LRA demand removal from list of terrorist groups

Daily Monitor News | April 27, 2007

THE South Sudan mediated peace talks between the government of Uganda and the rebel Lord’s Resistance Army resumed yesterday in Juba , after a four-month lull.

South Sudan Vice-President Salva Kiir opened the talks, with a call to both parties to iron out their differences. The rebels, however, have lodged a request for the LRA to be struck off the list of international terrorist organisations.

The rebels, according to David Nyekorach Matsanga tabled the request during a one and a half hour closed door meeting with 11 diplomats accredited to Uganda , who flew to Juba to witness the resumption of talks.

“What we told them (the diplomats) is that the LRA should be removed from the list of international terrorists so that all our supporters can travel freely upto here and participate in the negotiations,” Mr Matsanga, who is the LRA leader’s special appointee to handle the International Criminal Court indictment against the top leadership, said.

Mr Matsanga, a one time spokesman for the LRA said, “People like Olara Otunnu (former UN special envoy on children in armed conflict) want to come to participate in this peace process but they fear to be labeled terrorists”.

But he said the removal of the LRA from the list of international terrorist organisations alongside al-qaeda, is not a condition for negotiations but it should be a sign of good will on the side of the government of Uganda and the international community.

Uganda ’s delegation was led by Dr Ruhakana Rugunda, deputised by the State Minister for Foreign Affairs Henry Okello Oryem. The delegation had two more new faces including the spokesman for the disbanded Special Revenue Protection Services, Barigye-Bahoku as its publicist.

But the LRA delegation led by Martin Ojul, attracted attention. All the 20 plus delegates wore expensive suits and perfumes while the Rugunda team was in casual jackets without neckties.

Mr Ojul at the talks also attended by UN special envoy Joachim Chissano warned that any attempts to treat LRA as a non-political group or whose concerns should not be taken seriously in the next phase of the talks will lead to disastrous repercussions. He said the LRA should be treated the same way the government team is treated.

Mr Ojul said before the formal talks can begin, the LRA demand a formal communication on the promises the parties, especially the government and the mediator made during the time the talks were in recess.

“We are sure if your excellencies reacted the same way you have done, the peace talks should not have stalled,” Mr Ojul said.

Dr Rugunda did not make any direct reaction to the LRA demands but said the government was committed to the peace talks.

“We are here to make a framework for peace not a constitution for Uganda ,” Dr Rugunda said. “We are also here to work out a peace agreement so that our brothers and sisters in the LRA who are in Ri-kwangba, Owiny-Ki-Bul or elsewhere will be able to come back home with their heads high,” he added.

Dr Machar said UN has agreed to pay allowances to the LRA delegation. Each delegate is to get $70 per day and $50 for communication.

Northern Uganda

Northern Uganda: Seizing the Opportunity for Peace

Kampala/Nairobi/Brussels, 26 April 2007: The peace talks which resume today in Juba (southern Sudan) may well be able to end the brutal twenty-year insurrection in northern Uganda but they need more robust international support.

Northern Uganda: Seizing the Opportunity for Peace,* the latest International Crisis Group report, examines the ten-month-old peace process between the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) and the Ugandan government. Both sides have agreed to renew their cessation of hostilities agreement and restart the Juba negotiation that stalled early this year. However, to achieve lasting peace, a more comprehensive strategy is needed both to address the conditions that have created a cycle of conflict in northern Uganda and guard against destabilisation in neighbouring Congo and Sudan.

“The peace talks have improved security and begun to allow a few of the 1.4 million internally-displaced northern Ugandans to return home”, says Adam O’Brien, Crisis Group analyst, “but some of the wrong issues are on the table, the wrong LRA negotiators are present, and UN Special Envoy and ex-Mozambique President Joaquim Chissano does not yet have sufficient leverage to overcome the mutual mistrust. Simply resuming the talks under the current structure would be a recipe for failure”.

