Elite is Funding Kony War
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New Vision (Kampala)
INTERVIEW
June 16, 2004
Posted to the web June 16, 2004
Alfred Wasike
Kampala
Kony has been a thorn in the eye both for the government of Uganda and for the people
in Northern Uganda. However, the recent agreement with Sudan has helped the UPDF to
kill the rebels in droves. New Vision talked to the UPDF fourth division commander Col
Nathan Mugisha on the progress so far....
What is happening here? Why is the suffering here taking so long to end?
It is a very sad, painful and annoying situation in which the elite have exploited the
illiterate for so long.
What do you mean?
The people here in the north are tired of this senseless conflict. But the elite in
the towns in Uganda and abroad are busy fanning the insurgency. They are doing this
buy actually funding the bloody thing.
Do you have evidence? Any names?
We have evidence. We shall disclose the names. But not now.
How are the elite funding it?
They buy mobile phones and airtime to monitor and report on the movement of the UPDF
and other security deployment. They provide other logistics.
What about the Sudan factor?
Sudan has been the biggest factor in assisting the LRA terrorists survive this long.
Sudan provided bases, weapons, combat uniforms, medicine and other logistics. Of
course there has been a lot of support among the population. These are the local
collaborators.
What has changed?
The situation in Sudan has changed for the better. The people in Khartoum are
beginning to talk the same language with their SPLA compatriots. They recently signed
an agreement in Kenya to settle their problems. So this is going to be very
inconveniencing to the LRA terrorists. The other thing is that our Operation Iron Fist
(OIF) has made serious achievements and inroads into the LRA. We have basically
destroyed their bases in Sudan. We are now mopping up as they run back looking for
refuge. They are starved of food, medicine and weapons. We are scoring more than 90%
but we would have scored higher if the media was not so sensational with fabricated
casualties. The media is playing a very unobjective and unpatriotic role in this
conflict. The media has not been helpful. The media especially here in Gulu seems to
be an extension of the terrorists. The media has helped Kony shape his terrorist
organisation.
Did you say the media actually exaggerates the number of casualties from the conflict?
I am telling you that is happening. The media here actually fabricates names of
so-called dead.
Any names?
Not now. But they know themselves. They forget that they have only one country and
they must learn to love it whether they like it or not.
What is the UPDF's target in this conflict?
Our target is peace and reconciliation. That is why the Commander-in-Chief named a
team to negotiate. But the terrorists have not named one. All of us are players in the
search for peace. There has been too much negativity. We are fighting a proxy war.
There are no underlying issues in this war. They are given guns and told to go and
butcher their own people. Is that sensible, moral? The extension of the war to Teso
and Lango was aimed at portraying the LRA as an expanded organisation. It flopped.
It is now concentrated here (Gulu District). But the war is soon ending. We are
mopping up. We are dealing with a band of desperate bandits on the run. LRA is not
about politics. Show me their development agenda and I will quit my job now. They are
like the Kibwetere cult. They are not about Christianity. They are a witchcraft-based
band of terrorists.
Any constraints?
The army is over stretched. It is doing everybody's work. We are doing police work.
For example Pabo, an Internally Displaced People's Camp (IDP) with about 60,000 people
has only five policemen led by a corporal. But this Kony nonsense will soon end. I can
assure you.
Relevant Links
East Africa
North Africa
Arms and Military Affairs
Civil War and Communal Conflict
Sudan
Refugees and Displacement
Uganda
When will the IDP camps be disbanded?
As soon as we can ensure that the situation in the villages safe. you see, the LRA are
now desperate. Our strategy is three-pronged, we have starved them of necessities like
intelligence information on security deployment, food, medicine from the camps. their
collaborators are among the population. we have blocked abductions with a view to
stopping replenishment of recruits and we have denied them safe havens especially that
we have more sophisticated equipment.
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