Prosecuting The LRA May Be Unwise
Feb 04, 2004
LET me begin with a personal confession: Ever since we, the religious leaders of Acholi, started direct contacts with the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) in July 2002, in order to lure them and the Government to the negotiating table, we have had plenty of moments of anguish and very few of joy.
Let me begin with a personal confession: Ever since we, the religious leaders of Acholi, started direct contacts with the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) in July 2002, in order to lure them and the Government to the negotiating table, we have had plenty of moments of anguish and very few of joy.
One of these rare moments of joy took place in June last year. After some weeks of patiently telephoning one of the rebel commanders, he agreed to release three young people. Later on, he continued sending us some more until it reached the number of 15. When the first batch came to us I was overjoyed to discover that I knew one of the boys. For the sake of his right to anonymity, I shall call him Patrick.
This young boy was abducted in 1998 and five years later had been given the rank of Captain. I know Patrick's parents very well – many times his mother came to my office to cry on my shoulder. So when he was released, I rushed to tell them the news.
The reunion in Gulu was moving. Later we went to their place of abode some distance from their real home in Acholi, to celebrate a thanksgiving Mass for Patrick.
He is now in a secondary school, resuming studies interrupted five years ago. I cannot say anything else about him, because he asked me to hear his confession. As I gave him the absolution tears run down my cheeks. I am not usually an emotional person, but on that occasion I was overwhelmed by emotion thinking how great God's mercy is – so different from human justice – and how we are all responsible for not having been able to protect Patrick and about 30,000 more children, abducted by the LRA in the last 10 years. At that time I thought he was the one who should have given the absolution to me and many others instead.
On the following day, the neighbours of Patrick's parents who had attended the thanksgiving prayer asked me to come and see them. They shared with me their pain of their missing child. Let me call him David.
Abducted in 1996, from the same village as Patrick, they had recently received information about the LRA group he was commanding as a Major and requested me to do whatever I could to get him back. Once more I felt powerless, with so many desperate parents expecting too much from us.
I read about Luis Moreno Ocampo, the International Criminal Court's (ICC) chief prosecutor announcement that the tribunal's first case will target the LRA leaders and could not help wondering whether boys and girls like Patrick and David, with senior ranks in the LRA, will be soon issued with international arrest warrants.
Will they fall under the category of rebel leaders? Or perhaps the prosecution will be only for the top leaders of the LRA.
Who are the top leaders? The highest ranking LRA commander whom I have ever met face to face is Yardin Tabuley. Forget about some of the information you may have got that he was once with the Uganda National Liberation Army (UNLA) or that he is from Teso. The last time I met Tabuley, in March last year, he was hardly in his early twenties.
Tabuley was abducted in the late eighties from his village in Palabek and escaped in 1991 only to find that his parents had been killed by Government troops and out of anger he re-joined the rebels and quickly became one of its most notorious commanders at the rank of Brigadier.
Some of the children I met who used to be his captives shared with me how he used to tell them not to worry, saying he himself was abducted like them and one day they would also get used to life in the bush.
The LRA has showed such brutality, spread so much terror that anybody raising any objections about their leaders' possible prosecution – or about the intended amendment of the Amnesty Law, would immediately appear as a human monster without any consideration for moral values for condoning such horrific criminal acts.
I do not think, however, that is the point. We, the religious leaders have also had more than our fair share of suffering from the rebel violence and have many times condemned their actions.
We have never turned a blind eye to their crimes. But, as it happens with almost everything else in this 18-year old war that is officially over but in reality has refused to go away, things tend to be more complicated than what meets the eye.
One of the things I have learnt living in Acholi for so many years, is to regard simplistic arguments with mistrust. I have already put my case that a good number of such "rebel leaders" have personal stories that would make them more of the victim than perpetrator. There is no need to say any more about it.
