Missionaries Demand End to Slaughter, Use of Child Soldiers and Sex Slaves in Uganda
Email This Page
Print This Page
Comboni Missionaries (Cincinnati, Ohio)
PRESS RELEASE
April 26, 2004
Posted to the web April 26, 2004
Cincinnati, Ohio
The Comboni Missionaries today called upon the governments of the United States and
Canada to take action that will encourage an end to the warfare that has ravaged the
lives of the Christian population of northern Uganda.
In this war, an insurgent group calling itself the Lordâs Resistance Army (LRA)
killed and disfigured innocent people by the tens of thousands, caused the
displacement of 1.5 million refugees, and abducted more than 20,000 children for use
as child soldiers and sex slaves.
The call for action by the United States and Canada came in a resolution adopted today
by the members of the North American Province of the Comboni Missionaries. This
religious institute of Catholic priests and brothers closed its annual Provincial
Assembly in Cincinnati today.
The Comboni Missionary Sisters joined their male counterparts in sending the
resolution to U.S. President George Bush, Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin, and the
legislative bodies of both countries. The resolution was transmitted with a cover
letter jointly signed by Provincial Superiors Very Rev. Dennis W. Conway, mccj, and
Sr. Mariateresa Goffi, CMS.
"For the past two decades," the resolution stated, the LRA has employed "hellishly
barbaric tactics against the civilian population of northern Uganda, principally the
Acholi people."
Using statistics cited by the United Nations News Service, the resolution said, "This
insurgency has driven approximately 1.5 million people into displacement camps where
they live in extreme deprivation, entirely dependent upon relief for survival ...
"In its oppression of this almost uniformly Christian population, the LRA has received
support from the ruling National Islamic Front in Sudan; and the LRA has abducted as
many as 20,000 children for use as child soldiers and sex slaves, with children making
up at least 80 percent of its insurgent force."
The missionaries stated that "this has driven the children of the northern Uganda to
migrate into the towns and cities every night in order to hide from the LRA rebels."
Fifteen Comboni Missionaries have been martyred in Uganda over the past 25 years, one
of them just last month, and attempts have been made on the lives of a number of
others. Some of those killed were slain as a direct result of this conflict and LRA
leader Joseph Konyâs personal hatred of Christian missionaries.
Relevant Links
East Africa
Religion
Humanitarian Abuses and Civilians
Civil War and Communal Conflict
Uganda
Children and Youth
Refugees and Displacement
The missionaries called upon President Bush, Prime Minister Martin, and their
governments to use all of their diplomatic power to help resolve the situation in
northern Uganda.
Specifically, they want the United States and Canada to work for the implementation of
realistic policies to stop the violence and create the infrastructure for lasting
peace. They also asked the two nations to do whatever possible to stop the flow of
political, material or military assistance to the LRA.
--------------------------------------------
This service is hosted on the Infocom network
http://www.infocom.co.ug
