Mistrust might fail the talks

BISHOP BAKER OCHOLA is a respected religious leader in the Acholi region who has been involved in efforts to pacify the region since 1994. Now under the umbrella of the Acholi Religious Leaders Peace Initiative (ARLPI),he is one of the observers at the on-going Juba peace talks between the Government of Uganda and Lord's Resistance Army (LRA).

He told EDRIS KIGGUNDU why mistrust could hamper the talks” the best option of bringing peace to a region that has been embroiled in a 20 year-old conflict.

You have been involved in the Juba Peace Talks since they began. As an observer, would say they are progressing well?

From the time the Juba Peace Talks started in July 2006, they were progressing steadily until the end of 2006 when the LRA walked out. But before this they had signed the first agreement known as the Cessation of Hostilities. We worked very hard at the beginning of 2007. We had a meeting in Juba and later we went to Likwang-ba three times to persuade the LRA. The LRA agreed that the venue remains Juba and that Dr. Riek Machar continues to be the mediator. By April, the peace talks had re-opened and on May 2 they signed another agreement known as Comprehensive Solutions to the Problems of Northern Uganda.

Ever since the talks began, we have seen the LRA make a number of demands, like being included in the central government. This has at times stalled the talks but do you think some of these demands are realistic?

The demands are personal things because if the LRA wants to join government and government agrees, that is up to government. But what we are talking about here is how do we bring peace in Uganda? The way of bringing peace is only through reconciliation.

You have been at the talks, would I be right to say that both parties appear not to be genuinely interested in the talks but are doing so under various pressures?

There is pressure but I think there is some level of commitment. Government used to call those people terrorists and you cannot sit with terrorists. That is a level of commitment and let us not under-rate that.

Any aspects of the talks that you think need to be changed?

Both sides have to increase their level of commitment because even the LRA, by the fact they moved away from Uganda and went to the DR Congo border, it means that they wanted peace. We want to see the level of commitment which will allow both the government and LRA to completely trust each other. The talks could be done here in Uganda, say in Gulu.

Looking at both sides, do you think they have truly gained confidence in each other, or there are still suspicions?

Of course there is still a lot of mistrust but somehow they have developed some confidence in each other because they have been sitting together for one year now. So far the peace talks in Juba are going on well. Before they came for the consultation meetings they signed the third agreement known as Principles of Accountability and Reconciliation. So they have now come to make consultations because when they go back they will have to develop mechanisms and proceedures for implementation of these principles.

Within this third agreement, government says they are going to try the LRA for some of these heinous crimes. But some people, like in Teso, believe that the LRA should be forgiven without any reservations.

People do not understand when we talk of forgiveness. There are many ways to bring justice. In the formal court you go through a truth telling process to establish the truth. In the informal system you also go through the truth telling mechanism. But when the formal court knows the truth, they jump to administer justice through punishment and you know punishment causes polarisation between the warring parties. So we say that the best solution to the problem should be the cultural justice system known as Mato Oput.

Why Mato Oput?

Because it is pro-life and holistic in the sense that the justice system in looking for restoration of the broken relationship. It looks at the restoration of the lost human dignity because when people fight and kill each other; in the process they lose their humanity. You become less human being. We are all created in the image of God so if I kill, I lose my humanity. I am less than a human being but this system restores this. It is complete. It is also forgiving. The court system does not forgive. The Bible says there is no peace without forgiveness.

How does it take care of reconciliation because there are some people who might not forgive the offenders if they think they are not punished decisively?

Under the court system there is no reconciliation. Under the Mato Oput there will be reconciliation through accountability. Government and LRA have agreed that accountability cuts through both sides. Both of them will be accountable to the people of Uganda. This accountability leads to reconciliation and when you go to reconciliation you must go through the truth telling process. There will be mercy, justice and peace, which is different from the court system because it jumps from truth to justice.

How do you think government should handle elements of UPDF who committed crimes?

They (government) have to accept their responsibility for failure to protect the lives and property of the people of northern Uganda, for failing to stop the abductions of children. This is real and government can say sorry.

Government also says that it will not be possible to compensate all the victims of the insurgency because of limited resources. What is your view?

