The article below was written by Mr. Were. I do not know why Emmanuel Musaazi decided to leave his name out. He also left out the response to this letter written by James Orach, and deliberately attributed Were's writing to James Lukang. I have included Lukang's response immediately after Were's.
Ochan Otim
At 03:04 PM 3/12/2004 -0500, you wrote:
On Were's Writing
James Orach Lukang
>Date: Thu, 15 Aug 1996 19:32:37 -0500 (CDT)
>From: mw >Subject: Attn Walubo
>X-Listname: UGANDA DISCUSSION LIST >
>Dear Dr. Walubo,
>
>I do not see why you should waste your bites with this LRA/UPDA/Acholi thing.
>These people you have to understand have a problem which did not start >yestarday, in 1986,1980,1960 etc. Dr. Otto tried to bring the issue out >but it seems you may have missed it. There is a section of greedy people >in that society who hold public opinion who have turned that society >around. They have cultivated lies of hatred just to win their own >personal interests. What is interesting though is that members of this >society do not sift through all what they are told and divide what is >truth and what is not. Even those who have goten the chance of living >different lifestyles. What seems to hold the Acholi society together in >unison is this sense of foreign betrayall, hate that thrives on lies and >bigotry.
>
>One Acholi academic suggested that the army in uganda(UPDA) should be >abolished, but he declined to say the same for the LRA. Now, abolish the >UPDA, withdraw troopes from the war zone and send them home so that the >LRA can just march to the rest of the country? With their good record? >These are types of messages that these opinion leaders in that society >sell around. Even if one was anti-government today, he would just see >this as unworkable.
>
>To reinforce the point about how this society has been misled, when Owiny >Dollo tells parliament that the war in the north is a consequence of >insecurity, an Acholi academic all over a sudden wakes up with his >conclusions on the UPDA, government etc. The insecurity was caused by the >likes that Dr.Otto mentioned in his posting. You plant this insecurity in >the people that there is a master plan to kill all the Acholis or take >them as slaves to work in the Lubiri. This was not the work of the NRA. >Even during the Democratic dictatorship of Obote, the Acholis had this >insecurity that is why they went around arresting , killing and beating >up people. The same method was used by Cecilia Ogwall while on campaing >in Lira, where she said that 50,000 sons of Lango were taken to Mbarara >and killed, she even broke into tears. What do you expect the population >to decipher from this?
>
>More can even be seen from postings of Brother Ochan Otim and his friend >from Kampala. If you want to tell a lie to get your message across the >whole population and not Acholis only, thenm tell a calculated >lie(distorted truth). But such exegerated lies merely assist to widen the >distrust the rest of the country have in the Acholis as the people. This >is a fact even a young child of 12 can never trustly associate with >another Acholi child just because of their history. Things are only >getting worse.
>
>Therefore the war in the North is an Acholi making and it is only a >culture gone astray. It is therefore up to the peoples of that part of >the country to wake up and trust other peoples of the country. Otherwise >forever, whoever associates with a southerner is a traitor, whoever is >appointed by m7 to help solve Acholi's problem is rejected. So what?
>
>That is my case.
From: Lukang Orach:
I am under a very strong impression that many parents would not be proud of a son? like you, at least not in public. Do you really THINK before writing or the other way around ? Look, Were, it may be imperative to know what you are talking about or just be a good listerner. Let me tell you that if such obnoxious writings are calculated to hurt those who come from Northern Uganda then you have left them so unimpressed that you are, to them , akin to an afterbirth.
First, to claim that the war in the North is an Acholi thing leaves a lot to be desired. I am assuming that you are an adult who can give a personal account of what happened in Uganda's political arena, at least, from Amin's '70 to today - Museweri's 90.
Do you recall making the same claim in the 80s that the 'bayekera's' Luweero Triangle was a Baganda thing ? Now the bayekera is the government! Will you call the next uprising in Samia-Bugwe against whichever regime to come, God forbid, a Basamia-Bagwere thing ?
Do you see sense in such topic being of national debate in the Uganda parliament by people Basamia-Bagwere pay taxes to pay their salaries? Or is it a culture gone astray ? How much do you know of this people's culture to warrant this absurd assertions?
- ADVICE: These are culturally very rich people; remember the Heart
Beat of Africa?
The history of Uganda from the sixties, in particular the Lubiri Crisis, has been retold so many times that I need not take any more of your brain space on it [I refer you to gallant Yoswa's posting on the subject].
In the 70s, Amin murdered lots of them, among other Ugandans, including the late Janani Luwum (who was archbishop of Church of Uganda). Were these Acholi advocating for a greedy, local Acholi thing ?
In the 80s, there was a general national election in which ever part of Uganda participated. Even at the time when "Museweri's" UPM was considered as 'a kid with shit in the ass', many part of Acholi constituencies had UPM candidates. In my constituency I do remember that apart from the CP, the rest of the parties had contestants( i.e. UPC, DP & UPM). Did yours have all four candidates or even two? I doubt three!! Then the internationally acclaimed free and fair elections were "rigged" and some people took to the bush.
- QUESTION: Was the government they were fighting not elected by
Ugandan majority?
Newspapers such as Nga'bo, Munno and the Citizen gave elaborate coverage of these atrocities. Kawanga Ssemogerere used the Citizen reports as testimony to the Amnesty International. As a concerned politician and citizen, he was more than right. The world condemned it, and blamed the government for it . But to you, Were, such government (forces) are a people- Acholi. Just like the Lubiri Crisis must be blamed on the Acholi. Can you tell me how this Acholi people get to lash out their "hates, lies and bigotry" on any part of Uganda unchecked for many years ?
Obote's UPC was toppled.
- INFO: Sources has it that Obote was toppled among other things
because he objected to the idea of buying and/or using helicopter gunship
on Uganda soil for its obvious consequences to the civilians.
Then NRA leadership embarked on the task of demystifying the North. Let me assure you, Were, that Acholi as a people opposed any war in their homes.
But events led to Lakwena I &II, UPDM/A, Kony , Juma Oris, etc I do not want to jolt your brain with too much but now all you [we] know is Kony's LRA.
- ADVICE: Guns were collected and given to gov't and former soldiers
cleared as requested but later, so were these ex-soldiers and young males
by gov't soldiers to Luriza, etc.
In terms of those skulls [we] Ugandans have not fully recovered from, how many such skull do you think are recreated in the North? Oh Well, I forgot, it is an Acholi thing!!
Unlike Luweero, where government soldiers were held accountable for the lost of lives and properties, to you, all responsibilities must be put on Kony/Acholi for what is happening in the North.
- ADVICE: we blame gov't for not protecting us not a muyekera who blows
up a bus to gain recognition.
Were, you have no case. Enjoy living within the corridor of powers in your country, but do not abuse it.
NB: I hope you will find time to read and sign a petition to stop the Northern Uganda carnage at: http://www.petitiononline.com/savacoli/petition.html
