Joram jojo:



At the Hague, a delegation from Lango, Acholi, teso and Madi Community Leaders from Northern Uganda

Why the war has persisted
The war has lasted for nearly 19 years because of a number of interrelated factors. To begin with, the war in Acholi has become an extension of regional and international power struggles. On the regional front, Uganda provided military hardware and sanctuary to the SPLA. In retaliation, the Sudan government provided sanctuary and military hardware to the LRA. On the international front, both the Uganda government and the SPLA received military and political support from the US, in part to curtail the influence of the Islamic government in Khartoum. Another factor perpetuating the conflict has been that the war has become a lucrative source and cover for clandestine income for high-ranking military and government officials and other profiteers. In addition, the unwillingness of the government and the LRA to genuinely pursue a negotiated settlement has sustained the war.


LRA Chairman Joseph Kony


LRA elite unit



UPDF killers and their american master

On 14-16 April 2005, leaders of the Lango; Acholi; Iteso and Madi communities of northern Uganda visited the International Criminal Court in The Hague, the Netherlands, at the invitation of Chief Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo to hear views about the situation in Northern Uganda.

The delegation held talks with Prosecutor Moreno-Ocampo and other Court officials and have agreed to the following statement.
Joint Statement:

The Lango; Acholi; Iteso and Madi community leaders and the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court have agreed to work together as part of a common effort to achieve justice and reconciliation, the rebuilding of communities and an end to violence in Northern Uganda.

The community leaders reach out to local communities, the Government of Uganda, national and international actors to join this common effort.

We urge the Lord’s Resistance Army members to respond positively to the appeal to end violence.

We appeal to the Government of The Sudan to continue cooperating with the Government of Uganda, the ICC, international actors and all stakeholders in an effort to bring peace to Uganda.

In working towards an end to violence, all parties agreed to continue to integrate the dialogue for peace, the ICC and traditional justice and reconciliation processes.

We call upon national and international actors to enhance interventions to alleviate the grave humanitarian situation in the region.

List of Delegates from Northern Uganda

Acholi Representatives
Rwot David Onen Acana II, Paramount Chief of the Acholi
Rt. Rev. Onono-Onweng, Bishop of Northern Uganda
Hon. Jacob Oulanyah, MP Omoro Country
Hon. Hillary Onek, MP of Lamwo County
Mr. Ojwee Nahaman, LCV Kitgum
Mr. Komakach Yakobo, LCV Pader
Mr. Ojera Christohper, LCIII Pabbo
Mr. Ogik Benjamin Okech, Traditional Elder
Mr. Omona AlFone Lukilamoi, Traditional Chief

Lango Representatives
Hon. Cecilia Atim-Ogwal, MP Lira Municipality
Hon. Among Betty Ongom, MP Women Representative Apac
Margaret Akullo Elem, Traditional Elder
Rt. Rev. John Charles Odurkami, Bishop of Lango
Father Okucu Lawrence, Vicer General of Lira
Ogwang Tonny Ariz, Lira District Minister for Disaster Preparedness and Security

Iteso Representatives
His Highness Augustine Lemokul Osuban, Traditional Chief of the Iteso (Emorimor)
Hon. Anyolo Samuel, MP Soroti County
Hon. Alice Alaso, MP Women Representative Soroti
Rt. Rev. Charles Bernard Obaikol-Ebitu, Bishop of Soroti
Father Robert Ecogh, Soroti Catholic Diocese
Mr Steven Ilemukorit Okure, LCV of Katakwi

Madi Representatives
Hon. Jesca Eriyo, MP Women Representative Adjumani
Mondia Phillips, District Vice Chairman
Angela Kabba, Women Representative from Adjumani

Stop Acholi Genocide Demo in London

Peoples' Media:
Thursday, 21 April 2005

Five displaced women have been shot dead by UPDF soldiers in Kitgum District.
The women have been killed in Mucwhini Sub County about 15Km East of Gulu.
The soldiers allegedly mistook them for rebels. Four others were injured and rushed to Kitgum Hospital.
The women were from fishing in R. Aringa when the soldiers opened fire on them.
Northern Spokesman Lt. Tabaro Kiconco says the shooting wasn’t intended.

More to follow later...


Recent killings by the same UPDF...Was this also not intended?

