Donors want negotiations

Feb 27, 2004

REPRESENTATIVES of the donor community yesterday called for a negotiated settlement of the conflict in northern Uganda

By Felix Osike

REPRESENTATIVES of the donor community yesterday called for a negotiated settlement of the conflict in northern Uganda following the gruesome murder of over 200 civilians by the Kony rebels in Lira.

A statement by the donor group, Amnesty International and Recovery from Conflict NGO delivered to the Speaker of Parliament, Edward Ssekandi, said the conflict must be resolved now to avert more suffering in that region.
“We wish to once again urge the government to explore all the avenues to resolve the conflict including helping to create a climate in which a negotiated solution might be found,” said the statement.

The donors said they were willing to assist in any meaningful way. The group also endorsed Parliament’s resolution urging the Government to declare northern Uganda a disaster area. “We acknowledge Parliament’s request for humanitarian assistance to be provided in the north .We will continue to provide such assistance subject to security concerns. We call on the government to provide security for humanitarian deliveries,” the statement said.

The Cabinet rejected the resolution saying there was no disaster in the north. But Ssekandi said all the MPs including ministers passed the resolution.
“It was not a resolution by the backbenchers alone. It was a resolution by the front bench too. I don’t see any dissention, I see its implementation,” said Ssekandi.
He said he was yesterday due to lead a delegation of MPs to Kitgum, Gulu and Lira to show solidarity with the affected people.

The donors also condemned the inter-ethnic clashes between the Langi and the Acholi. They rejected the Government’s assertion that restrictions on Defence expenditure had impeded the UPDF’s capacity to defend the civilians. They also called on Uganda and Sudan to cooperate in providing security on the common border.

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