New Vision (Kampala)
June 18, 2003
Posted to the web June 18, 2003
Muhammad Tamale
Kampala
RUBAGA South MP, John Ken Lukyamuzi, has appealed to US President George Bush to push for immediate peace talks between President Yoweri Museveni and Joseph Kony's Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) outside the country.
Lukyamuzi said despite appointing a presidential peace commission, among other measures to get a peaceful end to the northern war, peace talks here have failed due to the rebels' mistrust of the Government. He said foreign ground would enhance their confidence.
Speaking during a press conference at Fairway Hotel yesterday, Lukyamuzi said, "If Museveni during the 1986 guerrilla war against the Tito-Okello Lutwa junta had to go to the Nairobi (January 1986) peace summit, why not the LRA?"
He said Bush, on his highly anticipated African itinerary next month, should use his position as the only president capable of convincing Museveni, given their close relationships, to push for immediate peace talks.
Lukyamuzi was presenting the Conservative Party stand on the 2003/4 budget, which was last week presented to the nation.