Nevertheless, there is much more: The issuing of such international arrest warrants would practically close once and for all the path to peaceful negotiation as a means to end this long war, crushing whatever little progress has been made during these years at the expense of running tremendous risks.
Obviously, nobody can convince the leaders of a rebel movement to come to the negotiating table and at the same time tell them that they will appear in courts to be prosecuted.
Let me give a well-known example: Why is it that such a high-ranking war criminal as Radovan Karadiz has never been arrested even though his whereabouts are well known? Simply because nobody from the international community wants to put Bosnia's fragile peace process at stake.
The Uganda situation is even more fragile. Perhaps we should look at some other cases on the African continent and ask ourselves what is so different about the Ugandan situation.
l The Government of Khartoum and the SPLA are about to sign a peace agreement in order to put an end to Africa's bloodiest war and one of its longest. Both sides have committed atrocities (including bombing whole villages and abducting children to use as soldiers or slaves). Crime that could fall under the category "crimes against humanity". Would anybody consider taking Bashir and Garang to the ICC for prosecution and therefore throwing away the possibility of a peace accord that could usher in peace and stability?
l Last year, the Government of Burundi and the main rebel group signed a peace agreement after long negotiations in which President Museveni was one of the key mediators. In recent years both sides have massacred dozens and even hundreds of innocent civilians at a time only for belonging to the "wrong ethnic group." Suppose that instead of going ahead with the negotiations somebody had taken the rebel leaders to the ICC for prosecution. What would have been the consequences?
l Again, President Museveni, in his capacity as current chairman of IGAD, is mediating among the different warring factions of Somalia. Could anybody consider taking the leaders of some of these fighting groups who have attacked villages of rival clans and killed innocent human beings like flies, to the ICC and thus stop the negotiating process?
l Last year, the two fighting forces of Liberia, involved in one of Africa's cruelest wars, signed a ceasefire agreement that made it possible to have some peace and stability in the country. If anybody had indicted the LURD rebels for war crimes (which they certainly committed at a great scale), would there be peace in Liberia now?
l Apartheid itself was labelled by United Nations as a "crime against humanity" and it most certainly was. Nevertheless, South Africans under Mandela's wise leadership, were able to put the past behind them and negotiate a way out by forgiving the perpetrators. Would that have been possible if the leaders of the apartheid regime had been threatened with international arrest warrants?
l In Uganda, we have the case of the rebel group Uganda National Rescue Front II (UNRF II). At the end of 2003, the Government of Uganda signed a peace agreement with them in Yumbe. A Few years ago, my sister used to work with Sudanese refugees in West Nile and told me how she saw beheaded bodies of innocent refugees after a UNRF II attack. I have no doubt that such horrible crimes would have made their leaders eligible for international prosecution. Had that been the case, what would have been the consequences for West Nile? Moreover, would the Government of Uganda also consider taking the Sudanese Government to the ICC for having armed, trained and sheltered the LRA in its territory and having given them the means to commit such horrific atrocities?
Finally, I would like to add that in my experience and that of other members of Acholi Religious Leaders' Peace Initiative (ARLPI), the biggest stumbling block to a peaceful solution to the war in the North is the deep mistrust that the Government of Uganda and the LRA have for each other.
To be fair, I would say that to gain the LRA's confidence has always been for a number of reasons, difficult. In order to get over this hurdle, one of the ways is to get guarantees for their own security through the international community. If they perceive now that one of the international bodies is after them, there will be no way to convince them to come to the negotiating table with international guarantees as they are only likely to think of more and more violence (I would be most happy to be mistaken, by this).
If the violence escalates, I am afraid that more children like Patrick and David are likely to be forced into the LRA ranks and become one day "rebel leaders." Is there no other way to break this deadly cycle once and for all?
It is a pity that after September 11, with the new ideology of "fighting world terrorism," it has become more difficult to advocate peace by means of dialogue and those of us who consistently do so are at the risk of being regarded with suspicion. If other people who are in favour of the LRA prosecution by the ICC – whose views I do not share, but I do respect would like to give their opinion about my reflections, I would be happy to hear from them. I only beg them to do so with arguments, and not with adjectives.
