Ay Barbara Among
13 March 2009
(Page 2 of 2)
Failing to kill Kony or to seriously wound the LRA creates a precarious situation particularly for those who find themselves in the path of a vengeful rebel group. LRA slipping back into Uganda or dispatching sleeper cells already in the country could mean reprisal attacks that can send panic through the northern Uganda that is just beginning to get back on its feet.
The supposed objective of the Operation Lightning Thunder, to "force" Kony into signing the final peace agreement now appears unlikely. He failed to sign on numerous occasions in 2008, and the tactic of bombing for peace does not seem persuasive.
Gallivanting around DRC and CAR, however tiresome it may sound, is still a far better option for the LRA commanders, especially those with ICC arrest warrants hanging over their heads, than being tried and found guilty of war crimes and crimes against humanity by either a national or international court.
Moreover, if Kony feared for his safety before, he has even more reason to be distrustful of the Government now. In any case, he will not feel any more secure assembling in a designated area, as per the agreement, after his troops have been gunned down by the UPDF.
The Government must ensure the LRA is critically wounded. Such a victory would score political points for the Museveni regime both in and out of Uganda.
LRA has remained a nuisance for many years, but has never been an existential threat, especially since northern Uganda has never been President Museveni's base and has often actively opposed him politically.
But as the north develops, and opposition grows in the central region and support from other movement stronghold dwindles, the support of the north will be required.
IN THEIR WORDS ON THE ATTACK ON GARAMBA
"I have delivered a special message from General Kony to president Chissano. We want a halt in fighting. We are calling for a ceasefire," David Nyekorach Matsanga the LRA spokesperson.
"Kony called and told me he wants to talk peace. I am calling upon President Museveni to call for a ceasefire. We should re-open the negotiations," Matsanga.
"I have had contact with (Kony) him today. Everybody is well," Matsanga asserted soon after the operation was launched.
"Mandela was in jail for 25 years. He never lost hope. Why do we lose hope so easily?" he lamented. The attack came when Kony was preparing to talk to President Museveni. Some people in government want military action. Let them try. As negotiators, we played our part." Matsanga
"The camps that were hit had people, but the military is not giving information now." Matsanga
"It is not only Kony demanding for a ceasefire. The Acholi leaders also want a peaceful end to the rebellion." Betty Aol Ocan, Gulu Woman MP.
"President Museveni has never made it a secret that his first option in resolving the long conflict in the north is through military action. Museveni has always been the most reluctant peace negotiator," Nobert Mao, Gulu LCV chairperson.
"A military defeat of the LRA by itself is not enough to deal with the historical grievances that constitute this complex question. At worst, it may just be a curtain raiser for another more virulent armed resistance. Unless the interests of the concerned communities are taken care of, any peace will be tentative-lacking durability," Mao
"The current operation in the forests of Garamba has brought back the question about the desirability, impact and even legitimacy of a military solution to the conflict," Mao
"Aerial bombardments are not precise operations. Chances of the rescuers harming those they intend to rescue are a reality that cannot be denied. Did the raid surprise Kony? The answer is no. Kony has for long been expecting an attack," Mao
"Missions such as Operation Lightning Thunder should be swift with rapid results. When the Israelis launched Operation Thunderbolt at Entebbe it lived up to its name. In less than an hour all the hostages, but one, were on their way home," Mao
"The reason given for the attack is that the leader of the LRA, Gen. Joseph Kony, has refused to sign the final peace agreement. President Yoweri Museveni has not yet also signed the same. What moral authority does Uganda have to attack the LRA for failing to do what Uganda herself has not yet done?" Livingstone Okello Okello, chairperson Acholi Parliamentary Group
"More than 99% of LRA combatants and their wives, not to mention many children born in the bush, were abducted. They were abducted because the State of Uganda failed to protect them. It is a double crime for the state to follow these abducted people and destroy them in the bush," Livingstone Okello Okello
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Only those who stood on the truth will survive. Those with false propagandas may only prolong the suffering of innocent people, through military support of outsiders. That was true for ‘Field Marshal Amin’ the Life president of Uganda, Mengistu of Ethiopia., and Saddam Hussein of Iraq or Said Bare of Somalia or Charles Taylor of Liberia. The Eritrean people, The Kurds of Iraq and the people of Somaliland liberated themselves from their dictators. There are no doubt the people of Anchole and Lange in northern Uganda will gain their freedom.
Only those who stood on the truth will survive. Those with false propagandas may only prolong the suffering of innocent people, through military support of outsiders. That was true for ‘Field Marshal Amin’ the Life president of Uganda, Mengistu of Ethiopia., and Saddam Hussein of Iraq or Said Bare of Somalia or Charles Taylor of Liberia. The Eritrean people, The Kurds of Iraq and the people of Somaliland liberated themselves from their dictators. There are no doubt the people of Anchole and Lange in northern Uganda will gain their freedom.
Museveni is among the ghost president , the most stupid ever see, a zombie and thug , but his days are counted I tell you he is the enemy of peace and developement he is nothing , loose , careless, irressiponsible and a western puppet He has killed the nothern ugandan people and he's still opressing his people He has to think why Kony is fighting and the fate of the ugandan gov't Nomonating his wife as a minister , just a mere secretary typist , ha ha ha ,shame on him he'll never win the war against LRA , he'll come with shame and I don't know what he'll say to Ugandan people. Now as always stupid he wants to be the 1st president of the Easter African federcation, he can't and he'll never God is always strong and will never let a stupid guy like him to rule over the great East African community Shame on you museveni the stupid guy
That Demon Kony is finally being hunted down, and with great cooperation among neighbors, is great news for anyone with even a modicum of decency and moral rectitude. That anyone could actually be blaming the government for his heinous atrocities over decades is either the apex of absurdity, or the comments of the most tribalist and racist organization that has ever been known. I know now that anything put forth by the Acholi Parliamentary Group must have base, ungodly genocidaires, as its authors.
Suggestion for those that recognize the evil of he madmen who run the “LRA” and what kind of lowlife organization or group would support it : Make sure your government is in no way supporting not on the LRA, but the Acholi Parliamentary Group in any fashion, be it in word, deed, or economic. I intend to find out if so much a single US cent as gone to these killers and / or their supporters, and if that cent has, then they had better be ready to explain that publically. Pray for the soldiers in the bush, risking all, to bring a group of some of the most vile, bloodthirsty individuals in the history of mankind to justice, or a just death.