Establish Peace
Resolve Uganda - Weekly Roundup
Each week Resolve Uganda provides an update on the efforts for
peace in northern Uganda. Read the latest updates in their blog
www.resolveuganda.org/news. You can also sign up to recieve
the Weekly Roundup via email.
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June 2008 - The struggle continues
After some significant progress was made by both parties on
the solution to the causes and solutions to the northern
Uganda conflict, what now remains is for the rebel
leader, Joseph Kony, of the LRA and the Ugandan
Government to sign the agreement. The Rebel leader
has on two occasions not shown up to sign the agreement,
citing his personal security, ICC (International
Criminal Court) and other concerns as the reason for the
delay. It is very disappointing time for the people of
northern Uganda who remain in the refugee camps for
fear of seeing no end to this bloody conflict. Please continue
to pray that the Holy Spirit may touch the hearts of
the rebels and the Government of Uganda to show their
commitment to peace. The Acholi Religious Leaders
Peace Initiative, the Acholi Cultural and some civic leaders
returned to Juba recently to seek the possibility of
meeting with Joseph Kony, the leader of the LRA, and
discuss with him some of the concerns he has raised as
the reasons for not signing the peace agreement.
Msgr. Matthew Odong
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December 2007 - On-going Peace Talks in Juba, Sudan
It is now one year and four months since the Juba peace dialogue
between the LRA and Ugandan government began July
14, 2006 in Juba, Sudan. Since then significant progress has
been made in the interest of peace. Supported by the
International Community, Government of southern Sudan,
African Union, Acholi Religious and Cultural Leaders and the
UN Special Envoy, former President Joachim Chissano of
Mozambique, the conflicting parties have so far demonstrated
a high level of commitment to observing the cessation of hostilities
agreement signed in August 2006 in Juba. This has
resulted in relative peace in the Acholi sub-region. Destructive
activities such as child abduction, raids on villages, planting of
landmines on roads and fighting between the government of
Uganda and the rebels have stopped giving the population a
big psychological lift, though great numbers of the population
are still in the refugee camps. But that is not the end of the
struggle. Two critical agenda items are still on the table of the
government of Uganda and the LRA rebels. The most critical
one is “accountability and reconciliation.” It asks the questions,
what should be done to those persons who committed crimes
and atrocities against humanity? Should they be tried before
the court of law or be forgiven by the victims? The international
criminal court of justice (world court) based in The Hague,
Netherlands has issued warrants of arrest for the five LRA top
leaders to be tried and prosecuted if found guilty. The majority
of the Acholi and the neighboring communities who are the victims
of the crimes and atrocities are willing to forgive the
Rebels so as to end the long conflict that has eaten up their
lives, culture and economy. They want the peace process to
move in the direction of forgiveness and reconciliation, a view
advocated by the Acholi Religious Leaders Peace Initiative and
Acholi cultural leaders.
The delegation of the LRA are in Uganda to consult with the
population on the way forward and to find out if the community
is ready to forgive them for the crimes and atrocities they have
committed against them. We hope that the process will move
fast to its conclusion.
YOU CAN DO SOMETHING TO BRING AN END TO THE
NORTHERN UGANDA CONFLICT
Pray for the success of the on-going Juba Peace Process that
it may not be derailed.
Follow up the progress being made.
Write to your government representatives in Washington to
request their involvement in the Juba peace process. The conflicting
parties may need some pressure.
Msgr. Matthew Odong
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June 2007 - On-going Peace Talks in Juba, Sudan
Though major progress has been made since the peace talks began in July 2006 between the Government of
Uganda and the Rebels of the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), we still need your prayers. The big issue at the
moment is the intervention of the International
Criminal Court (ICC), which has, in the name of justice,
indicted the top LRA leaders for crimes and
atrocities against the people. The LRA leaders are
demanding the withdrawal of the indictments by the
ICC from the case so that dialog can continue to a
conclusion. The people and the Church, who are the
victims of the conflict, are advocating forgiveness and
reconciliation as an alternative justice for peace. The
question is “Will the ICC bend to the demands of the
LRA and the wishes of the victims?”