A solution to one of Africa’s longest and most brutal conflicts requires two-tracks. The first, the Juba talks, should focus on ending the LRA security threat. Chissano needs more help, especially from the U.S. and UK, and he needs to be empowered to present a package of security and livelihood guarantees directly to the reclusive LRA leader, Joseph Kony. The second track should focus on a follow-up national reconciliation forum, with much wider participation, that addresses the north’s political, economic and social alienation and includes a plan for northern Ugandans to redevelop their communities and reintegrate returning rebels.

The investigation of the International Criminal Court (ICC) has increased pressure on the LRA’s indicted leaders to negotiate and should continue. Finally, contingency planning on a regional security strategy for use against the LRA if Juba fails should begin now and include military and political cooperation between Uganda, the Government of Southern Sudan, Congo and the UN missions in Sudan and Congo.

“The LRA’s commitment to peace cannot be taken for granted”, says Francois Grignon, Crisis Group Africa Director. “Khartoum has long supported the rebels, and its role as a spoiler is a continued concern. There is evidence the LRA is still getting arms from Khartoum, by a new route through insurgent areas in the Central African Republic, and is recruiting former fighters in northern Uganda to rebuild its depleted ranks. The moment to act is now”.

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Contacts: Nadim Hasbani (Brussels) +32 (0) 2 541 1635
Kimberly Abbott (Washington) +1 202 785 1601
To contact Crisis Group media please click here
*Read the full Crisis Group report on our website: http://www.crisisgroup.org

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Useful online map sources

• United Nations Cartographic Section
• ReliefWeb Map Centre
• Perry-Castañeda Library Map Collection, University of Texas at Austin
• AlertNet Interactive Map
• National Geographic MapMachine

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Dr. Phoebe Abe the Musical doctor

Dr Abe a multitalented “Lamegu” brings in the international arena mixture of updated songs from her childhood as well as several of her own compositions, marrying African rhythms with the freedom of reggae and Jazz. An interesting brand reminiscent of what Paul Simon achieved with his Graceland” Dr Abe is an Acholi tribe and grew up in Gulu, she was raised within a powerful culture, rich with heartfelt songs and colourful energetic dance. Dr. Abe helps to bring all this in the age of technology and documented it well in her music.

Dr Abe fled Uganda in 1972 during the Idi Amin era. She has been a General Practitioner in the UK for the past 20 years. With a Masters Degree in Tropical diseases.

Dr Abe's husband Wilson Okwonga a respected Consultant surgeon, died in an unexplained helicopter crash in 1983. Due to the political unrest in Uganda a lot of the Acholi tribes cultural attributes have been suppressed. Dr. Abe help revive the tradition and culture.

In the last 10 years Dr Abe has worked in camps for internationally disposed people, among other charitable causes she counsels in the UK.

When she performed in Gulu at Alobo night club in 2003 “Lawirwodi came with most of his friends and colleagues and said this: 'KONO ONONGO ANGEYO NI GROUP ENI TYE MA ACITO KA WOT II WILOBO KONO AWOTO KI TEK WIC'. (If I had known that this group existed, I would be walking around the world with my chin up without shame )
He volunteered to be the PATRON of Acholi Heartbeat'

Dr Abe now join Geoffrey Oryema in an international arena musically with her latest CD album 'Acholi Renaissance 1’ ('Acholi Renaissance 2' is also coming out soon) which can be ordered online from:
STERNS MUSIC
74-75 WARREN STREET
LONDON

DR. ABE (1 release)

or/and

www.purple-lion.co.uk

Geoffrey Oryema (born April 16, 1953) is an internationally renowned Ugandan musician. At the age of 24, at the height of Idi Amin's power, left Uganda, following the death of his father, cabinet minister Erinayo Wilson Oryema, in 1977. Today his songs keep alive the languages of his youth - Acholi and he uses Swahili and other languages in some of his songs

Oryema learned to play the “nanga”, guitar, thumb piano, and flute as a teenager, he moved to Paris, drawing on traditional folklore and the theme of exile for his subject matter, and found a large East African (and a small Western) following. Oryema recorded his debut album with Peter Gabriel and Brian Eno and contributed a track to the Leonard Cohen tribute album and many others His first Album Beat the Border was a big success, Today, exiled in France, Oryema has emerged as one of the most respected songwriters internationally with many albums under his belt.