Government cannot talk like that. They have to consider those who have been killed, people who have been maimed permanently, and people who have been abused, like women. The second reparations that have to be done are memorials for the dead. There are some people who died and they are not known. You have to build structures like schools in their remembrance.

Another factor that has stalled the talks is the issue of ICC indictments, which the LRA wants dropped if they are to sign the Comprehensive Peace Agreement.

The ICC is not even the problem because government and the LRA have agreed that they will develop their own mechanism to resolve the problem through reconciliation. They have to take this cultural reconciliation mechanism to Parliament in a legal form to become a law so that the ICC can go through it.

Don't you think this issue if not well resolved will ultimately bring the talks to a premature end?

Yes, but it depends on how the LRA will understand it because some people are telling the LRA that let it first be taken away. The ICC just plays the role of supplementing the dispute resolution mechanism and they cannot over-rule the sovereignty of Uganda. So if Uganda can meet the international standards of justice, ICC doesn't have a role to play in Uganda.

Government says the LRA should embrace the talks more because they are a spent force who can no longer sustain war. Do you think so?

You know, this is not a conventional war so you cannot do this kind of assessment. A rebel is somebody who fights in the bush. The government agreed to talk to the LRA because the LRA still had the guns. That is a fact. The reality on the ground is that these people are still a power. They are not defeated so they are not negotiating with government from a weak position.

What do you think remains the biggest challenge to the signing of the peace agreement?

Mistrust. You see mistrust is a terrible thing. If I don't trust you, whatever you say I don't believe it. Government and the LRA do not trust each other fully. That is why we are in Juba talking, otherwise we would be talking from here in Uganda.

Last word?

The prospect of losing the peace is still there because of the level of mistrust between both parties. But as spiritual leaders we are fundamentally optimistic that where human feeling fails God will do miracles. I appeal to government and the LRA to be honest with the people of Uganda. Whatever they do must lead to reconciliation which will lead to total peace. The only way to get peace is through the process of reconciliation.

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Learn more about acholi(Acholi) here is the link.

• A Snapshot of Acoli
• Leb Acholi (Acholi Language)

• Bishop Ochola

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writer: ekiggundu@ugandaobs

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Listen to what what Bosmic Sang about Bishop Macleord Baker Ochola II ! Click the link below:

Too paco

PS: Below is Bishop Macleord Baker Ochola II is seen standing by the ruins of a car blownup by a land-mine; his wife Winifred died in the explosion. (Photo: The Rev Christopher Carey/CMS)

News Flash: Floods washed away the bridges along Aswa River

People on Sunday cross a flooded bridge connecting Lira to Pader and Kitgum districts

By Vision Reporters

Hundreds of students from northern Uganda could not go back to school yesterday due to the floods that had washed away the bridges along Aswa River, cutting off some Acholi districts from the rest of the country.

Students from Kitgum and Pader were yesterday stuck at the main Aswa Bridge, 40kms from Gulu town. Others were stranded at Kitgum Bus Park.

Richard Edigu, a Senior Six student of Kitintale Progressive Secondary School in Kampala, was worried that he would miss the beginning of term examinations, known as welcome tests.

“We are supposed to begin our welcome tests on Tuesday. It may affect our termly performance if we miss them,” said Edigu at Aswa Bridge.

Piska Laker, 30, an employee of Medicins Sans Frontiers in Gulu, was also stranded on the road as she was trying to take her children back to school in Kitgum.

“I am really stranded here with my children. Let our MPs come and see the bridge for themselves and tell the Government how serious the problem is,” she complained.

Swimmers were charging between sh2,000 and sh5,000 to help stranded people cross the river.

But UPDF 5th Division commander based in Pader, Col. Lucky Kidega, cautioned travellers not to risk crossing the flooded river.

“The water is very fast and has washed away slabs on bridges,” he warned, adding that the army might send two motor boats to get the students across.

Lt. Col. Fearless Obwoya, a UPDF soldier, was almost swept away by the gushing water on Sunday when he attempted to walk across the 1954 bridge.

At least four slabs spanning the bridge had collapsed.

The RDCs of Kitgum and Pader, Nahman Ojwee and Santos Okot Lapolo, appealed to the Government to send a helicopter to airlift the students.