DISTRICT SECURITY UPDATE

Gulu - There were reports of LRA movements throughout the district, and of rebels mutilating civilians. Several areas, including Amuru-Omee, Awach-Palaro, Omoro, Minakulu, Awoo Bobi, Opit, Lalogi, and Awere remained unsafe, with large LRA crossings reported from Apac district. LRA Commander Vincent Otti was reported to have crossed back into Sudan. However, later reports towards the end of March indicated that he had returned to the Kilak hills.

Kitgum - Insecurity in the northern part of Kitgum near the Sudan border remained a challenge to humanitarian actors, hindering access to about 40,000 IDPs in the region. The deteriorating security situation was reportedly orchestrated by a fresh batch of about 300 LRA rebels, who reportedly crossed over from Sudan and began unleashing atrocities upon civilians, looting IDPs' property, attacking military detachments, killing and mutilating civilians.

Pader - Security continued to deteriorate, with frequent attacks on UPDF (Ugandan army) detachments. There were unconfirmed reports that the UPDF soldiers in the district had been withdrawn for deployment in the peace-keeping exercise in Somalia. This seems to have spurred the morale of the LRA rebels, who carried out attacks on UPDF detachments and IDP camps. The early onset of the first rains in the northern region worsened the situation, as the vegetation grew thicker, making it difficult for the UPDF to spot the rebels.

Lira - The security situation in the district, except for Aromo sub-county and Otuke county, remained generally calm. In Aromo and Otuke, LRA movements were random and fluid, and attacks, abductions and killings caused a lot of fear among IDPs, preventing them from tending their fields. The UPDF continued to advise IDPs not to venture outside the camps before 9:00 a.m. and after 5:00 p.m. Nonetheless, all access roads and IDP camps remained open to humanitarian agencies.

Teso sub-region (Soroti, Katakwi and Kaberamaido districts) - The region continued to enjoy relative calm. In Katakwi, however, reports toward the end of the month that LRA rebels had been seen in Orungo sub-county, caused a lot of panic. Several people who had returned to their villages in Orungo near the border with Lira district, moved into the bigger camps for security. While authorities in Katakwi say that the situation is not alarming, there has been an increased need for humanitarian assistance in the main camps where people have flocked.

II. IDP MOVEMENT AND CAMP ISSUES

Gulu - There were civilian movements away from Minakulu, 35 km south of Gulu, due to increased rebel presence and other insecurity incidents, including abductions and killings. In Bobi camp, about 24km south of Gulu town, children started commuting again because of a large and persistent rebel presence near the camp. For nearly four months, there were no night commuters in Bobi camp. The Lacor night commuter centre registered a slight increase in night commuters, although other centres in the municipality have registered a small decline. According to records from UNICEF, there were, on average, about 11,000 night commuters in Gulu per day in March.

Kitgum - Some IDPs from Kitgum Matidi and Lagoro were reported to have spontaneously relocated to Oryang, a new settlement seven 7 km east of Kitgum. This brought to three the number of satellite camps recently established by IDPs in Kitgum. The others are Ogili in Palabek and Akilok in Orom sub-counties. UNICEF, ICRC and other aid agencies planned assessments of the situation in these camps. The Kitgum District Disaster Management Committee (DDMC) set up a Return and Resettlement Task Force to develop a return plan, including the voluntary decongestion of IDP settlements; and to set standards for the development of new IDP settlements.

Pader - Some IDPs were reportedly moving to Omot and Lukole sub-counties. However, both sub-counties lack schools, and the nearest, Ngora Primary School, is 3kms away, making access to it difficult due to late deployment of soldiers on the main road.

Lira - People continued migrating from the urban camps/areas (IDPs living with host families) to rural camps. IDPs also returned from Apac and other areas outside Lira. The population in most of the rural camps has increased by about 30% since December 2005. An inter-agency assessment in March highlighted the disparity between the old planning figures (WFP verification exercise, October 2004) and the current reality in the camps. This calls for a new verification exercise.

Teso - Most parts of Teso sub-region had started receiving rainfall by mid March, prompting movement of IDPs to camps nearer their areas of origin, while leaving behind some members of their families, especially children and the elderly. Although most IDPs, especially in Katakwi, may not be able to access their own land, they can borrow some portions of land for cultivation from their hosting communities.

