By John A. Akec*
No one knows the language of oppressor better than those who have
experienced it. What is taking place in Northern and Eastern Uganda has
been described as genocide. But the policies that sustained the war
have in that part of the world also created an apartheid system of
sort, which is not less evil, or less destructive than South Africa’s.
It qualifies as genocide because the government’s counter insurgency
policy has resulted in massive death rates that are 3 times those
experienced in Darfur. That is, more than 1000 people die every week in
the displaced persons camps where 2 million Acholis have been
forcefully evacuated from their homelands. The figure is equivalent to
98% of population of Northern Uganda region.
ECONOMIC APARTHEID
The government’s counter insurgency policy has fostered a form of
economic apartheid between Northern Uganda and the rest of the country.
Those relocated into the concentration camps are no longer economically
active and unable to earn a living. As the time went by, the forced
unemployment has impoverished the population to levels of destitution
as insecurity scared away potential investors from the region.
Nowhere are economic disparities between Northern Uganda and the rest
of Uganda apparent than in the survey on private sector investment
survey conducted by Uganda Investment Authority (UIA) in collaboration
with Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS), and the Bank of Uganda (BOU)
in 2003. In that survey, of 765 new enterprises (companies) that
returned the survey, 77.9% (or 596) were located in Central/Southern
region, 12.3%(or 94) in Eastern region, 8.5% (65) in the Western
region, and 1.3% (10) in Northern region.
The same report showed that employment opportunities that resulted from
new investment in 2001 in terms of number of jobs created were
distributed regionally as follows: 71.4% of jobs in Central/Southern
region, 18.8% in Eastern region, 9.4% in Western region, and just about
0.4% in Northern region.
Small wonder, other reports by international NGOs working in displaced
persons camps in Northern Uganda say while those living below poverty
line fell from 57% in 1992 to 37% in 2003 in the West and Central
Uganda, those living below poverty line in Northern Uganda has shot up
to over 95% over the same period. Over 250,000 children in the region
go without education. If this is not apartheid, what else qualifies as
apartheid?
An interesting face to this economic apartheid is what some Ugandan
opposition leaders have often cited. That is, the government is
profiteering from the war. It is getting military help from the US
worth hundreds of million dollars every year to fight LRA in the US’s
war against terror. Despite the government many promises to finish off
LRA, they have been unable to do so for many years. The IDPS remain
trapped in poverty in death camps and without hope, while Uganda
government asks for more time to end the rebellion by military means.
This is to the extent that many members of Acholi community believe
that LRA has provided an excuse for Museveni government to punish the
population of Northern and Eastern Uganda for the sins they did not
commit. Uganda is in great need for justice, despite the denial by the
government and claim to the contrary by the IMF and the World Bank. It
needs help from the international community to overcome their inertia
to emerge from war. This is where South Africa that has experienced the
trauma of discrimination of apartheid can come handy.
SOUTH AFRICA TO THE RESCUE
On Wednesday 16 August 06, Vincent Otti, the deputy LRM/A chief,
telephoned South African High Commissioner to Uganda, T.H. Chiliza to
invite South African government to act as co-mediator in Juba peace
talks. This was part of Otti’s invitation made over phone read like
this:
“I, Lieutenant General Vincent Otti, deputy chairman of the high
command and second-in-command of the Lord’s Resistance Army do hereby
appeal to the government of the Republic of South Africa to come and
act as co-mediator…”
Vincent Otti also called on the government of Uganda to declare a
cessation of hostilities:
“In order for the Juba negotiations to be meaningful, successful and
binding, the (LRA)... calls upon the government of Uganda to respond
positively and declare a cessation of hostilities and respect the
agenda and code of conduct agreed upon by the negotiating parties, the
mediators and facilitators,
The High Commissioner, Chiliza, told the media in Kampala that LRA
invitation has been forwarded to the government of South Africa for
final decision, making it abundantly clear that South Africa supports
Juba talks in principle, and would not hesitate to participate in any
effort to bring peace to Northern Uganda should opportunity arise.
THE ANGRY RESPONSE FROM THE GOU
As would be expected, the response from the government of Uganda is
that of anger, rejection, and even declaration of war: “We shall not
accept new mediators. These terrorists hiding in Congo are telephoning
places saying they don’t want the mediation of Riek Machar and now that
they want new mediators," retorted President Museveni during a press
conference at State House in Kampala.
Museveni went on to explain that his government was asked by the
government of South Sudan to offer the LRA an olive branch, "otherwise
we had closed the chapter with them", he concluded.