John Komakeck Ogwok, the LC5 chairman of Kitgum, said Government engineers were trying to fix the bridge.

“But that may take time. We have dispatched a team of district engineers to survey the Kitgum-Palabek-Palaro-Gulu road and see if it is possible to divert traffic there,” he said.

Arguments like these, however, could not convince the angry travelers who were stranded at the bridge.

“President Museveni and Parliament must do something urgently about this bridge to help the people of northern Uganda”, appealed Muhammad Nabende, 39, a businessman from Mbale.

“The Government and the development partners should come to our rescue”, said 40-year old Omony Akena. “The Ministry of Works is hopeless. They are not doing any work, yet they are earning huge salaries.”

Brenda Oloya, 21, asked where their MPs were in their hour of need. “We elected them and they have abandoned us like this. We have been suffering for one week and they are nowhere to be seen.”

(Filed by Geresom Musamali, Dennis Ojwee, Wokorach-Oboi, Chris Ocowun and Justin Moro)

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View BBC Interview with the Ugandan Foreign Minister, Sam Kutesa.

In a HardTalk programme first broadcast on Monday 24th September 2007, Stephen Sackur talks to the Ugandan Foreign Minister, Sam Kutesa.

Click here to watch the interview

Central Africa has been hit by devastating floods.

One of the worst affected countries is Uganda.

Tens of thousands of people are now homeless and nearly two million people are dependent on international food aid.

The hardest-hit areas are just now emerging from two decades of civil war.

But how much has the Ugandan government contributed to the plight of its own people?

Allan Little talks to the Foreign Minister of Uganda.
courtesy bbc

Northern Uganda’s Peace Process: Maintaining Momentum

INTERNATIONAL CRISIS GROUP - NEW BRIEFING

Northern Uganda’s Peace Process: Maintaining Momentum

Kampala/Nairobi/Brussels, 14 September 2007: The international community must increase leverage to push forward the Juba peace process and put an end to the twenty-year conflict in northern Uganda. Follow the link below:

Northern Uganda Peace Process: The Need to Maintain Momentum,

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HAVE You listened to samples of Dr. Abe Music? IF NOT Check out the link below:

Dr. Abe's Music produced for the children of Northern Uganda is being sold by:

Stern's Music, 74-75 WARREN STREET, LONDON entitled "Acholi Renaissance" released in 2006. Some part of the proceeds from the sale of this Albums will go to support and educate the children of Northern Uganda. Check out the following links:

http://www.sternsmusic.com/ and http://purple-lion.co.uk/dr_abe.html

Click the following link to listen to the samples tracks of the Album you can order the album by following direction there in1

DR. ABE (1 release)

ACCOUNTABILITY: Trumpets of peace drowning out drums of war in the north

By Nobert Mao

Taken from http://www.newvision.co.ug/D/8/20/586052

THE last Uganda North America Association (UNAA) Convention I attended was in 2003 in Boston. Being based in New Haven (Connecticut) at that time, Boston was just a train rideaway. This time the journey from Gulu to San Francisco was almost half a globe away.

Like all large gatherings, the UNAA attempts to cater for all needs! it can be a forum for political networking and agenda-setting, but it is also a mammoth social gathering where long lost pals touch base. Other people hope to draw attention to some issues they consider important while others see it as a captive market to which various wares can be sold.

Mr. Nobert Mao

One floor was devoted to a category referred to in UNAA-speak as vendors. These are the people who have something to sell. The stalls ranged from those manned by agents of musicians selling low cost CDs and DVDs to those offering luxury apartments in Kampala. There were also fabrics. But I am jumping the gun.

Getting through airport security in Amsterdam before the eleventh hour flight is a reminder that the world has changed irreversibly. Indeed, history is now divided into pre- and post-September 11 eras. The elusive Osama bin Laden seems to hover in the air of every airport terminal since September 11. Even a bottle of mineral water is suspect just in case a team of terrorists sneak in with dangerous liquids and turn the plane into a flying laboratory for creating an explosive concoction! Belts, shoes and jackets have to be removed.

