Bigombe for new tactics
THE chief peace talks mediator, Betty Bigombe, has proposed use of incentives to lure the LRA rebel leader and his fighters out of the bush.
By C. Ochowun and A. Odongo
THE chief peace talks mediator, Betty Bigombe, has proposed use of incentives to lure the LRA rebel leader and his fighters out of the bush.
“Mediating peace talks is like wooing a woman, which requires changing of tactics each time you meet. Sometimes I feel I am a punching bag because both sides are blaming me, but I am not about to give up,†Bigombe said.
She said incentives should also be given to those LRA commanders and fighters who have come out of the bush so that they do not become robbers.
“But these incentives should not appear as a reward to the rebels for the atrocities they have committed on the civilians,†she added.
Bigombe was giving a keynote address on peace-building and security to the Amani Forum women parliamentarians from the Great Lakes region at Acholi-Inn in Gulu town on Wednesday.
The delegates, however, said such incentives given to the rebels should not be made known to the war victims, whom the rebels maimed, defiled and raped and whose relatives they killed.
“I hope you will be the eyes and ears of the suffering people in the north and make your leaders know what is going on here,†Bigombe told the Amani Forum.
Bigombe, who travelled by road in her Pajero, was received in Gulu town by Apac Woman MP Betty Amongi, who is also the secretary general of Amani Forum Uganda.
She said since November 13, 2004 up to February 2005, they had had 10 meetings with the LRA in various places.
Bigombe said she assured the LRA leadership and fighters of maximum security by international peace keeping forces during the negotiations.
“We need international observers and monitors to witness the signing of the ceasefire agreement between the LRA and the Government. I talked to Kony on phone when I was in Burundi recently, to arrange for a meeting,†she said.
Bigombe told the women to do practical work other than engaging in discussions on conflict resolutions.
THE chief peace talks mediator, Betty Bigombe, has proposed use of incentives to lure the LRA rebel leader and his fighters out of the bush.
“Mediating peace talks is like wooing a woman, which requires changing of tactics each time you meet. Sometimes I feel I am a punching bag because both sides are blaming me, but I am not about to give up,†Bigombe said.
She said incentives should also be given to those LRA commanders and fighters who have come out of the bush so that they do not become robbers.
“But these incentives should not appear as a reward to the rebels for the atrocities they have committed on the civilians,†she added.
Bigombe was giving a keynote address on peace-building and security to the Amani Forum women parliamentarians from the Great Lakes region at Acholi-Inn in Gulu town on Wednesday.
The delegates, however, said such incentives given to the rebels should not be made known to the war victims, whom the rebels maimed, defiled and raped and whose relatives they killed.
“I hope you will be the eyes and ears of the suffering people in the north and make your leaders know what is going on here,†Bigombe told the Amani Forum.
Bigombe, who travelled by road in her Pajero, was received in Gulu town by Apac Woman MP Betty Amongi, who is also the secretary general of Amani Forum Uganda.
She said since November 13, 2004 up to February 2005, they had had 10 meetings with the LRA in various places.
Bigombe said she assured the LRA leadership and fighters of maximum security by international peace keeping forces during the negotiations.
“We need international observers and monitors to witness the signing of the ceasefire agreement between the LRA and the Government. I talked to Kony on phone when I was in Burundi recently, to arrange for a meeting,†she said.
Bigombe told the women to do practical work other than engaging in discussions on conflict resolutions.