III. ACCESS ISSUES

Gulu - The Awach-Palaro area remained extremely insecure and inaccessible, and district security officials advised some aid agencies against travelling there. The Amuru-Omee area was also extremely unsafe, although agencies could access it with military escort. The UPDF restricted IDP movements to a maximum of 2km outside the camps.

Despite the insecurity, IDPs slowly began accessing their land for the first planting season, as the rains started.

Kitgum - In the face of increased security, agencies raised concern about the composition of soldiers escorting aid workers, complaining about the limited numbers and quality of soldiers. It is alleged that UPDF soldiers who used to provide escort services were withdrawal from the north to serve in the peacekeeping operation in Somalia and replaced by ill-trained and ill-equiped local militias.

Following requests by aid agencies for more access to land for IDPs to cultivate, district security officials considered increasing the 'protected radius' around camps from 1km to between two and three kilometres. However, given the recent deterioration in security, increased access to land is only likely to be achieved in areas where security is relatively stable.

Lira - All IDP camps and access roads are open to humanitarian agencies. Rebel movements, abductions and killing were reported in Aromo and Amugo sub-counties, and Otuke county, but this did not deter humanitarian agencies from accessing the areas, as the threat was not considered to be so serious.

IV. REFUGEE ISSUES

REFUGEE MOVEMENTS

In March, UNHCR Uganda registered 1,621 new arrivals (895 in Pakelle and 726 in Arua), a dramatic increase, according to the refugee agency. The main reasons for the refugee movements are:

* Insecurity due to LRA activities: The majority of the new arrivals came from the IDP camps in Mugali, Magwi and Nimule in Southern Sudan, following attacks by the LRA.

* Food insecurity

* Family reunification: Another group of new arrivals came from Katigiri, Lainya Rojo and Juba county. These, most of whom were mainly women and children from Juba, were returning to their homes but found that their relatives had relocated to Rhino Camp and Imvepi or Koboko.

* Forced recruitment by SPLA: unconfirmed refugees reports indicate that SPLA is carrying out forced recruitment.

* Education opportunities: Many of the new arrivals from Maridi area came in search of education opportunities, claiming that the schools in Sudan were expensive.

* Social-cultural factors: Some female new arrivals reported that they had to face problems related to 'wife inheritance'.

* Insecurity: Refugees coming from Bar-el-Ghazel claimed that there is currently rampant tribal fighting among the Agar vs Ngok and Apuk Dinka tribes . Reasons for this fighting were cattle rustling and women. In Aweil and Gogorial, some militia known as Murahiliin were abducting children and women and looting property and cattle.


SECURITY

The LRA has continued destabilising refugee settlements in Adjumani district. Security incidents reported in March included an attack in Melijo, close to Olua refugee settlement (south east of Pakelle) on 25 and the 26 March. Some13 people were abducted to carry looted food and non food items, one of whom has not returned.

PROTECTION

The main protection issue is the physical safety of refugees living in settlements east of Adjumani district and in the Zoka belt (south of Adjumani). The capacity of the LRA to attack is extremely high, and there is concern that the UPDF is unable to provide adequate security to civilians. The insecurity is likely to prevent refugees displaced by the LRA attacks last year from returning to their original settlements.

Meanwhile, some 800 new arrivals are still living at the reception centre in Palorinya, due to lack of land for agricultural and residential purposes. The overcrowded situation is fertile ground for the spread of epidemics and SGBV. The steady increasing in the number of new arrivals can only worsen the situation if a solution - i.e. the establishment of a new settlement - is not found immediately. Land for the establishment of new settlement has already been identified, but national authorities (National Forest Authority and Office of the Prime Minister) are yet to consider the setting of new settlements as a top priority.

V. HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE

FOOD SECURITY

Insecurity in northern Uganda remained the biggest obstacle to cultivation, in spite of the onset of the rainy season. Several IDPs caught venturing outside the camps in search of food, water or firewood, and those found tending their fields, were abducted, mutilated or killed. This has rendered the population in the Acholi sub-region (Gulu, Kitgum and Pader) perpetually dependent on food distributed by WFP and other humanitarian agencies. Meanwhile, according to FewsNet, food conditions continued to deteriorate in Karamoja in March, where approximately 117,000 people were currently receiving food assistance with the number expected to increase to 570,000 by April 2005. Declining livestock prices and high cereal prices were projected to lower pastoral households' ability to procure food. A good season is imperative to improve crop and livestock production and replenish food stocks.