Fr. Carlos RodrÃguez, Advocacy Officer. ARLPI
One of these rare moments of joy took place in June last year. After some weeks of patiently telephoning one of the rebel commanders, he agreed to release three young people. Later on, he continued sending us some more until it reached the number of 15. When the first batch came to us I was overjoyed to discover that I knew one of the boys. For the sake of his right to anonymity, I shall call him Patrick.
This young boy was abducted in 1998 and five years later had been given the rank of Captain. I know Patrick's parents very well – many times his mother came to my office to cry on my shoulder. So when he was released, I rushed to tell them the news.
The reunion in Gulu was moving. Later we went to their place of abode some distance from their real home in Acholi, to celebrate a thanksgiving Mass for Patrick.
He is now in a secondary school, resuming studies interrupted five years ago. I cannot say anything else about him, because he asked me to hear his confession. As I gave him the absolution tears run down my cheeks. I am not usually an emotional person, but on that occasion I was overwhelmed by emotion thinking how great God's mercy is – so different from human justice – and how we are all responsible for not having been able to protect Patrick and about 30,000 more children, abducted by the LRA in the last 10 years. At that time I thought he was the one who should have given the absolution to me and many others instead.
On the following day, the neighbours of Patrick's parents who had attended the thanksgiving prayer asked me to come and see them. They shared with me their pain of their missing child. Let me call him David.
Abducted in 1996, from the same village as Patrick, they had recently received information about the LRA group he was commanding as a Major and requested me to do whatever I could to get him back. Once more I felt powerless, with so many desperate parents expecting too much from us.
I read about Luis Moreno Ocampo, the International Criminal Court's (ICC) chief prosecutor announcement that the tribunal's first case will target the LRA leaders and could not help wondering whether boys and girls like Patrick and David, with senior ranks in the LRA, will be soon issued with international arrest warrants.
Will they fall under the category of rebel leaders? Or perhaps the prosecution will be only for the top leaders of the LRA.
Who are the top leaders? The highest ranking LRA commander whom I have ever met face to face is Yardin Tabuley. Forget about some of the information you may have got that he was once with the Uganda National Liberation Army (UNLA) or that he is from Teso. The last time I met Tabuley, in March last year, he was hardly in his early twenties.
Tabuley was abducted in the late eighties from his village in Palabek and escaped in 1991 only to find that his parents had been killed by Government troops and out of anger he re-joined the rebels and quickly became one of its most notorious commanders at the rank of Brigadier.
Some of the children I met who used to be his captives shared with me how he used to tell them not to worry, saying he himself was abducted like them and one day they would also get used to life in the bush.
The LRA has showed such brutality, spread so much terror that anybody raising any objections about their leaders' possible prosecution – or about the intended amendment of the Amnesty Law, would immediately appear as a human monster without any consideration for moral values for condoning such horrific criminal acts.
I do not think, however, that is the point. We, the religious leaders have also had more than our fair share of suffering from the rebel violence and have many times condemned their actions.
We have never turned a blind eye to their crimes. But, as it happens with almost everything else in this 18-year old war that is officially over but in reality has refused to go away, things tend to be more complicated than what meets the eye.
One of the things I have learnt living in Acholi for so many years, is to regard simplistic arguments with mistrust. I have already put my case that a good number of such "rebel leaders" have personal stories that would make them more of the victim than perpetrator. There is no need to say any more about it.
Nevertheless, there is much more: The issuing of such international arrest warrants would practically close once and for all the path to peaceful negotiation as a means to end this long war, crushing whatever little progress has been made during these years at the expense of running tremendous risks.
Obviously, nobody can convince the leaders of a rebel movement to come to the negotiating table and at the same time tell them that they will appear in courts to be prosecuted.