The conflict in Uganda presented on ABC's "Be Seen, Be Heard"

For the latest news check out the following url for news about Northern Uganda:

Radio Uganda

Latest Acholi News (Acholinet.com)

Independent Online.

http://www.ugandacan.org

Democratic Candidate John Edwards Demands U.S. Action for Peace in North Uganda

Visit also: JohnEdwards.com.

African Studies Center – Uganda
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The conflict in Uganda presented on ABC's "Be Seen, Be Heard"

Actor Ryan Gosling and Crisis Group's John Prendergast call attention to the ongoing conflict in Uganda on ABC's television news program Be Seen, Be Heard, broadcast in March 2007.

They call for the U.S. to make greater efforts to increase the effectiveness of current peace efforts in Uganda in a 1 March 2007 op-ed: "At War in the Fields of the Lord: The Best Chance for Uganda" (ABC News Online).

Northern Uganda School Need

The Real time State of Schools In Northern Uganda:

Schools For Schools > School > Gulu High School

Teachers in Northern Uganda Struggle to re-build school structure

Posted by Francis Otim

Uganda's northern war has been called the most neglected humanitarian crisis in the world. The UN under-secretary, Jan Egelund, recently described it as "worse than Iraq". Just surviving here is difficult. Trying to learn is a further challenge.

Not in School?

If you are a friend, parent, alumni, local business, a good person or just a fan of the program, sign up and Become a Supporter. Even your involvement will help the school you are interested in.
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Check out the latest about democracy in Uganda in:
Ugandan peace: a second chance

Peter J Quaranto
13 - 4 - 2007

The two sides in Africa's 21-year war are talking again. But difficult issues of trust, transparency and transnational justice lie ahead, writes Peter J Quaranto in.
openDemocracy.net,
Other useful links:

African Studies Center – Uganda

International Crisis Group - Uganda

Also check out on Business in Africa by following the link below:

Business in Africa

Northern Ugandan Boy Adjusting In US

By Black Star News Staff Reporter
miltonallimadi@hotmail.com
Ugandans in the New York area have rallied to the support of an eight-year old Ugandan severe burn victim being monitored for possible trauma at the Brookdale University Hospital and Medical Center in New York."The 8-year-old suffered severe burns just before his fifth birthday. He was reportedly dropped into a pot of hot water. This happened when his mother, who was carrying him, was shot in the chest".

Opio Ivance, who was brought to the United States about four and a half months ago, is in the children’s section of the hospital. He was seen playing with other children today and has become one of the most popular youngsters in the ward. It's possible he may be ruled medically fit, apart from the burn wounds sustained years ago.

“When I saw him today, he had already taught some American children how to sing in Kiswahili,” said Milton Allimadi, publisher of The Black Star News. “I think the song is called ‘Teacher mzuri, mzuri, mzuri.’ He would demonstrate a dance move as he sang and the American kids joined in.”

Opio also showed his visitors drawings he had made with crayons and colored pens and numbers he had written on a large notepaper. “He seems to be very good with numbers and five minutes after meeting him, he was already demonstrating his arithmetic skills to me,” Allimadi, who was accompanied by other Ugandans for the visit, said. "We will keep people posted on his well-being. A report in a Ugandan paper that he suffered a breakdown is not true."

“Opio sustained severe burns while living in one of those wretched concentration camps in Uganda,” Allimadi added. “I was told that he is monitored to determine when he might be fit for the surgery he needs to repair the damage to his arms and his chest at another facility. The boy tells me that he hopes to be able to play basketball one day.” Opio also demonstrated some soccer skills, swinging his leg to demonstrate how he scores goals. Unlike the American children, Opio stays way from television in the recreation room, preferring to write down numbers instead.