PUBLIC HEALTH AND NUTRITION

In spite of the alarm caused by the incidence of cholera in Gulu the previous month, no cases were reported in April. There were reports of rabies in Anaka camp, where four people reportedly died after being bitten by stray dogs. District health officials were yet to intervene.

In Kitgum, agencies involved in the health sector, including the DDHS and UNICEF mounted a massive immunization campaign against polio (OPV), measles and other child related diseases. The exercise covered about 75,470 children between the ages of one month to five years. About 33,200 adolescent girls, childbearing women and lactating mothers were vaccinated against tetanus. According to the DDHS, the vaccination campaign was successful, with about 95% coverage for measles and 85% for OPV.

In Teso sub-region, OCHA mobilised stakeholders to discuss the problem of sleeping sickness. In response, WFP acknowledged the need to support sleeping sickness patients in Lwala hospital and was considering to provide food for 70 patients and one attendant each at the hospital for three months.

WATER AND SANITATION

The major issue in this sector was the need to enhance coordination at field level. In some districts in northern Uganda, agencies in the sector started working towards promoting best practices, including the management and use of water and sanitation tools distributed in IDP camps, harmonization of hygiene promotion strategies, recruitment and management of volunteers and other approaches. Lack of coordination in the sector has led to poor community participation and management.

EDUCATION

The salient issues in the education sector in the conflict-affected districts include:

* Continued lack of accommodation for teachers;

* School feeding programme still not implemented by WFP;

* Weak management of learning centres in IDP camps;

* Lack of reliable data from schools in camps, regarding enrolment; and

* Large numbers of children still not going to school in spite of the availability of the service and scholastic materials.


SHELTER AND NON-FOOD ITEMS

Humanitarian agencies continued distribution of non-food items, including blankets, clothes, soap and cooking utensils, in IDP camps. However, IDPs in rural camps identified a gap in shelter materials, particularly complaining about the long distances they have to travel in search of thatch and poles for construction. Having to venture outside the camps places the displaced people at a risk of abduction or death in the hands of LRA rebels. Furthermore, fire outbreaks in some IDP camps continued to be a menace in Gulu, causing heavy loses and leaving thousands of already vulnerable households homeless.

HUMAN RIGHTS AND PROTECTION

The major protection and human rights issues included:

* Allegations of arrest of civilians by the UPDF and detention in military barracks;

* Restriction by the UPDF of IDPs' access to farmland, in some cases to no more than 1km outside the camps due to insecurity.


VI. POLICY ISSUES

The main policy issues in March included the following:

* While partners have been called upon to support the implementation of the IDP policy, many agencies are still concerned about the government's commitment and contributions/resources to its implementation.

* The custody of children from captivity has become a major policy issue, as the former LRA commanders demand the custody of their children, along with the mothers/ 'wives', some of them below 18 years of age. The lack of acceptance by the families and communities of these child mothers is of great concern, hence the need for the Department of Community Services to become more involved with the relevant child agencies in such a serious protection issue.

* The lack of support for the IDPs in northern Apac district has been raised in different fora. Many of these IDPs bordering Gulu district are forced to seek relief assistance from Gulu camps such as Bobi, Lalogi and Opit. WFP and OCHA are considering carrying out an assessment in these camps.

* The UPDF continues to restrict the movements of IDPs, and their access to land, to a limited distance from the camp borders for security reasons, thus affecting food security, while the constant quest for food security by many camp residents remains a very hazardous undertaking.

* The need for the creation of fire breaks to avoid camp fires through the erection of low gauged iron sheets requires serious consideration from aid agencies and the government. This has been the worst year for fires yet. The de-congestion exercise at Pabbo has been useful, but it has been slow and expensive. Moreover, it is questionable in the current poor security environment whether the army would allow more sites to be created.

* There appears to be no consistency in the messages which the ICC is receiving about its prosecution process in northern Uganda. A high level delegation from Gulu went to The Hague to lobby for a delay in the issuing of arrest warrants to senior LRA officers. Later, however, there appears to be a high level delegation from Pader, travelling to The Hague to argue for the prosecutions to begin. In March, the Minister of State for Northern Rehabilitation made it clear that the government wanted the ICC prosecution to go ahead as soon as possible.


VII. MISSIONS AND VISITS

The main missions to the conflict-affected districts in March included the following:

* A large USAID mission visited the northern districts to examine post- conflict recovery planning.

