Acholi clergy opposed to military action against Kony

By Anne Mugisa

ACHOLI religious leaders are opposed to the US military strategy against Joseph Kony, saying it will only make the conflict and suffering spill over to more people.

Recently the American government sent troops to Uganda saying that they are to help the UPDF in pursuing Kony and his rebel Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA). Part of the 100 troops would be based in Uganda while others will be in the DRC with the regional forces.

In a press conference on Friday, the chairman of the Episcopal Conference Gulu Archbishop John Baptist Odama said the religious leaders wrote to the American government denouncing the military engagement just as they were beginning to discuss sending troops.

“Our stand as Acholi religious leaders is that we do not want the aspect of pursuing Kony with military means. That is an engagement, isn’t it? History has taught us. Pursuing these people militarily will just make the conflict and suffering spill over to other places,” Archbishop Odama said.

He said that there are other ways that Kony can be brought out peacefully. 

Odama convened a press conference at the Catholic Community Centre in Nsambya to disseminate the outcomes of a one-week international peace workshop which was attended by the victims.

The workshop also attracted people who had experienced war and armed conflict in their home countries in Kenya, Southern Sudan, Zimbabwe, Sierra Leone, DRC, Sri Lanka, Colombia, Germany, Austria and Switzerland.

The workshop, according to Odama, was facilitated by the Gulu Catholic diocese, German Association for Development Cooperation and the German Commission for Justice and Peace. The theme of the workshop was “memory, truth and  justice – dealing with the burden of the past.”

Odama said that northern Ugandan victims of the LRA conflict also warned against the blanket application of the Amnesty Law in Uganda.

“Our fear is that we are witnessing persuasive impunity for serious crimes and human rights violations. The atrocities perpetuated over the 20 years period such as murder, abductions, kidnap with intent to kill, rape, aggravated robbery, destruction of property and other offences should be investigated,” Odama’s statement said.

“While we appreciate the benefits of the Ugandan Amnesty law whose purpose was widely achieved, its continued implementation leaves a lot of open questions regarding its consistency with international humanitarian law,” Odama stated.

Odama said that the concern of the people who attended the workshop was how to deal with the question of impunity.

“We feel that this issue needs to be readdressed for total peace. That is why we are calling for investigations,” he said, adding that the investigations should cover the pre-LRA period, during LRA and the post LRA period.

He noted that investigations should be extended to the whole country where other conflicts also hurt people.

He also called for compensation of the victims, either directly by those who perpetrated human rights against them or those who failed to protect them from those abuses. He did not pin point who falls in which group, saying that there is need to prioritise compensation and rehabilitation.
The cleric also remarked that the peace building process should involve all parties in the environment of the conflict and not be left to the victims and perpetrators only.