Opio has learned some English at a remarkable rate since his arrival here in the United States although he is not hesitant to speak in Acholi to hospital staff, some of whom nod in agreement. Some staff members have grown so fond of the boy that some are even willing to provide a home for him if need be.

“With good body language, and the kid is expressive, he seems to have found a way to communicate effectively. However, several of us Acholi speakers have now volunteered to rotate visits to ensure that Opio receives proper attention,” added Allimadi.

Allimadi noted that he has also met the American woman, Jeanette Quinn, who brought Opio to the United States. The circumstances of bringing the boy to the country, and the current status of guardianship were not immediately clear.

“For the time being, we want to ensure a somewhat familiar environment so we invite any caring Ugandan, and other Acholi speakers in the New York region to consider making themselves available,” Allimadi added. “We will do everything to see that he gets any treatment he needs for his burns. Whether US laws were broken in getting Opio here, we shall wait to see. No one is going to take advantage of this boy at all. That much we can assure.”

Opio ended up in the U.S. hospital after airport Security at John F. Kennedy International Airport prevented him and Quinn from boarding a plane out of the United States on March 22 after an "incident" The Black Star News has learned—Quinn wanted to return the boy to Uganda or take him to some other location. New York City officials then quickly swung into action and took control. Opio’s severe burns, sustained more than four years ago hampers arm mobility.
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Read More About Opiyo here....

Opiyo’s Tragedy: Lost In Translation

Uganda-Related Reports, Multimedia, and News Sources on Northern Uganda

Check out the following links for sources of Uganda-Related Reports, Multimedia, and News Materials on Northern Uganda
1. - Listen to conflict experts John Prendergast, Betty Bigombe, Olara Otunnu and Carol Bellamy speak about the war in northern Uganda.
§UN Press Conference of Act for Stolen Children (press conference)
2. - This documentary chronicles the lives of "night commuters" in northern Uganda as seen through the eyes of actor Don Cheadle and his family.
§Journey into Sunset
3. - This documentary tells the story of children from a northern Uganda IDP camp who defy all odds to participate in the national Ugandan dance competition.
§WarDance, a film of Shine Global
4. - Join journalists Daniel Simpson and Matthew Green in this online video special.
§Rebels Without a Cause (web documentary)
5. - View moving photography and narration about the conflict and its victims compiled by Francine Orr of LA Times.
§Horror in Uganda (photo journal)
6. - a CNN web documentary about the night commuters of northern Uganda.
§Uganda-CAN Audio Journal
7. - Listen to Uganda-CAN activists on the radio, as well as NPR clips about northern Uganda . §Ugandan Kids Fear Kidnappings
8. - Learn about the Invisible Children documentary and grassroots campaign for northern Uganda, and order a copy online.
§Invisible Children (documentary)
9. - Check out perhaps the best look at the background of the conflict, and order a copy online.
§Uganda Rising (documentary)
10. Latest Acholi News (Acholinet.com)
Acholinet.com has forums, news feeds, downloaded music, videos, etc
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CEGUN (Campaign to End Genocide in Uganda Now!) documentary on Acholi Genocide.

Featured in the film are Olara Otunnu, former UN Undersecretary General for Children in Armed Conflict, Milton Allimadi, Black Star News Publisher and CEGUN members Lucy Larom, Gloria Oloya, Kathy Smith and Tim Hardy
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Boston College Students Kick Off National Week of Action for Northern Uganda

200 students crowded into Boston College’s McGuinn Hall on Tuesday to kick off Uganda-CAN’s student movement week of action—A Lifetime of War; The Opportunity of a Lifetime. For as long as we have been alive, the people of northern Uganda have been caught in the middle of Africa’s longest-running war. As our lives in America unfolded - first days of school, tryouts for the school sports team and term papers - our brothers and sisters in northern Uganda have faced a very different reality.

