The Juba peace talks entered Day Six on Thursday with negotiators from the Ugandan Government and the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) discussing government's proposed agenda for peace.
At a press conference in Kampala on Thursday, the State Minister for Defense, Ruth Nankabirwa, said each issue in the proposed peace agenda will be discussed individually with the aim of gaining consensus on the path to peace.
Government has proposed nine strategies in the peace process.
They include requirements that the LRA renounce all forms of terrorism, cease all forms of hostility and dissolve itself and disarm completely. Government also asks that the rebels assemble in agreed locations for demobilization, disarmament and documentation. In return it offers Amnesty to all combatants upon successful conclusion of the talks, re-integration of the rebels into productive civilian life, assistance for those who want to return to school, as well as resettlement assistance.
Nankabirwa also announced that Government has given a group of cultural and religious leaders from the Acholi sub-region the permission to travel to the Garamba National Park in the Democratic Republic of Congo to meet rebel leader, Joseph Kony.
The leaders, headed by Acholi Paramount Chief, Rwot Achana Onen, proposed a meeting with Kony as a parallel effort to end the insurgency in northern Uganda.
Nankabirwa said Government welcomes the efforts of the Acholi leaders and said it is willing to do anything to ensure peace in northern Uganda. She said the team expected to meet Kony will be required to keep the Government abreast of any developments in its peace efforts.
As a sign of its willingness to involve more people in the peace process, Nankabirwa disclosed that Government will hold regular meetings with the political opposition to inform it of developments in Juba. She said that although the opposition leaders cannot be included on the peace team, they are free to contribute to the talks as observers.