Msgr. Matthew Odong
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December 2006 - On-going Peace Talks in Juba, Sudan
The peace talks in Juba, Sudan between the government of
Uganda and the LRA (Lord’s Resistance Army) is making
some progress. Our people here are tired of this bloody
conflict and look forward to the day when peace will return,
the day when refugee camps will be dismantled and they
can return to their homes. The need for more prayers from
you and pressure on the two conflicting parties by the
International Community are very much needed to speed
up the peace process in Juba.
The good news is that since the peace talks in Juba began,
there have been no ambushes on roads and almost constant
gunshots have stopped. For nearly six months we
have enjoyed relative peace with free movement within the
region that used to be so risky. However, 1.6 million people
are still stuck in the refugee camps where the living conditions
are horrible. Children and women remain the most
vulnerable in this conflict with many of them killed, wounded,
left orphans/widows, some physically and permanently
deformed and denied the opportunity for education.
Once peace returns, God willing, there will be another big
challenge to address, the issues of resettlement of the people
who have been living in the refugee camps for the last
twenty years and the reintegration of the former abductees
who have returned home from captivity. It is going to be the
most expensive part of the struggle to bring peace, healing
and restoration of the damages caused by the conflict in
Northern Uganda. The people have lost all their personal
property and community social, economic and educational
infrastructure. Northern Uganda is counting on your continued
prayers and solidarity.
Msgr. Matthew Odong
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June 2006 - How many have to die? Just tell me the number.
Click here to download the June 2006 Newsletter and read the article by Peter Quaranto; Director of the Uganda Conflict Action Network
www.UgandaCan.org.
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June 2005 - Peace Building Activities
The 19 years of conflict continues to cause great suffering to the people in Northern Uganda. The most vulnerable are children, women
and the elderly. It is one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world that has not been taken seriously by the International
Community. Various groups of peace loving people have come to contribute toward ending this bloody conflict. These include the Acholi
cultural and Acholi Religious Leaders Peace Initiative, the District Reconciliation team, the Presidential Peace Team, the Justice and Peace
Commission, various Non Governmental Organizations and the International Community. Five approaches to ending the conflict have been proposed.
* The military option
* Dialogue
* Amnesty
* Reconciliation and forgiveness
* The ICC (International Criminal Court of Justice)
Each group is identified and associated with one or two of the five
mentioned methods. The government of Uganda advocates for a military
solution. This approach has failed to achieve total peace for the
last 19 years. The International Criminal Court of Justice advocates for
the arrest of the top LRA leaders for the purpose of trying and prosecuting
them for the atrocities committed against the people. The ICC
came in at the invitation of the Ugandan government. The questions I
have related to this approach are who, how soon and where will the
ICC find the top LRA leadership and effect their arrest before more
people are killed by the LRA? How many more innocent people including
the children in captivity will be killed before the ICC finds and
arrests the LRA leadership? What method will be used by the ICC to
carry out the arrest? Military option? What will happen to thousands of
children taken against their will?
The Acholi Cultural Leaders, Acholi Religious Leaders Peace
Initiative and the majority of the population advocate for Dialogue,
Amnesty, Forgiveness and Reconciliation as a means to ending the
conflict. This approach has bore some positive results in that some
rebel commanders have voluntarily surrendered to the government of
Uganda and have been granted amnesty.
On December 28, 2004, I was among the peace team led by
Betty Bigombe to meet with the rebel leaders in the bush. One important
point, which surfaced in that meeting, was the need for confidence
building between the LRA and the Ugandan government. The LRA
does not trust the Ugandan government. Unless a solution is found for
confidence building, the road to peace is going to be very long. We
wish to express a plea to our government of Uganda to demonstrate
the political will to end the conflict and to the International Community
to put pressure on the government of Uganda, the government of
Sudan and the LRA to end the conflict. The people of Northern
Uganda do not deserve this terrible and inhuman treatment.
Msgr. Matthew Odong
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December 2004 - Northern Uganda Peace Initiative (NUPI)
The Northern Uganda Peace Initiative (NUPI) was formed
during a meeting between President Museveni and senior U. S.
officials in Washington in June 2003. It was agreed that resolving
the conflict in Northern Uganda was a top priority and necessary
to alleviate the suffering of the people of that region. NUPI subsequently
established offices in Uganda in March 2004.
