Paddy Ankunda
5 January 2009
opinion
Kampala — Having read various statements made about the Uganda People's Defence Forces (UPDF) decision to attack the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), I have come to the conclusion that the world never runs out of amusing people.
First were some leaders from northern Uganda who said it was unnecessary to attack the LRA bases and only prudent for the Government to continue with peace talks.
Then came the bragging by one Member of Parliament that the UPDF had actually attacked empty camps. However, the most amusing of them all were the statements attributed to David Matsanga, former chairman of the LRA peace team who alleged that the recent killings of over 400 civilians in Eastern DRC were being committed by the UPDF and not the LRA.
Unfortunately for him, the behaviour of the LRA is well known to many, and so convincing anyone that the killings were committed by the UPDF would be an uphill task.
Secondly, after two-and-a-half years of protracted talks in Juba that produced a final peace agreement which Joseph Kony has refused to sign, it may not be wise to continue with the talks amidst continuous killings and abductions by the LRA.
This concern comes out clearly especially in the recent Presidential Statement made by the UN about the Juba peace process.
The statement was made on the December 22 2008, and read out by Ambassador Nevin Jurica of Croatia, on behalf of the 15-member body, condemning repeated failure of LRA leader Joseph Kony to sign the Final Peace Agreement negotiated between the Government of Uganda and the rebels.
The United Nation Security Council strongly condemned recent attacks by the LRA in the DRC and Southern Sudan, and demanded that it immediately signs the previously the negotiated peace accord.
The Council also recalled that the International Criminal Court (ICC) had issued arrest warrants for LRA's Joseph Kony, Okot Odhiambo and Dominic Ongwen in 2005 on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity, including murder, rape and the enlistment of children through abduction. It reiterated its deep concern at the long-running and brutal insurgency by the LRA, which has caused the death, abduction and displacement of thousands of innocent civilians in Uganda, the Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The statement said the UN demanded that the LRA ceases its recruitment and use of children and that it immediately releases all women, children and other non-combatants.
The Council welcomed the re-establishment of peace and security in northern Uganda, which has seen the LRA disperse into Southern Sudan and eastern DRC, and called on the Ugandan Government to accelerate reconciliation, recovery and development in the north by disbursing anticipated financing without delay. The Council also voiced its support for a joint military operation launched by the DRC, Uganda and Southern Sudan to flush the LRA out of a remote national park in north-eastern DRC.
It called on the LRA to sign the peace accord immediately and begin the process of disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration to ensure a peaceful, political solution to the 21-year-long conflict.
The Council reiterated the need to ensure that impunity will not be condoned whatsoever. "Noting that we attach vital importance to promoting justice and the rule of law, including respect for human rights, as an indispensable element for lasting peace, we reaffirm that ending impunity is essential for a society recovering from conflict to come to terms with past abuses committed against civilians and to prevent their recurrence."
For anybody to try to discredit this joint military action, therefore, is to run away from the popular will that is supported by the international community.
The writer is the spokesman for the defence ministry and the UPDF
Be the first to Write a Comment!
Copyright © 2009 New Vision. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
