UK Broadsheet Highlights Role of Ugandan Army in the Suffering of the North
The Independent, 15 September 2006:
Uganda Rebels Tell Of Army Atrocities As Victims Call For Justice
By Steve Bloomfield in Gulu, Uganda
"On a clear summer's morning, with the sun beating down on the dirt-red tracks, 12-year-old Jennifer, her older sister and her mother were walking home. They had been tending to their small patch of land, just beyond the borders of the camp set up by the government to protect civilians from attacks by the rebel Lord's Resistance Army. Two soldiers appeared from behind a bush. They took the girls and their mother to a secluded spot before forcing the children to undress. Then, with their mother looking on, the soldiers raped the girls. Once they had finished, the soldiers swapped.
The Acholi people in northern Uganda have had their lives destroyed by 20 years of brutal civil war. The crimes of the LRA have been well documented. Their leaders, including the self-proclaimed "spirit guide", Joseph Kony, have been indicted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for war crimes. But the men who raped Jennifer and Evelyn were not in the LRA. They were the UDPF - the government army sent to the camps to protect people from the LRA.
The attack was not an anomaly. Rights groups have documented a series of violations by the UDPF, including murder, against the people whom they were sent to protect..."
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uNight Executive Director Addresses the UNAA 2006 Convention: Building an Effective Constituency- Recapturing Hope for Uganda's Forgotten Children
... Northern Uganda simply does not get the humanitarian aid, the media exposure, or induce the moral outrage associated with other catastrophes. Some would argue that the Western media and public simply don’t care about Africa. However, as the outcry over Darfur illustrates, this is clearly not the case. So what is so peculiar about northern Uganda? What distinguishes people in northern Uganda from the victims of the Tsunami, Darfur or the war in Iraq is that they lack an effective constituency to speak up for them. The time has come for us to help these thousands of lost children reclaim their future. uNight: For the Children of Uganda, a non-profit organization, was created precisely to do just this. It is uNight’s job - it is our job - to bear witness on behalf of these children.
...In light of the harrowing statistics, ask yourselves about the validity of the claim that Uganda is a "success story." In 2000, in central Uganda, the percentage of the population living in absolute poverty was 20%; whereas in the North, 66% live below the absolute poverty line. What does it say about a nation, your nation, to wax lyrical about its twenty years of peace and prosperity when, for all this time, a third of the country lies in chaos? The rich culture of Acholiland lies in tatters. The North needs help – your help – to rebuild, so that the future of two generations of children is not lost.
...The war in northern Uganda may be drawing to a close, but the real battle against destruction and despair has only just begun. According to the figures in a recent UN report, 90% of deaths in northern Uganda have occurred due to conditions in the camps, while less than 9% has been a result of the actions of the LRA. Therefore, the need for massive reconstruction and development of the North is urgent and critical.
...Let us be thankful for the cessation of hostilities agreed to by the LRA and UPDF this week in Juba. In northern Uganda far too much blood has been spilt and unfathomable atrocities have been committed by both sides. Let us pray for the successful completion of the peace talks. But let us not pause.
...Read the Full Transcript of the Speech.
...View the uNight Slideshow used in conjunction with the speech. (0) comments
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