Ministers End War Drive
Aug 28, 2003
THREE ministers recently completed a 12-day security mobilisation campaign in Acholi districts with a public rally at Boma Grounds in Pader district at which elderly women sang moving Acholi funeral songs, reports <b>Justin Moro.</b>
THREE ministers recently completed a 12-day security mobilisation campaign in Acholi districts with a public rally at Boma Grounds in Pader district at which elderly women sang moving Acholi funeral songs, reports Justin Moro.
State ministers Ruth Nankabirwa for defence, Betty Akech for security and Henry Oryem Okello, for sports started the campaign on August 12 in Gulu district.
Speaking to The New Vision at Acholi Inn Hotel in Gulu after they returned from Pader, Akech said, “The mobilisation has been good and it showed that people are tired of war.â€
Most people in Acholi live in internally displaced (IDP) camps and are eager to see an end to the war so they could go back to their homes, the ministers said.
“The people have been telling us that they want guns to fight LRA rebels alongside the UPDF and have accepted to identify willing able-bodied youth to be trained into Local Defence Units, which is a good idea,†Akech said.
The main purpose of the mobilisation tour was to sensitise the population on the dangers of collaborating with the LRA rebels, which has been one of the reasons the war has dragged on for a long time in the north, Akech said.
The ministers said they had sensitised people their roles in fighting the insurgency and drumming up support from the population to recruit youth into LDUs to boost the UPDF.
The ministers, top UPDF commanders and some MPs addressed the three district councils and held rallies in selected displaced people’s camps in Gulu, Kitgum and Pader districts.
Ends
State ministers Ruth Nankabirwa for defence, Betty Akech for security and Henry Oryem Okello, for sports started the campaign on August 12 in Gulu district.
Speaking to The New Vision at Acholi Inn Hotel in Gulu after they returned from Pader, Akech said, “The mobilisation has been good and it showed that people are tired of war.â€
Most people in Acholi live in internally displaced (IDP) camps and are eager to see an end to the war so they could go back to their homes, the ministers said.
“The people have been telling us that they want guns to fight LRA rebels alongside the UPDF and have accepted to identify willing able-bodied youth to be trained into Local Defence Units, which is a good idea,†Akech said.
The main purpose of the mobilisation tour was to sensitise the population on the dangers of collaborating with the LRA rebels, which has been one of the reasons the war has dragged on for a long time in the north, Akech said.
The ministers said they had sensitised people their roles in fighting the insurgency and drumming up support from the population to recruit youth into LDUs to boost the UPDF.
The ministers, top UPDF commanders and some MPs addressed the three district councils and held rallies in selected displaced people’s camps in Gulu, Kitgum and Pader districts.
Ends