 years ago, he is currently based in DR Congo, and his fighters are accused of carrying out atrocities in a number of different countries in the region. One leading politician from Kony's home area in northern Uganda expressed concern that collapse of the talks might lead to more fighting. "If the peace process falters, it may cause the countries involved to consider military action, and so provoke Kony into fighting back, possibly near the Ugandan border," Norbert Mao, chairman of Gulu district, said. He added the Ugandan military could try to use the collapse of the peace process to redeem itself, after failing for decades to defeat Kony. "Having run the war incompetently, the UPDF may decide to now engage in fierce fighting, as a way of erasing that incompetence," he said. Mao said people in the region hardest hit by the LRA war are divided about Kony's failures to sign the deal. "I'm here in Gulu now, and people are of mixed opinion," he said. "Some say that the conditions were unfair, and wouldn't give Kony real peace, only unconditional surrender, while others are anxious about what this might mean." The Ugandan government delegation was to return to Kampala yesterday after two days in a jungle clearing in south Sudan, near the border with DR Congo, waiting for Kony to appear. "I am not frustrated," Rugunda said from Juba. "It is not a question of frustration. These events did not come as a shock." – AFP
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