Edward Pojim
The Movement does not have a right to investigate its self. Period.
EM
On the 49th
Thé Mulindwas Communication Group
"With Yoweri Museveni and Dr. Kiiza Besigye Uganda is in anarchy"
Kuungana Mulindwa Mawasiliano Kikundi
"Pamoja na Yoweri Museveni na Dk. Kiiza Besigye Uganda ni katika machafuko"
From: [email protected]
[mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of edward pojim
Sent: Thursday, February 06, 2014 10:40 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: {UAH} So NRA/UPDF committed atrocities? Someone appoint an
inquiry, quick! - Daniel Kalinaki - monitor.co.ug
Ocen;
I share this writer's position; let the investigations begin!
Pojim
On Thursday, February 6, 2014 7:19 PM, Ocen Nekyon <[email protected]> wrote:
http://www.monitor.co.ug/OpEd/OpEdColumnists/DanielKalinaki/So-NRA-UPDF-committed-atrocities--Someone/-/878782/2194194/-/t2cgbo/-/index.html
So NRA/UPDF committed atrocities? Someone appoint an inquiry, quick! - Daniel
Kalinaki
By Daniel K. Kalinaki
Posted Thursday, February 6 2014 at 02:00
In Summary
One need not look very far to see some low-hanging necks. General David
‘Tinyefuza’ Sejusa, the former intelligence coordinator who bolted to the
United Kingdom last year, once held operational command at the time some of the
documented atrocities occurred.
What should we make of President Museveni’s call for an investigation into
allegations that the National Resistance Army and its successor, Uganda
People’s Defence Forces, committed atrocities, especially in northern and
northeastern Uganda?
It depends on whether one chooses to be cynical, dismissive or to embrace it
with a cold shrug of indifference. The most obvious inference is that any
investigation would have to give Museveni a political benefit that outweighs
the cost of digging up skeletons.
One need not look very far to see some low-hanging necks. General David
‘Tinyefuza’ Sejusa, the former intelligence coordinator who bolted to the
United Kingdom last year, once held operational command at the time some of the
documented atrocities occurred.
In fact, some might not recall that his controversial attempt to quit the army
in 1996 followed a parliamentary inquisition into what was happening in
northern Uganda, with Sejusa trying to lay responsibility much higher in the
chain of command.
An investigation would reshape the narrative, put Sejusa on the defensive and
possibly lead to a criminal prosecution and extradition proceedings.
FDC party leader Major General Gregory Mugisha Muntu was army commander for
eight years. An investigation into how much he knew about atrocities by the NRA
could blemish his service record and undermine his 2016 presidential elections
campaign.
Throw a few more disgruntled army officers under the bus and you have an
inquiry that lands like a mortar bomb in an enemy trench.
Yet it is precisely because of such skeptical views about the impartiality of
this call that we should support the investigation into NRA/UPDF atrocities.
The history of the 1981-86 Bush War, the counter-insurgency operations in Teso
and the war against Joseph Kony’s Lord’s Resistance Army rebellion has mostly
been written by the victors.
All those skulls in Luweero? Women and children pounded by Milton Obote’s UNLA
soldiers. Those gruesome amputations and massacres in northern Uganda? The
savage hand of Joseph Kony and his bible-toting, bloodthirsty henchmen.
Our heroic men in the NRA and UPDF uniforms were the ones who protected the
innocent civilians. They were the disciplined ones and the ones who stood up
for the people.
That President Museveni now admits that the NRA and UPDF committed some of
those atrocities is a significant and important development. Even more
important is the obvious contradiction from the Commander-in-Chief that while
his army was always disciplined, it might have carried out killings that he did
not know about.
What else was the chief not told about?
An inquiry should contribute to two complimentary processes. It should provide
a contextualised and accurate reading of what happened in Luweero, Acholi,
Lango, Karamoja, etc., that establishes facts as well as correlation, if any,
between individual actions and the army’s institutional doctrine.
The second process would be a much-needed process of truth and reconciliation
involving all parties in these conflicts, particularly in northern Uganda where
accountability and justice remain elusive.
In order to succeed, this, obviously, cannot be an internal inquiry by the
army. That would be akin to a patient cutting himself open and rummaging
through tissue for a tumor. It would have to be an independent public inquiry
that provides for both justice and reconciliation.
The men and women of UPDF generally do not spark the fear in civilians that
previous armies did. That is admirable and important. Many are smart and
professional soldiers who serve with pride and honour. Understanding the
UPDF/NRA’s previous errors would not only make the army more accountable to the
people of Uganda; it would also finally give them a sense of ownership. That’s
something we can all salute.
[email protected] Twitter: @Kalinaki
So NRA/UPDF committed atrocities? Someone appoint an inquiry, quick! - Daniel
Kalinaki - monitor.co.ug
http://www.monitor.co.ug/OpEd/OpEdColumnists/DanielKalinaki/So-NRA-UPDF-committed-atrocities--Someone/-/878782/2194194/-/t2cgbo/-/index.html
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