The fact is that the NRM Military dictatorship, as a matter of policy, is
engaged in a belligerent , deliberate calculating move to totally lay waste of
the Karamojongs and Karamoja land.
Indeed, we must ask our self: what sort of disarmament exercise is the UPDF
involved in which take 20 years to accomplished?
Despite Ruth Nakabirwa's claims that the Military exercise against the
Karamojong was quote "successful"..many many fellow citizens have lost their
lives needlessly,
in this so called UPDF exercise. The price to win NRM's war against the
Karamojong, just the price to win NRM's wars in Northern Uganda, in terms of
Human Life, is unacceptable.This then is the point! That stated, NRM Military
option to forcefully disarm the Karamojongs has failed period .The question
MUST the NRM continue with a failed WAR policies which it has persued for 20
years against the Karamojong? why not pursue alternative peaceful political
avenue ( through negotiations) to address the Karamojong issue?
Matek
Uganda rejects UN call to stop forcible disarmament in northeast
by Vincent Mayanja Fri Nov 24, 11:29 AM ET
KAMPALA (AFP) - Uganda has rejected a UN call to stop forcibly disarming
tribal warriors in its restive northeast where UN officials say the army has
killed 55 civilians with "indiscriminate and excessive force."
Ugandan officials said Friday the operation was successful and would not be
halted despite local outcry in the remote Karamoja region and this week's
appeal for it to be stopped by UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise
Arbour.
Despite reports of abuses, including summary executions, arbitrary arrests,
torture and rape, they said forceful disarmament was needed to restore order in
the lawless area, which is rife with banditry and cattle rustling.
"It is true that some people were killed, but in an operation where both
sides are armed, you should expect such things to happen," said Uganda's deputy
defense minister Ruth Nankabirwa.
"We shall, however, continue with the operation," she told AFP, noting that
the deaths reported since violent resistance to the program erupted on October
29 were not confined to civilians and that 20 soldiers had been killed.
"I get perturbed when they (the UN) keep quiet about the abuses by the
warriors," she said. "We have people in coffins because of these Karamojong
warriors."
Karamoja is the least developed area of Uganda and its residents, mainly the
Karamojong, have a history of belligerence with Kampala, which they accuse of
leaving them defenseless against rival tribes with the disarmament scheme.
The military says the program has been a success, collecting about 3,500
guns, many of them assault rifles, since it was launched in May, despite noting
a surge in apparently well-planned and -coordinated resistance.
"It would take a fool to stop this exercise because it has been productive,"
army spokesman Major Felix Kulaije told AFP, stressing that any abuses by the
military "will be investigated and those responsible court-martialed".
On Thursday in Geneva, Arbour called on the Ugandan government to halt the
disarmament program, citing a litany of human rights abuses reported against
civilians.
"The ... exercise in Karamoja must stop until adequate measures have been put
in place to ensure the safety, security and full human rights protection of
civilians, including women and children," she said in a statement.
In an accompanying report, Arbour said the army had killed at least 55
civilians, including women and children, between October 29 and November 15,
adding that an unknown number of Ugandan soldiers had also been killed.
The government's official death toll from the violence is 39, including
soldiers.
The UN report said 68 people had been arbitrarily arrested and noted 14 cases
of torture or inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment, the rape of one
woman and the burning or destruction of over 200 homesteads.
The report also said that more than 500 people had been displaced in one
district of Karamoja alone.
"These events demonstrate the indiscriminate and excessive use of force by
the (army) and the failure of the government of Uganda to take adequate
measures to protect all persons under its jurisdiction," it said.
It said "grave human rights abuses" had occurred.
Nankabirwa said the allegations of abuses laid out by the UN report were
being investigated and that the rape case had been turned over to police.
Arbour urged Uganda to ensure "an impartial, transparent and timely
investigation into the human rights violations and abuses ... to establish
accountability, punish the perpetrators and protect the rights of victims."
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