* The ECHO desk officer for Brussels and the ECHO programme officer and administrator from Kampala also undertook a visit to most of the war affected districts. The aim was to assess the current humanitarian gaps and how ECHO's strategy for 2005 would address them. The biggest gap remains in the water and sanitation sector.

* Ms Elizabeth Lwanga, Director of the Africa Bureau in UNDP New York, visited northern Uganda .The visit was partly to consolidate UNDP's thinking on recovery interventions in the region.

* The US Ambassador to WFP and FAO in Rome, Tony Hall, visited the north and went out with WFP and FAO on respective food and seed distributions.

* Officials from the Swiss Development Co-operation visited northern Uganda on a follow-up mission to their visit last year. They met with IDPs and night commuters.



Note
Source: United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA)

Date: 31 Mar 2005

Two Members of Parliament were yesterday charged with murder and sent on remand at Luzira Prisons. Ronald Reagan Okumu (Aswa), a deputy executive coordinator for the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC), and Michael Nyeko Ocula (Kilak) were arrested as they walked from Parliament to the CID to make statements, on the Speaker’s advice. However, Police spokesman Assuman Mugenyi said the MPs were arrested at the CID headquarters over the February 12, 2002 murder of Alfred Bongomin, the LC3 chairman of Pabbo camp in Gulu.He said investigations were complete and that the accused would appear in court today, but the opposition MPs insisted that they had already been charged. “We have been investigating this matter. Our investigations are complete,” Mugenyi said. Okumu described the arrest and charges as political manoeuvre by the Movement to intimidate the opposition. Opposition MPs rushed to Buganda Road Court on learning of the arrest. Bugweri South MP Abdu Katuntu said, “The Movement is becoming more desperate. Their buffoonery has just started. They have been coaching an LRA returnee on what to say. We expected this and it only energises our struggle against dictatorship.” Katuntu, an FDC official, said in tramping up charges, the Government hoped to “intimidate and get opposition MPs out of circulation for one year.” “No intimidation,” he said, “will make us waiver in our fight.” Bugabula South MP Salaamu Musumba said she was saddened by the inability of the Speaker to protect MPs and by the breach of parliamentary privilege. She said members may not be arrested on their way to or from Parliament. “These guys were got from Parliament,” she said. She said the charge sheet had been amended and that the court sat after 5:00pm, past the usual working hours. “It took three minutes in court,” she said. Terego MP Kassiano Wadri said he was shocked that Okumu and Ocula were in court. “They say the crime was committed in 2002 but claim investigations are not complete and that it was committed in Gulu. Why don’t you take them to Gulu High Court? What is all this?” he said. Mugenyi said three other suspects, Steven Olanya, Alex Otim and Walter Laryang, were arrested two weeks ago over the same case and remanded in Luzira. Prior to their arrest Okumu and Ocula were required to report to the CID headquarters at 9:00am but did not. At lunchtime, Okumu said he was not aware of the summons. “The Speaker has just notified me of a letter from the CID. He apologised for not passing the letter to me,” Okumu said. He said the Speaker gave him CID chief Elizabeth Kuteesa’s telephone number. “Kuteesa insisted that the letter was in my pigeon hole. I told her there was nothing because I had just been to my pigeon hole,” he said. “It is really a shame,” she said. “This is a very disastrous development because for me my interpretation is that Acholi will die everywhere, from Kampala they die of the bad roads, in Gulu, Kony is killing them its not fair.” Mr Norbert Mao (Gulu Municipality) said, “As a matter of protest, we are going to boycott Parliament. Can you imagine the Speaker even advised Reagan to go to the police?” Mr Martin Wandera (Workers) said it was extremely regrettable though its no surprise “because this administration has demonstrated how callous it can be.” He added: “For government to behave in a manner that made some of the people go to the bush is extremely unfortunate. To use the justice system to harass the opposition is extremely unfortunate.” Walubiri who represents the duo said it was irregular that police wrote a letter through the Speaker and it (letter) was not given to the MPs in time. He said the Speaker adjourned the House prematurely without any notice. “Let me hope he was not a party to the whole thing,” Walubiri said. He said it was also irregular that the MPs reported to the CID headquarters and were immediately rushed to court, charged and remanded. “I think this is highly irregular. Ordinarily members of Parliament ought not to be subjected to this kind of process,” he said. The two MPs were planning a big demonstration to end the war in northern uganda, but the cunning regime of Yoweri museveni benefits from that war and the demo was to work against the regime. Meanwhile another 150 MPs have officially enlisted with a notorius para-military group(KAP).

