UGANDAÂÂ16/2/2004Â20:14
ARCHBISHOP OF GULU EXPLAINS DIFFICULT BUT NOT IMPOSSIBLE PATH TO PEACE
âStop to the war in North Uganda! After nearly twenty years of torment, the idea of resolving the crisis with a war option would mean a continuing waste of timeâ.
This was the statement made to MISNA by Monsignor John Baptist Odama, Archbishop of Gulu and Chairman of the ARLPI (Acholi Religious Leadersâ Peace Initiative). According to the prelate, there is need for the creation of a negotiation platform, with direct platform of Ugandan authorities and all the governments able to promote and facilitate the national reconciliation process with the rebels of the LRA (lordâs Resistance Army) of Joseph Kony.
In this regard â explained Monsignor Odama - the direct involvement of the Sudanese authorities, which for years backed the rebels, must be favoured. âEvery possible action must be taken to put an end to the atrocities and massacresâ, explained the prelate, underlining however that in attendance of a âcease-fireâ it is indispensable to guarantee the safety of the civilians and provision of food and medical aid to the war zones of North Uganda.
Monsignor Odama also urged the international community to monitor the endless human rights violations, condemning the phenomenon of child abductions utilised as child-soldiers, particularly in the districts of Gulu, Kitgum, Pader and Lira. The prelate then launched an appeal for the minors that participated in the conflict to be accompanied to apposite rehabilitation centres.
âWe recently learned that some former rebels, that decided to abandon the rebellion, were enrolled in the armed forces with the intent of utilising them in strategic operationsâ, added the Archbishop of Gulu. âWe believe that this policy is not beneficial to the future of these children and cause of peace. The same for the cases of civilians recruited in popular militias, a particularly evident phenomenon in the district of Lira and more to the south toward Soroti.
In our view, the people must not be armed but protected by the soldiers, avoiding a senseless proliferation of arms and ammunition in the villagesâ. The ARLPI Chairman also urged a major involvement of the international community in North Ugandan events, inserting them in the agenda of the UN Security Council. â
I am convinced that the peace effort â concluded the prelate - regards the entire Ugandan nation, from the government to the civil society, from the institutions to the various religious components present in the territory. This does not rule out that what is occurring in Uganda cannot be considered a âdomesticâ or âmarginalâ affair. It is a drama that touches everyone: Ugandans, Africans, the entire world!â
[BO]
"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
