Africanews
The Uganda Catholic Bishops have appealed to the Ugandan government to adopt a multi-sectorial approach to the nine year insurgency war. The appeals did not yield any results, since the government of President Yoweri Museveni insists that it will not talk to the rebels of the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA). |
The rebels of the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) say they are fighting to have Uganda governed according to the biblical tenets of the ten commandments. The rebels say their fighting inspiration is from God and it is only God who is guiding them in the war against government troops. Lately they have claimed to be fighting for the restoration of multi-party democracy in Uganda.
Last month, the Uganda Episcopal Conference issued a statement calling upon the government to adopt a multi-sectoral approach which the bishops said "would be the most effective and likely to achieve the desired goals." The statement signed by the Chairman of the Uganda Episcopal Conference Bishop Paul Kalanda and Cardinal Emmanuel Wamala, called upon the government to get "new initiatives to achieve peace in northern Uganda."
Cardinal Emmanuel Wamala, the respected head of more than six million Catholics in Uganda wants a soft stance in approaching the war which has plagued an area inhabited by a little more than three million Ugandans of Acholi ethnic group. However, the government has been firm on its part that talking to the rebels would be futile and a waste of' resources.
Uganda's Minister of State for Defence Mr Amama Mbabazi recently said in a policy statement to the parliamentary committee on security and defence that, "the government is not prepared to talk to Joseph Kony, the leader of the LRA. Kony is not the type who would abandon his criminal habits through peace talks anyway. The recent killings of two Acholi elders on a peace mission is testimony of that fact." However, the Minister told the committee that "a presidential pardon is still in force for those who were misled into criminality. Joseph Kony who is the principal author of these crimes will not benefit from it".
There have been mixed reactions from a cross section of Ugandans with diverse political views over the approach to the rebellion which has plagued the northern part of the country. Opinion leaders say the military option appears to have failed to achieve the desired effect since the war has lingered on for long.
The rebels have been abusing their victims indiscriminately and abducting youths apparently to recruit them into their ranks. The population of Gulu district of northern Uganda has been living in terror as rebels strike unexpectedly. The rebels derive their military support from the Sudanese army and are widely believed to have their training camps inside Southern Sudan. Uganda severed diplomatic ties with Sudan in April last year after a grisly massacre of more than 200 innocent civilians by the LRA rebels allegedly instigated by some elements of the Sudanese army.
The traumatised population in the north has continued to live in fear. The rebels have also mined access routes to Gulu town, the northern administrative and commercial town in the region which is 250 kilometres away from the capital Kampala. The army has been trying to rid all the roads leading in and out of Gulu town of landmines. The war in the north of the country has caused a break-down in social services and the closure of some primary schools due to disruptions by rebel attacks.
The Resident District Commissioner of Gulu Mr Louis Otika said recently that up to 100 primary school pupils and 11 teachers have been killed by the rebels in Gulu district alone since July 20 this year. He also confirmed that more than 50 primary schools have been burnt down by the rebels. The army - the Uganda Peoples' Defence Forces (UPDF) - says it wants an additional 2,000 troops to deal with the rebellion and flush out the rebels in a region comprising of two districts, Gulu and Kitgum. In April this year, the army recalled 3,000 ex- combatants into the army to beef the already deployed personnel in the north of the country. Its objective is to saturate the bushy and hilly terrain with its troops.
With a budget of Ush 139.6 billion ($ 139.6 million), the government hopes to integrate the Local Defence Units, (the local community defence patrols) into the mainstream army to help in dealing with the problem. However, the parliamentary committee on security and defence says the budget for the Defence Ministry is still small considering the magnitude of the security problem in northern Uganda.
Earlier peace initiatives to the rebellion were frustrated by the rebels when they killed two local elders sent by the local clan elders to initiate dialogue with them. The Catholic Church also mandated three Bishops to look into the possibility of having dialogue with the rebels. Cardinal Emmanuel Wamala said in a recent public function that "It is time Ugandans joined hands to end the war in northern Uganda".
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