People's Media:

..the soldiers who found people asleep, started raping women and schoolgirls.Some of the women were reported to have been taken out of beds then shared with their husband at gun point.."one soldier forced the muzzel of his AK47 in my anus"



When people were trying to forget this sad drama, 15 women are once abused by soldiers of the Uganda People's Defence Forces.

Kitgum Woman MP Jane Akwero told Parliament that on March 25, soldiers from the 91st battalion attacked a camp in Padibe sub-county where they beat up men, raped women and robbed them of money and property.

She read names of 18 victims including a woman (names withheld), who she said was raped by seven soldiers. The soldiers also stole sh10,000 from her.

Akwero said another woman, Betty Achola, was reportedly beaten and robbed of sh15,000.

Nsibambi said, “I am saddened by what I have heard and I have no hesitation to direct the minister of defence to investigate the matter and report back within 10 days. It is a serious matter.”

Akwero said the soldiers were from an operation in Larach hills when they went on rampage and pulled out women, some pregnant and others with their husbands, and took them on a raping spree.

She said two soldiers were arrested and the rape victims were able to identify them from the barracks.



The House burst into laughter when she said the soldiers also carried away a man wrapped in a kikooyi (cloth) thinking he was woman and beat him up when they realised he was a man.

“When the battlefield turns to be the women’s bodies, where will the women turn to?” Akwero asked.

“Many women said they were raped. Some are now being rejected by their husbands,” she said amid murmurs.

Defence minister Amama Mbabazi and his deputy Ruth Nankabirwa were not in the House at the time.



The Chief war criminal was seen last weekend thanking his fellow criminals for the dirty work they are doing and encouraged them to continue doing the same when no one is seeing..

Akwero said the following morning all soldiers of the 91st battalion were transferred to Lukwiny.
The MP said the Chairman of the Disaster Management Committee wrote, Mr Alexessius Bongomin, had written to the area Resident District Commissioner on March 26 saying, "It was quite a sad moment to the people of Padibe when our own UPDF beat, raped and forcefully took property of women, school girls and men."
Akwero said such acts were known to be committed by the Lord's Resistance Army rebels.

"For our own forces to go on rampage is disturbing and uncalled for," she said. "For some elements of the army to turn their vengeance on civilians is unfortunate."
She said she took long to report the incident because she wanted to first verify the information.

This is the first time such claims of abuses by the UPDF are being brought out in the open in Parliament.
The army has been accused by several rights groups including Amnesty International and New York based Human Rights Watch of carrying out severe human rights abuses on the civilian population in the north of the country.

The rights organisations through several reports have accused the army and other government-related military security agencies of committing multiple abuses including summary execution, torture, rape and child recruitment.

UPDF Potifolio

People's Media:

Opposition Groups

* Conseil national pour la défense de la democratie (CNDD)
* Forces armees du peuple (FAP)
* Forces nationales de liberation (FNL)
* Forces de liberation nationale (FALINA)
* Forces pour la défense de la democratie (FDD)
* Front pour la liberation nationale (FROLINA)
* Parti pour la liberation du peuple hutu (PALIPEHUTU)
* Union pour la liberation nationale (ULINA)


Burundi has been engaged in a civil war marked by ethnic violence, which includes fighting between the Tutsi-dominated army and armed Hutu rebel groups. The fighting has caused widespread civilian casualties since the killing of democratically elected president Melchior Ndadaye in October 1993.



Having determined that the situation in Burundi continued to constitute a threat to international peace and security in the region and acting under Chapter VII of the UN Charter, the Security Council, by its resolution 1545 of 21 May 2004, decided to establish the United Nations Operation in Burundi (ONUB) in order to support and help to implement the efforts undertaken by Burundians to restore lasting peace and bring about national reconciliation, as provided under the Arusha Agreement.