Let me give a well-known example: Why is it that such a high-ranking war criminal as Radovan Karadiz has never been arrested even though his whereabouts are well known? Simply because nobody from the international community wants to put Bosnia's fragile peace process at stake.
The Uganda situation is even more fragile. Perhaps we should look at some other cases on the African continent and ask ourselves what is so different about the Ugandan situation.
l The Government of Khartoum and the SPLA are about to sign a peace agreement in order to put an end to Africa's bloodiest war and one of its longest. Both sides have committed atrocities (including bombing whole villages and abducting children to use as soldiers or slaves). Crime that could fall under the category "crimes against humanity". Would anybody consider taking Bashir and Garang to the ICC for prosecution and therefore throwing away the possibility of a peace accord that could usher in peace and stability?
l Last year, the Government of Burundi and the main rebel group signed a peace agreement after long negotiations in which President Museveni was one of the key mediators. In recent years both sides have massacred dozens and even hundreds of innocent civilians at a time only for belonging to the "wrong ethnic group." Suppose that instead of going ahead with the negotiations somebody had taken the rebel leaders to the ICC for prosecution. What would have been the consequences?
l Again, President Museveni, in his capacity as current chairman of IGAD, is mediating among the different warring factions of Somalia. Could anybody consider taking the leaders of some of these fighting groups who have attacked villages of rival clans and killed innocent human beings like flies, to the ICC and thus stop the negotiating process?
l Last year, the two fighting forces of Liberia, involved in one of Africa's cruelest wars, signed a ceasefire agreement that made it possible to have some peace and stability in the country. If anybody had indicted the LURD rebels for war crimes (which they certainly committed at a great scale), would there be peace in Liberia now?
l Apartheid itself was labelled by United Nations as a "crime against humanity" and it most certainly was. Nevertheless, South Africans under Mandela's wise leadership, were able to put the past behind them and negotiate a way out by forgiving the perpetrators. Would that have been possible if the leaders of the apartheid regime had been threatened with international arrest warrants?
l In Uganda, we have the case of the rebel group Uganda National Rescue Front II (UNRF II). At the end of 2003, the Government of Uganda signed a peace agreement with them in Yumbe. A Few years ago, my sister used to work with Sudanese refugees in West Nile and told me how she saw beheaded bodies of innocent refugees after a UNRF II attack. I have no doubt that such horrible crimes would have made their leaders eligible for international prosecution. Had that been the case, what would have been the consequences for West Nile? Moreover, would the Government of Uganda also consider taking the Sudanese Government to the ICC for having armed, trained and sheltered the LRA in its territory and having given them the means to commit such horrific atrocities?
Finally, I would like to add that in my experience and that of other members of Acholi Religious Leaders' Peace Initiative (ARLPI), the biggest stumbling block to a peaceful solution to the war in the North is the deep mistrust that the Government of Uganda and the LRA have for each other.
To be fair, I would say that to gain the LRA's confidence has always been for a number of reasons, difficult. In order to get over this hurdle, one of the ways is to get guarantees for their own security through the international community. If they perceive now that one of the international bodies is after them, there will be no way to convince them to come to the negotiating table with international guarantees as they are only likely to think of more and more violence (I would be most happy to be mistaken, by this).
If the violence escalates, I am afraid that more children like Patrick and David are likely to be forced into the LRA ranks and become one day "rebel leaders." Is there no other way to break this deadly cycle once and for all?
It is a pity that after September 11, with the new ideology of "fighting world terrorism," it has become more difficult to advocate peace by means of dialogue and those of us who consistently do so are at the risk of being regarded with suspicion. If other people who are in favour of the LRA prosecution by the ICC – whose views I do not share, but I do respect would like to give their opinion about my reflections, I would be happy to hear from them. I only beg them to do so with arguments, and not with adjectives.
Fr. Carlos RodrÃguez, Advocacy Officer. ARLPI