One time a colleague from New Zealand had to pass through the metal detector about half a dozen times. "I hate Osama!" he spat out after he was finally cleared. A few months ago, I was travelling with Gulu resident district commissioner Walter Ochora when he jokingly resisted removing his belt.

"You must be joking," he teased. My trousers will fall.

"No problem. This is Amsterdam," the security officer said, suggesting that the sight of nakedness is no big deal in the city, which is home to the notorious red light district.

This year the convention organisers invited me to speak at the Forum on Northern Uganda. For about five years in a row, Dr. Ben Omara Abe has been convening this forum with a view of drawing attention to the war in northern Uganda and its devastating effects.

He told us that it was an uphill task to get some people to accept that the problem of northern Uganda required special attention. In one of the previous conventions, a rather smug participant interrupted a forum on northern Uganda with an announcement that there were other "more serious issues" being discussed in another meeting room!

This year the forum was well attended. It also became less of a blame game than previous sessions, which usually degenerated into name calling sessions. I thought the forum this year was more solution oriented than problem oriented. Some of the topics given to some of the panelists also did not give a lot of room for politicking. How can one be too political while talking about epidemiology or nutrition?

I was probably the only one who exercised a measure of political licence by asserting that it is wrong for us to pretend to be giving answers to questions we have not asked. Diagnosis must precede prescription before one can have any expectation of a healing.

On the whole, an air of optimism prevailed. This is because since the Juba talks started, the trumpets of peace seem to be drowning out the drums of war. Still there was caution.

It is one thing to sign a peace agreement. It is a totally different thing to successfully implement a truce. The lessons of history were kept alive throughout the session. In addition, the complex classification and formation of the various actors ensured that we all left knowing that there was still a lot of work to do to avoid a miscarriage in Juba.

But if the session convened by Dr. Abe was moderate, a more radical session awaited. Some of us decided to forego the luxury boat cruise in the evening in order to attend the session on Northern Uganda titled "Other Voices". It was organised by the "Campaign to End Genocide in Uganda."

This one was clearly like a trial of the Uganda Government. Even the literature distributed would give one a picture that the situation in Northern Uganda has not improved despite the peace talks. Naturally, it fell on the shoulders of the delegation from Uganda to acknowledge that while the suffering is still intense, the situation is not as hopeless as the conveners of the forum portrayed.

Together with Minister Okello Oryem, Richard Todwong, Jacob Oulanyah and Owiny Dollo, we asked them to update their information to record some of the milestones towards peace. Many of the panelists were very pessimistic about prospects for peace.

There were other high points of the convention. Vice President Gilbert Bukenya's speech was very informative to Ugandans in the Diaspora. He was also honest enough to admit that despite some scores at the macro level, at the micro level, the Ugandan economy has not delivered.

There was also a political forum a sort of kimeeza, which brought together representatives of political parties. I understand that the Movement, Democratic Party, Uganda Peoples' Congress and Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) argued out their cases to a full house.

The only leader of a party present was FDC's Kizza Besigye who must have had a field day as FDC envoy Anne Mugisha had amply advertised his presence.
During the closing evening gala, I sat next to Besigye as we listened to information technology minister Ham Mulira speak on information communication technology. He made an interesting speech, but most of the audience seemed more eager for the partying to follow.

Worse still Bukenya made his entry in the middle of his speech causing even more disruption. That was not the only discourtesy. The organisers decided to introduce Besigye long after he had left the gala!

The next day, Monday September 3, was the American Labour Day. I joined Besigye for breakfast after which we retreated to his suite for about three hours to discuss the state of politics in Uganda.

Clearly, San Francisco offered fewer distractions, so it was easier to set up a serious meeting. I understand that over 1,000 people attended the UNAA convention. The convention offered a rich menu and I think UNAA has the potential to become a strong voice for our people in the diaspora.The writer is the LC5 chairman of Gulu

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Further reading:

Uganda Conflict Watch | Resolve Uganda

Washington Post story on Betty Bigombe: "the woman behind Uganda's peace talks"

July 11th, 2007 in: Prospects for Peace

The Washington Post today has an article on Betty Bigombe, "the woman behind Uganda's peace talks." The feature story describes how Bigombe's initiative in 1993-1994 and then 2004-2006 was critical to establishing the groundwork for the current peace talks. Read the article at The Washington Post.

