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New Vision (Kampala)January 16, 2004
Posted to the web January 16, 2004 Catherine Ntabadde
Kampala THE Government should involve a third party in the peace talks to end the 17-year-old northern rebellion, the head of the European Union delegation, Sigurd Illing, has said."The Lord's Resistance Army doesn't seem to have confidence in the Government.
"Somebody outside the Government should come in to build the confidence. If all other methods have not succeeded, the Government must look for a way out," Illing told The New Vision in Kampala on Tuesday.
He said the international community could not order the Government on the people it should involve in the talks."There is no order of a political programme to start with. There must always be a way out, which nobody has found yet.
The Government seems not to have gone too far with the talks."I know they have some contacts but they have not been able to persuade Joseph Kony to seriously consider negotiations.
The ultimate objective must be to end the conflict," the ambassador said. He said he was optimistic that the war would end, adding, "But it should be as soon as possible. Even the worst problem does not last for that long."Illing said the international community welcomed President Yoweri Museveni's initiative for a presidential peace team to spearhead the talks "but the strategy behind the team was not clear to us."
"Another signal should come from outside the Government. New members should be included. There should be a negotiation team that has full Government support," Illing said.He said there was urgent need to stop the misery of the people in the war-ravaged region.
