By Badru D. Mulumba
April 20, 2004 - Monitor
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That�s ridiculous, says State House KAMPALA � President Museveni manipulates the war in the north to stay in power, an international report has said. The 41-page report titled �Northern Uganda: Understanding and Solving the Conflict� was compiled by the Brussels-based International Crisis Group and released on April 15. The report says: �President Museveni pursues a military solution in part to justify the unreformed army that is a key pillar of his regime. �Indeed, the war helps him justify and maintain the status quo in Ugandan politics, denying his opposition a power base and offering numerous opportunities for curtailing freedom of _expression_ and association in the name of �the war against terrorism.� Although the report calls for the use of both a military and negotiated settlement to the war, it raises questions about the ability of the UPDF to finish the war. �A purely military solution could conceivably deal with the immediate rebellion, but would make solving the north-south divide even more unlikely.� It adds: �The army�s operational deficiencies in any event make such a solution unlikely.� Speaking about the north-south divide in the country due to the war in the north, the ICG warns that as long as the situation in the north is dominated by security matters, the �monopolisation of power and wealth by Southerners is not put into question�. The ICG recommends that in order to end the war, �the Khartoum government, the LRA�s only known external supporter, should also be drawn into a negotiating strategy.� It says that the international community has been central to the conflict and will be central to achieving a solution. �The government needs to be attentive to advice of donors, from whom it receives approximately half its budget,� the report counsels. It also wants donors to condition all military assistance to Uganda on security sector reform, especially with respect to corruption and human rights. It wants the International Criminal Court to investigate war crimes committed by any party in the conflict and urges the LRA to accept a cease-fire. Listen to Acholi The ICG report breaks from similar reports about the war in the north and highlights the need to address the grievances of the Acholi. It says: �Another major element of any successful strategy will have to be a genuine effort to address northerners� grievances. �The Acholi must be made to feel more a part of Ugandan society. The NRM simply has not unified the country after the turmoil created by colonial policies if ethnic division and decades of armed conflict. �It is in the interest of Acholi leaders to develop mechanisms for articulating the views of their people, and it is in the interest of Museveni and the NRM to promote the emergence of effective and credible Acholi leaders.� However, a State House spokesman yesterday criticised the report sharply. Mr Onapito Ekomoloit, the acting presidential press secretary, described it as �ridiculous and the work of research tourists�. Defending Museveni, Ekomoloit said: �It is an insult to think that a person who has suffered, who has lived in tents would try to manipulate the war to stay in power. That is not fair.� Army spokesman Maj. Shaban Bantariza also dismissed claims in the report that the army was unable to finish off the conflict. �If it was impossible, actually, Kony would have cut off the whole of the north,� he said. �The Ministry of Defence has deficiencies but there are also deficiencies in Education, in the Pentagon, in the coalition forces in Iraq and even in the church.� Bantariza said the military solution is meant to rescue abductees from the LRA, recover guns and kill its leadership � and that the army had achieved on all three fronts. As part of its recommendations, the report advises government to expand current investigations into army corruption and prosecute �publicly, independently and transparently� all those with cases to answer. The ICG is an independent, non-profit, multinational organisation operating on five continents. It is chaired by former Finnish President Martti Ahtisaari and run by former Australian Foreign minister Gareth Evans. |
� 2004 The Monitor Publications
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