Earlier this week, the government of Uganda delegation expressed
disquiet about presence of political and religious leaders from
Northern Uganda who have been invited by vice president Riek Machar,
the Southern Sudan chief mediator, to come to Juba and act as
observers. They include: Gulu District Chairman Norbert Mao, Archbishop
of Northern Uganda John Baptist Odama, Bishop Onen Onweng, Prof. Ogenga
Latigo, and others.
Guo spokesperson Captain Paddy Akunda told Uganda’s Daily Monitor:
"Our position is clear, we respect the mediator and know that he has
got the right to invite anyone as he pleases but only if they keep away
from the proceedings of the talks and only come in to advise the
mediator separately… “
Surely, the government of Uganda is playing with semantics. What does
an observer status means in plain English? It only means one thing:
sitting in the proceedings without interfering with or taking part
directly in discussions during the negotiations. That way, an observer
will be in position to advice the mediator better. Again, it shows the
government of Uganda is bent to frustrate the current peace effort.
The government of Uganda has made it clear the Northern MPs like
Norbert Mao and Ogenga Latigo are members of an opposition party and
therefore their neutrality will not be guaranteed. However, there is a
strong moral argument that more credibility will be given to any
resulting agreement by involving elected MPs and religious leaders from
the North as what will be agreed will impact everyone in the region.
In another development, Peter Odok a former resident district
commissioner in Gulu, told reporters in Juba about existence of what he
described as “spoilers” amongst the LRA negotiation team “who are
telling Joseph Kony not to come to Juba.” He threatened to expose them.
Sources in Juba say Ongom might have been pointing finger at members of
Acholi Diaspora in the UK who have recently joined the LRA team. Among
the LRA’s Diaspora were, Dr. Walter Oweka and Dr. Terence Patio who
travelled recently to Juba from the UK at the invitation from the LRA
negotiating team were detained for 4 days by South Sudanese
authorities. They were released after Josephine Apira, the deputy head
of LRA negotiating team intervened. Dr. Walter Oweka is said to be in
poor health following a shoulder injury that he might has sustained
during his 4-day detention in Juba.
At the same time, the government has intensified its verbal threats to
attack LRA positions in Democratic Republic of Congo should peace
effort fail.
PRESIDENT SALVA KIIR: FLYING BACK TO JUBA EMPTY-HANDED
Given the fact that the government of Uganda has said: no to a
temporary ceasefire, no to participation of religious leaders from the
Northern Uganda as observers, no to participation of South Africa as a
co-mediator, and no to participation of LRA supporters in the Diaspora;
it leaves us with no doubt that the government of Uganda is not serious
about reaching a just settlement to the conflict. The government does
not want anything that will give confidence that the signing parties
will honour any future agreement.
The emergency visit by president of South Sudan Salva Kiir to Kampala
on Saturday 19th August 2006 had raised hopes of softening Museveni’s
position on some of the above issues. As it turned out, it has proved
thoroughly disappointing. The president of South Sudan ended agreeing
with everything Museveni has called for. Not a single concession was
won. For example, president Salva Kiir has argued after returning to
Juba from Kampala that it is necessary for LRA to declare their
positions in South Sudan and Democratic Republic of Congo. Kiir is also
convinced that the LRA must agree on assembly point for their army
before any ceasefire could be declared in order to make monitoring of
ceasefire possible.
For a movement of LRA size, agreeing up to such uncomfortable terms
when they have not reached a comprehensive peace agreement with Kampala
is tantamount to a suicide. And with the government of Uganda saying no
to everything LRA proposes, even if such a proposal is reasonable and
legitimate, it looks as if the peace initiative by the government of
Southern Sudan has finally run its course and has hit an impasse.
War drums are once again beating in Northern Uganda much louder than
the voices for peace. The Kampala bear is proving too powerful for the
nascent government of Southern Sudan to herd. After all, the current
leaders are indebted to Museveni for any help extended to SPLA during
its fight against Khartoum. President Kiir cannot look president
Museveni in the eye sternly.
Probably the time is right for government of Southern Sudan to throw in
the towel and hand over the mediation leadership to South African
government and other members of international community. The
contribution of South Africa will be vital in helping tear down the
entrenched Ugandan apartheid system.
Otherwise, 2 million Acholis will continue to languish in death camps
in Northern Uganda, as the world community continues to look the other
way.
*To view this and past articles by the author, please visit his
personal blog by clicking the following link:
