July 2008 would have been the second anniversary of the Juba peace process between the rebel group, the Lord’s Resistance Army and the government of Uganda: two years of peace negotiations would have been made.
Unfortunately, no peace deal has been reached. In april 2008 the peace talks collapsed when lra leader Joseph Kony refused to sign the peace agreeement. Now the LRA is reported to be regrouping in DR Congo and acquiring new weapons. A week ago eight members of the lra negotiation reported quit the LRA camp.
Louise Khubere is an analyst with the International Crisis Group in Nairobi, Kenya. She told VOA’s Akwei Thompson that, as to the status of the peace talks,
it would be easier to listen to any comments that mediators Riek Machar and Joachim Chissano have to make.
“I think the last recommendations Chissano made to the Security Council threw the ball back to the court of the Ugandan government…” She said.
Khubere added that the Ugandan government might be keen on a military option.
“I think the Ugandan government, particularly Museveni, has been very keen on the military option and less committed to dialogue,” she said.
Khubere said that the recent denouncement of Kony by eight members of his negotiating team “does not mean anything because they had no consultations as a team, so for them to denounce to me is just one of the gimmicks of the LRA delegation.”