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What is Uganda North American Association?

The Ugandan North American Association, (UNAA) is a not for profit
organization. The Board of Directors is composed of 12 members
headed by the President.

The immediate past Chairman, and any officer of the National
Committee, shall be ex-officio members of the Executive
Committee (Board of Directors) and shall serve as advisors to the
Executive Committee. The Executive Committee may from time
to time appoint, as needed, any other officer(s) to serve in
designated capacity.

The organization is a not-for-profit corporation predicated on the
premise that, we, the members living in North America, have unique
economic, social and cultural needs which can be served better and
fulfilled in our own Organization.

Principal Office: The Association may have offices at such
place or places within North America as the Executive Committee
may, from time to time determine or the business of the
Corporation may require or make desirable. Registered Agent
and Registered Offices: The registered agent and registered
office shall be determined by the Executive Committee of
the Association.

Tax Exempt Status: the Ugandan North American
Association has successfully acquired its 501 (C) 3 status.
This means that specific contributions to UNAA by individuals
or organizations can now be claimed as tax exempt. The
avenues for more access to sponsorship have never been
wider. This has also raised the profile of our organization
an earned us the recognition of a true Not-for-Profit
Organization.

Programs: The organization may achieve its objectives
through regular conferences and meetings, networking
activities, professional and business development seminars
and workshops, theatrical productions on positive values,
fundraising activities to supplement operating capital,
and newsletters.

Statement of Non-discrimination Intent: The organization
is an equal opportunity Association. It does not discriminate,
for membership purposes, on the basis of race, color, religion,
ethnic or tribal affiliation. The Association is non-denominational,
non sectarian, non political, secular and not-for-profit. In these
Bylaws and Articles of Incorporation, and henceforth, in any
official writing of the Association or public address, whenever
reference is made to a masculine gender, reference will also
be made to a feminine gender, thus he/she, his/hers.

Objectives of UNAA

• To stimulate and encourage nationwide acquaintance and fellowship

among members in North America.

• To develop, through the exchange of information,

research and discussion, a better understanding of problems facing members.

• To encourage business relationships and interaction.

• To promote unity and friendship.

• To promote and foster social, cultural, economic and

Philanthropic activities and share the same with other groups.

• To address needs peculiar to members of the Association.

• To engage in any lawful purpose or purposes

Principal Goals of The Conventions
Provide a venue where Ugandans from throughout the world can meet;

• to celebrate the rich diversity of their cultural heritage

• to discuss business

• to discuss politics

• to discuss matters relative to their daily social and domestic

well-being, and

• to enable single (unmarried) individuals from all over

North America to meet other singles in a social environment.

You can visit their website at.

http://www.unaanet.com/

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Knoxville Jazz for Justice is approaching!

Knoxville Jazz for Justice

The date for this year (2007) Knoxville Jazz for Justice concert is

set for Friday NOVEMBER 2nd!

Mark your calender !!

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Knoxville Jazz for Justice on the move across Africa

Erin, Lindsay, and Josh (Behind)Dr. Hackett, and Prof. Okot Bwangamoi (Front)

Knoxville Jazz for Justice on the move across Africa with stopover in :

Botswana,South Africa and Uganda: Read Lindsay and Erin Blog for their in depth coverage of their entire trip to Africa especially Uganda and why University of Tennessee is interested in Northern Uganda! Follow the following links..............

http://lindsay.knoxjazzforjustice.org/

erinbernstein.blogspot.com.

For photo essay follow these link to Lindsay flickr photostreams:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/lindsaymcclain1

http://www.flickr.com/photos/lindsaymcclain

Why University of Tennessee in Knoxville is in Northern Uganda

Read:

The Melodious Melting of Misunderstanding and Confusion: Why the University of Tennessee is in Uganda

http://lindsay.knoxjazzforjustice.org/2007/07/melodious-melting-of-

misunderstanding.html

So, why the heck am I in Uganda?

http://erin.knoxjazzforjustice.org/2007/07/so-why-heck-

am-i-in-uganda.html

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Photopraphs Courtesy Lindsay