POSITIVE SOLIDARITY

Uganda criminal regime needs at least 3,000 hotel rooms of international standard, 60 presidential suites and about sh90b to host the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting in 2007, Commonwealth Secretariat officials have said. 3,000 hotel rooms are required for the visitors including the Queen of England, 53 heads of state and government, foreign affairs ministers, business, youth and women forums and leaders of civil SOCIETY organisations. Media representatives will need 1,500 rooms.The queen is expected to stay at State House Entebbe, which is now under renovation.

How can the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting in 2007 take priority of ugandans when Over 1.2 million people live in camps, the life is horrible. The people are not living, they are existing. They are next to dead. Life in the camps is one of abject poverty. Food is short, and many infants suffer from malnutrition. Water is scarce since camps often do not have enough boreholes. There is little access to health care. In some camps there are schools, but not enough teachers. Moreover, school life is constantly disrupted by the insecurity.

In both Kitgum and Gulu, some people begin as night commuters and end up staying on in town. According to sources at the St Joseph's Mission Hospital, 450 former commuters no longer return to their homes each morning. Instead, they camp under a huge mango tree outside the mission gates. Early in the morning, men and women go to look for work as casual labourers around Kitgum town. They return in the mid-afternoon, prepare their only meal of the day, and then retire inside the mission for the night.

They children have a lot of difficulties with schooling. They can't learn well, they are traumatised, they can't sleep well, but they force themselves to study. Women are afraid to sleep in their homes, not only because of rebels but also because they fear they might be raped by army officers. They don't care if you are young or old. Rape is very common in northern Uganda. If you report a rape, they just transfer the soldier.



UPDF lawyer charged

A UPDF lawyer who has been representing suspects including senior army officers facing ghost soldier charges at the General Military Court martial, has been charged with aggravated robbery.

Sgt. Moses Mugerwa Lukwago appeared yesterday before the court martial chaired by Lt. Gen. Elly Tumwine, together with two other suspects who allegedly helped him carry out the robbery of sh2.5m from a catholic priest.

Mugerwa said the allegations were created by some envious people.
Tumwine remanded the lawyer in Makindye military police headquarters, while the other two suspects, Lawrence Kayiira and Dick Lutalo, were remanded in Kigo Prison.

They will return to the court on April 30. Mugerwa, who was arrested last week, was assigned by the army to represent suspects without money to hire private lawyers and those arrested by Operation Wembley.

He has also represented former chief of staff Brig. Nakibus Lakara and other senior army officers facing charges of creating ghost soldiers on the army payroll

People's Media:



"Those in authority fear the mask for their power partly resides in identifying, stamping and cataloguing: in knowing who you are...our masks are not to conceal our identity but to reveal it...Today we shall give this resistance a face; for by putting on our masks we reveal our unity; and by raising our voices in the street together, we speak our anger at the facelessness of power..."




The Zapatistas are not the first 'radicals' to mask up in black as historians will be quick to point out. The tradition of masking up for political struggle can be traced to Autonomists who operated in Europe over 20 years ago. The first so-called autonomists were those individuals involved in the Italian Autonomia movement that got its start during the Hot Autumn of 1969, a time of intense social unrest. Throughout the 1970s in Italy a widespread movement for total social change was initiated by autonomous groups of factory workers, women and students.




Masking- up was brought back to international attention with the Zapatista uprising and with the participation Black Bloc anarchists in anti-globalisation protests. The Zapatistas have a strong support base within the anarchist community in general, many are attracted to the Zapatistas organising in non-hierachial ways, and the Zapatistas struggle for indigenous autonomy without seeking state power. The similarity of the Zapatista dress code and Black Bloc anarchists is of course obvious. Ski-masks, or any sort of black mask. Recently Black Bloc anarchists have emulated the charasmatic imagery and rhetoric of Zapatism. Some have even used this to help recruit a 'few good anarchists' for Black Bloc demonstrations.




A black bloc is a collection of anarchists and anarchist affinity groups that get together for a particular protest action.The flavor of the black bloc changes from action to action, but the main goals are to provide solidarity in the face of a repressive police state and to convey an anarchist critique of whatever is being protested that day.There are many reasons for the masks, beyond the media attention black masks get. The main one is the recognition that the police videotape activists and keep files on them. Masks also promote anonymity and egalitarianism.



They also protect the identities of those who want to engage in illegal acts and escape to fight another day!There have been critisim of Black Bloc protest because of perceived violence. But Black Bloc advocates have responded by saying "We contend that property destruction is not a violent activity unless it destroys lives or causes pain in the process. By this definition, private property--especially corporate private property--is itself infinitely more violent than any action taken against it."




