So much British imperalist and neo-colonalist propaganda in support of dictator Yoweri Museveni Kaguta.... ... deal with you sons of bitches! Wait till the Godamn place explodes!
MK
Uganda peace efforts at 'make or break' stage: UN's Egeland
by Stuart Price Mon Nov 13, 8:12 AM ET
JUBA, Sudan (AFP) - Efforts to bring peace to war-ravaged northern Uganda are at a "make or break" stage with catastrophic regional consequences for failure, UN humanitarian chief Jan Egeland has warned.
Fresh from an unprecedented meeting in the jungle with Joseph Kony, the elusive leader of the notorious rebel Lord's Resistance Army, Egeland said there was no time to lose in jumpstarting stalled peace
talks.
"So much is at stake," he told reporters in the southern Sudanese capital of Juba, where negotiations began in July to end nothern Uganda's brutal, two-decade conflict but have since stalled.
"This was evidently clear after (Sunday's) visit to the LRA," Egeland said, describing his brief meeting with Kony as "somber" but "historic," despite its inconclusive nature.
"If we succeed in this peace effort, we could get peace to break out in the larger region," he said, pointing areas the rebels have and may move into, including the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Central African Republic.
"If we do not succeed, it may have catastrophic consequences
for not only the parties of the conflict, but also the civilian populations of northern Uganda, southern Sudan, the DRC and CAR," Egeland said.
"Now is make or break time for peace in northern Uganda," he said.
Egeland had hoped to spur the Juba talks with his visit and, in his meeting with Kony, win freedom for women, children and sick people allegedly held against their will by the rebels.
But Kony, one of the world's most-wanted war crimes suspects whose forces are accused of horrific atrocities, denied holding any captives.
"I did not get any agreement on the release of children, but an agreement to stay in contact," Egeland said. "We clearly are in disagreement on some issues. The mood was somber but I felt it was a historic meeting.
"I was encouraged by the LRA saying that they wanted (the war) to come to an end and wanted to come back as a group," he said. "My impressions were that they do want this to come
to an end."
Egeland spoke before leaving southern Sudan for Kampala to brief Ugandan officials on his meetings.
The conflict in northern Uganda has claimed tens of thousands of lives and displaced nearly two million people, and is regularly described as one of the world's worst, and most-forgotten, humanitarian crises by Egeland and others.
Kony and four other top rebel commanders have been charged with war crimes by the International Criminal Court and the matter has become a key stumbling block at the peace talks in Juba.
The LRA are refusing to sign or implement any deal until they are dropped and the Ugandan government has said it will not ask for the charges to be quashed until an agreement is reached.
The rebels had sought the meeting with Egeland to convince him to help with their demand but the UN official said beforehand he would not discuss the issue as The Hague-based court is an independent entity over which he has no control.
"They very clearly stated the ICC indictments are wrong," he said, adding though that: "There is no indication that these (charges) will be lifted."
The impact of Egeland's meeting with Kony on the peace talks was not immediately clear.
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Since reaching a landmark truce in August, the negotiations have stalled with the two sides bickering over the ICC charges, alleged violations of the ceasefire and fundamental issues for a comprehensive settlement.
Egeland lamented the sluggish pace of the talks, particularly disputes over truce violations that should be handled outside the main negotiations.
"The delegates are bogged down by questions that should not even be on the
table," he said, adding that he thought both sides "could do more to instil confidence on the ground."
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