Northern war creating radical generation
Biryabarema Elias
Recently I was attending a debate of in Makerere University�s Senate Building. The theme of the debate was, The Unending War in Northern Uganda; Which Way Forward. MPs Nobert Mao, Jacob Oulanyah and Okumu Reagan were there giving their perspectives on the war in the north. But the students from northern Uganda stole the show. From what I heard and saw, unless President Yoweri Museveni takes a decisive step to end this war, he is unwittingly breeding an entire generation of dangerous radicals � potential rebels I could say. Some of the students spat out venom with unimaginable bitterness. I sympathised with them entirely. When you are trapped between death and destruction for 16 years, you naturally tend to ask many questions, some logical, othersillogical. For example, does northern Uganda matter to the government like the rest of the country? This is not an entirely illogical question; it depends on who is asking it.
The point is, President Museveni must end the war, today not tomorrow. Anything less means the situation is creating for Joseph Kony an incredibly rich reserve of human resource to replenish his otherwise depleted ranks.
October 25, 2002 00:58:21
Museveni has done it all to end the war Robert Atuhairwe I am rather taken aback by a deliberate campaign to undermine President Yoweri Museveni�s untiring efforts in trying to defeat Joseph Kony�s LRA and end the bloody rebellion. President Museveni has done whatever is his capacity to bring lasting peace to northern Uganda. No other person can claim to be more concerned about the people�s security. That�s why he is striking a balance between the military and peace talk options. As we know, he is dealing with a tricky bandit. All the same, the LRA have been dislodged from their bases in southern Sudan and the failure to route them completely is only an interim experience. Remember even the mighty US Army failed to achieve its goal of capturing Osama bin Laden. As such, Kony would still elude any other army or president. Museveni�s detractors therefore have no justification of blaming him for the scenario. He rescued the country from Idi Amin and Milton Obote�s fascist regimes and showed his worth when he defeated Alice Lakwena�s Holy Spirit Movement using an ill-equipped NRA fresh from the bush. If we can�t appreciate that, no matter how hard he tries against Kony, there will still be people with unflattering remarks to make. If you really want something wrong with someone, you will always find it. October 25, 2002 00:59:49 Gook
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