Black Bloc critics point to the seemingly randomness of Black Bloc targets, but if one looks closer, the targets global corporates like McDonalds or banks, in the case of Seattle, activists outlined why certain corporates were targeted for Black Bloc 'redesigning'.




"No justice, no peace, fuck the police!"

"America's infamous Black Bloc were once again out in force in the streets of the nation's capitol today, April 16.
A posse of around two hundred masked-up teenage ninja revolutionaries marched on the IMF and World Bank at around 7am under a sea of black and red flags and a twenty foot banner declaring them the "Revolutionary Anti Capitalist Bloc." They then set about on a running, wall tagging, barricade building, cop baiting rampage. 'Fuck the Whorehouse' appeared on a Whitehouse outbuilding wall, The World Bank's door plaque now boasts a natty anarchy sign and a federal spook's motor lost a couple of windows."



Black Bloc groups have been present in protests in Melbourne, Prague, Davos, Nice, London, Seattle, Washington and no doubt they will appear in uganda.

Black bloc has no problem with civilian protesters and strongly maintains solidarity!!

People's Media and Agency:





Dictator Yoweri Museveni is busy playing peace-maker in africa-sending peace troops to Somalia, Sudan and also decieving the international community that everything is okey and they should come and invest in uganda. Oh dear, dear! How can you invest in a country that uses a Nazi social program against 4 million of its own defenceless population?

The international community and politicians in uganda should be ashamed of themselves for just seating in their air-conditioned offices doing nothing on the suffering of an entire people. We are calling upon all descent people to take to the streets of uganda in solidarity with the people of northern uganda! We are very convienced that foreign refugees in other camps are being looked after better than our own brothers and sisters in museveni's concentration camps. FDC, UPC, DP, etc. Forget about anti- 3rd term demos, think of the children, women, men and the future generation of Northern uganda!!


"Anne Richard, the IRC's vice president of government relations and advocacy, briefed the Human Rights Caucus of the House of Representatives Thursday on the toll the war between the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) and the Ugandan government is taking on the civilian population in northern Uganda.

Richard told the representatives that the number of Ugandans displaced from their homes has almost tripled in the last two years, to about 1.4 million. Human rights abuses—including forced abduction, murder, rape, and the use of children as combatants by both sides—are pervasive.


Richard cited an urgent need to facilitate a peaceful resolution to the conflict, provide protection for civilians, and ensure that significant funding is available for humanitarian programs. She quoted an IRC colleague who said the situation in northern Uganda is worse than Darfur, where the ongoing humanitarian crisis has received far more public attention and international aid, and offered several recommendations:"



ANOTHER DARFUR?

U.N. Emergency Relief Coordinator Jan Egeland compared the situation to the well-publicised problems in Sudan's Darfur region.
"If they go out (of camps), they are killed as much, or raped as much or worse as in Darfur, by the Lord's Resistance Army and others," Egeland said in a recent statement.




Museveni has rejected the comparison, but that hasn’t stopped aid workers continuing to make it.


“One hundred percent of the population is affected by this kind of crisis -- it’s huge,” Gael Griette, an expert covering Uganda for the European Commission's Humanitarian Aid Office (ECHO), told AlertNet.

Griette said that the entire rural population of Acholiland was in displacement camps.

“People have been cut off from their livelihoods, cut off from everything. They are in camps with nothing, and insecurity is very high,” he said.

“In terms of magnitude and acuteness we can compare what is going on in Northern Uganda to Darfur.

“What is very different between the two crises is the way it is addressed in terms of funding, humanitarian agencies being present in the field, and on top of all it is very different in the way it is being covered in the media.”

Griette said one of the reasons northern Uganda did not get much media coverage was because the LRA had been terrorising the local population for so long that the crisis was seen as old news.



“But this is short-sighted because the crisis has tripled in terms of the number of people affected and multiplied by five or six in terms of acuteness in the past two years -- more or less the same time as the Darfur crisis,” he said.

"Perhaps one approach is to build on growing interest among US officials, media and public in Sudan and the Darfur crisis and try to adopt a broader, regional perspective,” Richard said. “We should consider how to help people on both sides of the Sudan/Uganda border. Without a doubt, though, the key is greater U.S. support for peace and protection programs."
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