The broad purpose of NUPI is to provide expert assistance to
the Government of Uganda in the peace process. Conflict resolution
is viewed as a wide process that includes addressing the
underlying issues at the root of the conflict. NUPI works simultaneously
on two levels to build consensus for this process: at the
grassroots level with civil society in northern Uganda and with
the central government in Kampala. In efforts to seek consensus
on where to start the process, NUPI regularly consults with
prominent civil society and government persons and organizations
in Uganda, and has opened a field office in Gulu to increase
its presence in the north.
Uganda’s post-colonial history of ethnic-driven political violence
– a history often referred to as cycles of revenge and mistrust
– underscores the need for a peace-building effort that
attempts to heal the deeper-rooted divisions within the country.
National reconciliation, as both a process and an ultimate objective,
is a bridge to guide Uganda to a more inclusive and unified
socio-economic-political environment and lasting peace.
The first stakeholder’s workshop is scheduled for December
9-10.
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June 2004 - Steps Toward Peace
Pax Christi International-Festival of Hope Archbishop John
Baptist Odama was invited to attend a workshop on International
Peace and Reconciliation at Seton Hall University in South Orange,
NJ May 19th to 23rd. Because of a conflict due to a prior commitment
Odama sent Monsignor Matthew Odong, his vicar-general and secretary
of the Acholi Religious Leaders Peace Initiative, to represent
him at this conference. Following the workshop Odong will travel to
Washington for high-level meetings with the U. S. Government
arranged by Father Michael Perry, African Policy Advisor to the U. S.
Bishops (USCCB).Pax Christi International funded this trip.
Cardinal Martini – Vatican Department of Justice and Peace
will be visiting Uganda May 28th through June 3rd. Archbishop
Odama and Archbishop Christopher Pierre (Apostolic Nuncio) will
be traveling with him to Gulu, Kolongo, Kitgum and Ugandan Martyrs
University. They will be at Ugandan Martyrs on June 3rd for the
Ugandan Martyrs Feast Day.
Notre Dame Summer Institute for Peace – June 20-28 Archbishop
Odama (bishop of Gulu) and Archbishop Paul Bakyenga
(bishop of Mbarara & Chairman – Uganda Catholic Bishops) have
been invited to attend this conference. Prior to their arrival at Notre
Dame they will be in Washington for meetings with U.S.Government
Officials being arranged by Dan Griffin of Catholic Relief Services
(CRS). This trip will be funded by CRS. A comment that is often
heard in Washington is that a particular issue is or is not on their
radar screen. Certainly efforts made by many groups and individuals
have put and are keeping the conflict in Northern Uganda on their
radar screens. Let us hope that the attention being given to Northern
Uganda by the International Community will bring peace in the
near future.
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December 2003 - Peace Effort in Washington DC
Following the four day African Conference at Notre Dame Archbishop
Odama, Monsignor Matthew, Dan Vaughan and I flew to
Washington for two days of high level meetings with U. S. Government
officials arranged by Father Michael Perry, African Policy Advisor
to the U.S. Bishops. Archbishop Odama and Monsignor Matthew
had the opportunity to tell their story to people at the National Security
Council (White House), State Department and members of Congress.
We were pleasantly surprised to learn that an agreement was
signed on September 25th between the warring parties in the civil
war within Sudan. We were even more surprised to learn that the
State Department, through USAID (U. S. Agency for International
Development) is taking the initiative to bring together the Ugandan
Government and the LRA (Lord’s Resistance Army) to negotiate a
settlement to end the conflict in Northern Uganda. Len Rogers
(USAID) and Bruce Ehrnman (State) will be directly involved in the
negotiations.We were told that they would be offering incentives to
both parties to end the conflict. We were also told that while the
incentives would be offered with one hand, a big stick would be held
in the other hand. It appears they are very serious about ending the
war that has caused so much suffering to the people of Northern
Uganda.We left Washington with a great sense of hope.We are very
grateful to Fr. Mike Perry (USCCB) and Dan Griffin with Catholic
Relief Services (CRS) for the time and effort they put into arranging
our itinerary and moving us around Washington. Lets pray that this
initiative by USAID will bear fruit soon.
Pete Truax
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