Priests Released

By Alfred Wasike and Dennis OjweeTHE army has released the three Roman Catholic priests and sternly warned them against acting “contrary to the procedures governing the conduct of the peace mission.” Fr Carlos Rodriquez Soto, 43, (Spaniard), a member of the Acholi Religious Leaders’ Peace Initiative (ARPI), Fr Guilio Albonese, 43, (Italian), the director of the Catholic missionary news service (MISNA) and Fr Tarcisio Pazzaglia, 68, (Italian) from Pajule Mission, Aruu county, Pader District were arrested at Tuma-Ngur, Labongo Akwanga, about 13 km east of Kitgum town on Wednesday.They were captured after the UPDF rounded them up during alleged peace talks with the Lord’s Resistance Army.Fr. Albonese arrived from Italy last week to take part in the talks. President Yoweri Museveni in June gave the go-ahead to the clergy to broker peace talks with the rebels.In a statement on Thursday on Gulu Radio Freedom 98.6 FM, the army said, “The three Catholic priests were arrested on August 28, 2002 by the UPDF in a battlefield when UPDF exchanged fire with the LRA at Tim-Mangur at Palabek, about 13km on the Kitgum-Palabek road in Kitgum.”“There was no prior notification of the UPDF regarding the movement of the three priests, to meet the rebels in that area as has been the procedure, through Archbishop Odama. The priests were found with drugs, dry cells (batteries) and documents intended to be delivered to the rebels. The three Fathers signed the documents. The priests have been made to make statements to the security and have today (Thursday August 29) been released and warned not to act in that manner again. The statement is correct and signed by them.” But the CMF was quoted by Reuters, a London-based news agency that Carlos and his colleagues had been on a peace mission and had received prior permission from the army to meet the rebels, Fr Mariano Lubich said. Fr Carlos, an assistant to the Gulu Archbishop John Baptist Odama, in a telephone interview with The New Vision however maintained, “I was only with my two colleagues in our pick-up. We neither carried rebels nor guns, nor grenades nor communications gadgets. Fr Tarcisio got permission from local officials in Kitgum to take medicine to the rebel leaders we were going to talk to but it was removed from us by the UPDF at a road block. We also had dry cells for domestic radios.” Fr. Carlos added, “We are very sorry that we did not inform the army in Gulu. We were arrested after we had talked to the rebel leaders for 30 minutes. We had not yet got their names. We are not rebel collaborators. We care for all. In Gulu we were treated very well but not so well in Kitgum. But we forgive. We want to live beyond this incident and realise peace in Uganda.” Acting Italian ambassador to Uganda Gabriel Dimuzio, papal envoy Archbishop Christophe Pierre and the Comboni Missionary Fathers hailed the army for releasing the clergymen but said the peace process should not be “derailed by anyone.” Fr. Carlos was admitted to Lacor Hospital for treatment. He said he was not shot by the UPDF.MISNA said in Rome that the trio had been treated badly in captivity. The Kitgum RDC, Lt Okot Santo Lapolo said the priests did not announce their intentions to security, reports Wokorach-Oboi.“These people did not inform the security well in advance. They did not co-ordinate their movements with the army,” he said.Ends