BC’s Uganda activists used concurrent timelines of how life in northern Uganda and America has unfolded over the past 21 years. They constructed a 30 foot timeline complete with the stories of two people who grew up half a world apart, but whose stories are now linked as they are both committed to a future of peace in northern Uganda. Grace Akallo, a World Vision spokesperson, shared her experiences as an abductee of the LRA and her fierce hope for peace in northern Uganda. Joanne Wu, who serves on the leadership of BC’s Uganda-CAN chapter, also shared her story, illustrating how American students have the ability to positively affect situations around the world by approaching them with resolve.

Our peers in northern Uganda have known a lifetime of war, but we refuse to stand by and allow violence and instability to haunt their future as well. Last July, peace talks began in Juba, South Sudan, as the Ugandan government and the LRA came to the table to negotiate an end to the conflict. This to be the best opportunity for peace in Uganda since the war began 21 years ago. It is the opportunity of a lifetime.

Join BC next week and be a voice for peace in northern Uganda. For information and resources on how to bring A Lifetime of War; the Opportunity of a Lifetime to your campus, please contact Desiree Fair at desiree@resolveuganda.org

'Invisible Children' video sparks reaction for victims in Uganda

By: Chelsea Lankes Issue date: 4/2/07

Texas A&M's organization Global Justice is aiming to raise awareness of humanitarian efforts by hosting screenings of the Invisible Children documentary Thursday through Saturday in the Memorial Student Center. Invisible Children is a non-profit organization dedicated to raising awareness and money for bringing peace to the Northern Ugandan people.

The Invisible Children documentary was made by three young men who decided to travel to Africa in 2003. They were in search of a story and found it in Gulu, Uganda.

Their film depicts the story of the children of the Acholi Tribe in Gulu. Many of these children were abducted by the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), a force whose primary goal is to overthrow the Ugandan government. Also called the Rebel Army, the LRA then brainwashes the children to become killers and provides them with guns to inflict violence and murder wherever and whenever commanded.

Rebecca Fortson, a member of Global Justice, said she was inspired to participate in Invisible Children when she saw what the children in Gulu were going through.

"It ignited interest in me," said Fortson, a sophomore psychology major. "It takes you off guard because it's different than anything we've ever experienced. It's like a call to action, but also this feeling of helplessness."

Will Deaver, a sophomore kinesiology major, said the documentary opened his eyes and made him want to help out.

"After viewing this documentary, I felt not only an obligation to help the children and the people of Sudan, but to help this organization to bring awareness to other people," Deaver said. "I knew of the turmoil in Africa and of on-going civil wars, but nothing comparable to what this video has shown me."

The Invisible Children screenings are organized as tours throughout the United States. Thirteen teams in different regions of the country set up screenings for high schools, colleges and the public, said Jenna Strauffer, who travels with the tour.

"We focus a lot towards high schools and colleges. Different crowds will react differently," Strauffer said. "It's amazing to hear what people are willing to give up to make a difference."

The screenings raise awareness of the issues, as well as money to fund the efforts of the organization. The money provided goes toward the Invisible Children Bracelet Campaign, which provides jobs for men and women in Northern Uganda.

Strauffer said the reach of the program extends beyond the children abducted by the LRA. Invisible Children also assigns mentors to children in Northern Uganda. These mentors encourage the children academically and provide life counseling, aiming to slowly change culture and help end poverty by training the children that are the country's future.

"The people of Northern Uganda want their kids to be educated," Strauffer said. "It's not just a band-aid, but a lasting change."
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Click the link to watch the Video Clips of Students at work to support Children of Northern Uganda:


1. Invisible Children - GNC Atlanta

2. Invisible Children: The Proof 2006

3. WARDANCETHEMOVIE

4. FILMMAKER PROFILES from Sundance Channel: WAR DANCE

Andrea Nix Fine and Sean Fine talk about their film WAR DANCE (Documentary Competition).

5.Latimes photographer Francine Orr reported from the troubled region in September 2003 and April of this year. These are her images from Uganda.
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