Aswa County MP Reagan Okumu has made a very significant statement on the Lord's Resistance Army rebellion in the north, and the UPDF's response to it.

Speaking at a press conference Wednesday, Okumu who was part of Archbishop Odama's delegation that meet the rebels to push for a negotiated settlement to the war, said there are people BOTH in the government and the LRA who are opposed to peace talks.

Until now, most politicians in the areas of the north that are affected by the war have tended to put most of the burden of ending the war by political means on the government. By extension, they maintained that the war continued because the government didn't want a negotiated end. They also tended to gloss over the fact that LRA was not very keen about a political end to the war either.

The acknowledgement that not everyone in government is opposed to a negotiated settlement is important. First, the message can be sent to the suffering people that the government is not unanimous in opposing peace talks, and thus give them some hope. By the same token, people like Okumu who are brokering peace, should encourage the LRA elements that are for peace to do something that doesn't weaken the pro-talks people in government.

An attack on Acoli Pii refugee camp and the murder of 50 non-combatant civilians, for example, does nothing to advance the cause of a negotiated settlement. Neither do attacks on schools, aid convoys, and religious missions. They undermine the prospects for a political deal significantly. Things like the release of abducted persons by the LRA, on the other hand, help create a positive atmosphere for talks. Good luck, Okumu and Co.