24 June 2009
(Page 4 of 4)
http://www.c-r.org/our-work/accord/northern-uganda/contents.php
Additional resources, including a detailed 16-page report (April 2009), "After Operation Lightning Thunder: Protecting communities and building peace"
http://www.c-r.org/our-work/uganda/uganda-resources.php
(3) "Revisiting 'Operation Lightning Thunder,' by Ronald Atkinson - two-part series in The Independent, Uganda
(http://www.independent.co.ug), June 7, 2009 and June 16, 2009
http://tinyurl.com/nhnxq9 and http://tinyurl.com/njwbpo
Based on recent interviews, including both Ugandan army and former LRA guerrillas who participated in the latest battles, Atkinson provides a detailed account of the military offensive. Atkinson, the author of a standard work on Acholi history, concludes that "the current UPDF incursion into foreign territory in pursuit of the LRA was - and any future incursion will almost certainly remain - a poor risk and poor option, better left undone. The US government should have been a prime candidate to have advised Uganda that this was so. It is unfortunate that it did not. We can only hope that the new US administration will not be so reckless."
(4) Institute for Security Studies, South Africa
"The (Northern) Uganda Peace Process: An Update on Recent Developments," by David Mwaniki, Manasseh Wepundi and Harriet Morolong, February 2, 2009 - 12-page report
http://www.iss.co.za / report at http://tinyurl.com/kmg3ds
"the international and African community needs to embrace a broad integrated approach to ending conflicts in the region, because they are interconnected. And this has been basic thrust of this report
to underscore the regionalisation of the Northern Uganda conflict, and the need for an internationalised approach to resolving this regional conflict system. Leaving the responsibility for an endgame solely to the Kampala administration would likely narrow options down to a military onslaught. As is the case, regional security chiefs from DRC, Southern Sudan and Uganda have already embarked on the military option, which will create a wider, more costly regional humanitarian problem (considering the LRA tactics and the consequences of war). Further, the LRA conflict isn't just rooted in domestic causes but regional diplomatic rivalry has contributed to the conflict. Attempting to crush the rebels without resolving the regional rivalries wouldn't be sustainable."
Short news stories / commentaries
(1) Rosebell Kagumire, "Army cools to calls for fresh LRA operation," Institute for War and Peace Reporting (http://www.iwpr.net) May 29, 2009
http://allafrica.com/stories/200906221327.html
(2) Opiyo Oloya, "Talking to Joseph Kony again is a wiser option," The New Vision, June 16, 2009
http://www.newvision.co.ug/PA/8/20/684921
(3) Human Rights Watch press release, "U.S.: Pass Bill to Protect Ugandan Civilians," May 21, 2009
http://allafrica.com/stories/200905220900.html
(4) Human Rights Watch, "Role of Uganda's Foreign Partners in the Military and Security Sector," April 8, 2009
http://www.hrw.org/en/node/82072/section/13
Guide to background reading [from Chris Blattman's Blog]
http://chrisblattman.blogspot.com
[reading list at http://tinyurl.com/mf4k27]
Contains links to full text of significant studies by Chris Blattman and other researchers, including a paper by Blattman and Jeannie Annan, "On the nature and causes of LRA abduction: What the abductees say," http://www.chrisblattman.org/BlattmanAnnan.LRA.pdf
AfricaFocus Bulletin is an independent electronic publication providing reposted commentary and analysis on African issues, with a particular focus on U.S. and international policies. AfricaFocus Bulletin is edited by William Minter.
AfricaFocus Bulletin can be reached at africafocus@igc.org. Please write to this address to subscribe or unsubscribe to the bulletin or to suggest material for inclusion. For more information about reposted material, please contact directly the original source mentioned. For a full archive and other resources, see http://www.africafocus.org
Be the first to Write a Comment!
Copyright © 2009 AfricaFocus. 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.
