PABO: âPROTECTED CAMPâ STILL BURNING
The âprotected campâ for 62,000 displaced people in Pabo (roughly 20 kilometres north of Gulu, northern Uganda), is still burning. So far, the blaze, which started on Sunday, has destroyed roughly 2,000 huts. Following a visit to the camp, MISNA sources say that the fire is still burning, although the people have managed to keep it under control by removing the grass roofs of the huts. However, the scene is desolate, while many refugees have been forced to spend the last two nights in the open. The fire broke out on the same day that soldiers were carrying out a routine search of adult and male refugees for possible weapons. MISNA sources report around 10,000 men had been rounded up in Pabo market and 5,000 in the mission when, at around 11.00 local time, the first flames were spotted. As the fire spread with the help of the wind, the refugees begged the soldiers to allow them to return to their huts to carry their belongings to safety. When they refused, the men tried to climb the boundary fence in the attempt to get away: the soldiers â who it would seem are not supposed to have recourse to arms in âprotected campsâ â threw stones; the refugees responded and five people were injured in the disorder. Contrary to earlier reports, no shots were apparently fired. Meanwhile, an army spokesman has told a local radio station that 800 bullets and several uniforms were confiscated during the search. Pabo was created in 1996 and became the largest and most crowded camp in northern Uganda. Residents claim that the army treats them like the rebels of LRA (lordâs Resistance Army), which has carried out a bloody guerrilla in this area for over 17 years. [LC]
"The lie can be maintained only for such time as the State can shield the people from the political, economic and/or military consequences of the lie. It thus becomes vitally important for the State to use all of its powers to repress dissent, for the truth is the mortal enemy of the lie, and thus by extension, the truth becomes the greatest enemy of the state."
- Dr. Joseph M. Goebbels - Hitler's propaganda minister
