Congolese women leaders visit Gulu
Jul 04, 2011
WOMEN leaders from the Democratic Republic of Congo, Central African Republic (CAR) and Southern Sudan have visited Acholi sub-region.
By Chris Ocowun
WOMEN leaders from the Democratic Republic of Congo, Central African Republic (CAR) and Southern Sudan have visited Acholi sub-region.
The tour is part of the cross-border peace building and advocacy efforts by religious leaders in Northern Uganda to end conflict in countries affected by the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) war.
The 26 women peace advocates visited the home of LRA leader, Joseph Kony, last week and shared experiences with his relatives and the communities.
They also visited the site of the Atiak massacre in which over 250 civilians were killed by the LRA rebels in 1995.
The trip was funded by Conciliation Resources, a charity organisation based in the UK.
Tatiana Ozojiri from Bangui in Central African Republic said they wanted to see for themselves the atrocities committed by LRA rebels in the region.
“The LRA rebels are abducting, killing and sexually abusing women in our country and we wanted to see if these rebels committed the same atrocities in northern Uganda,†she said.
Ozojiri urged the women peace advocates to unite and work with their governments to end the conflict.
“Our governments should get the root cause of this conflict and address it. We used to think that Kony was sent from Uganda to CAR to kill us, but we went to his home and found that he killed even his own relatives. We need to seek God’s help to see that Kony faces justice,†Ozojiri said.
WOMEN leaders from the Democratic Republic of Congo, Central African Republic (CAR) and Southern Sudan have visited Acholi sub-region.
The tour is part of the cross-border peace building and advocacy efforts by religious leaders in Northern Uganda to end conflict in countries affected by the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) war.
The 26 women peace advocates visited the home of LRA leader, Joseph Kony, last week and shared experiences with his relatives and the communities.
They also visited the site of the Atiak massacre in which over 250 civilians were killed by the LRA rebels in 1995.
The trip was funded by Conciliation Resources, a charity organisation based in the UK.
Tatiana Ozojiri from Bangui in Central African Republic said they wanted to see for themselves the atrocities committed by LRA rebels in the region.
“The LRA rebels are abducting, killing and sexually abusing women in our country and we wanted to see if these rebels committed the same atrocities in northern Uganda,†she said.
Ozojiri urged the women peace advocates to unite and work with their governments to end the conflict.
“Our governments should get the root cause of this conflict and address it. We used to think that Kony was sent from Uganda to CAR to kill us, but we went to his home and found that he killed even his own relatives. We need to seek God’s help to see that Kony faces justice,†Ozojiri said.