| Uganda: Acholi MPs Laugh At Govt's Plan for Northern Reconstruction (Page 2 of 2) In October 2005, the International Criminal Court issued an international arrest
warrant for Kony and his four top commanders, which provoked a series of deadly LRA ambushes that temporarily halted the flow of aid to IDP camps. However, without necessarily ending the war, a November 2005 agreement between Uganda and Sudan to pursue jointly the LRA into southern Sudan has provided some respite in the north and provided some credibility to President Museveni's prediction that the war would be over before June 2006. But Acholi MPs, who insist the conflict is still around, are asking, "What are people still doing in camps?" Agago MP Morris Ogenga Latigo told Inside Politics that the new proposal was as a good as useless because it erroneously assumed that the conflict was over and, even more importantly, because the Acholi caught up in the war had not been consulted. "We don't agree with the UPDF. To us, that is nonsense. If the people are to walk back to their villages, they should be able to,"
Prof Latigo said. "Fundamentally, to have a 'Marshal Plan' before the war is over and without involving the people is a nonstarter. It will just be like the NUSAF which they have now." Latigo, who was part of the team that created the NURP, said the project had been abused by implementers who were more concerned with pleasing their financiers than improving the lives of the people for which it was intended. "What we worked on and what they are doing are different," he said. The linkage, Latigo said, to what the Acholi tribesmen must ultimately be is not there in the plans that the government has developed to reconstruct the north. "When you say you have a 'Marshal Plan', you must realise that the northerners are the ones who determine their destiny." The government, United Nations, civil society organisations and other
development partners will be represented on the JCCMC, which will feature at least 21 members and will run from April 2006 to July 2007. It was not possible to get a comment from Premier Apolo Nsibambi, who will chair the JCCMC. Government spokesperson James Nsaba Buturo, however, defended the correctness of the 'Marshal Plan', saying, "Kony was literally over" and that Acholi "MPs need to come forward and identify with government" in the reconstruction effort. Dr Buturo said the three-pronged approach that is favoured by government was the winning strategy. "That's why we are using a three-pronged approach where we get rid of pockets of rebellion, give good rehabilitation packages to those going back home and improve the lives of those remaining in IDP camps," he told Inside Politics. "Their role is not positive at all. As far as we are concerned, Kony is history. We are dealing with remnants." | 
