Catholic Information Service for Africa (Nairobi)
19 December 2008
Gulu — A Catholic archbishop in war-torn northern Uganda has accused the government of engaging in an unreasonable war against the rebel Lord's Resistance Army.
Even if the government succeeded in killing LRA leader Joseph Kony and his chief lieutenants, that would not bring peace to the north, said Archbishop John Baptist Odama of Gulu.
"What is happening is unreasonable and unjustifiable. The rebel and government delegations had reached an accord and all that was missing were the signatures of the rebel leader Joseph Kony and President Yoweri Museveni," the archbishop told MISNA news agency.
"Impatience instead prevailed; the spirit of peace, compassion, tolerance and will for reconciliation were cast aside; no, there was no need for a war. War always brings grief, dire consequences, hatred, resentment and the desire of revenge".
A joint Ugandan, Congolese and Sudanese military offensive is underway in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo against the Ugandan the LRA. According to Archbishop Odama, mistakes were made in the peace process, so that in the end the 'hawks', who opted for war rather than compromise, won.
"Before signing, Kony had asked to wait for the decision of the International Criminal Court because he was concerned about his safety. Unfortunately, this decision never arrived. The bombings we hear about, though know nothing about, are surely taking lives and will have consequences".
Archbishop Odama added that the people of northern Uganda fear that the fighting will spread and the entire area will once again become a battlefield.
"In any case, even if Kony were killed and his group destroyed, the matter would be far from over because there are problems that are rooted deeper than what appears, and war is certainly not the way to resolve them."
Meanwhile, eastern DR Congo has been the theatre of a joint military offensive since last Sunday. Sources there told MISNA that the main LRA bases were bombed.
"The bombs that are exploding in these hours in the Garamba Park are undoubtedly not making a distinction between combatants and civilians; women and children are losing their lives and unfortunately reaping new seeds of hatred and resent", Archbishop Odama said.
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