POLITICS-UGANDA:
A Road to Hell, Paved With Good Intentions?
Fawzia Sheikh
GULU, Northern Uganda, Mar 26 (IPS) - Walking in the eerie darkness
engulfing Noah's Ark, a centre that children in northern Uganda escape to
for fear of being kidnapped by the rebel Lord's Resistance Army, it is easy
to see why so many in the region are eager for peace.
Although a handful of the several hundred children who gather here every
night are now singing sweetly for a group of visitors, the 19-year battle
between government and the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) has scarred their
lives.
About 20,000 children have been abducted by the LRA, which has forced
them to become soldiers in the rebellion - and sex slaves to LRA commanders.
As a result, fearful parents in rural communities send their children to
towns in the evening, where they are thought to be less vulnerable to
abduction.
In the case of Noah's Ark, children ranging in age from four to 17 walk
for as long as two hours in the early evening to sleep in tents at the
compound, which is guarded by the army. They are amongst a group of people
who have become known as "night commuters".
Now, rebel attacks are on the rise again, a trend which some attribute to
an announcement by the International Criminal Court (ICC) that it is on the
verge of issuing arrest warrants for rebels who have taken the lead in
committing human rights abuses. (LRA fighters are also accused of rape,
murdering civilians - and mutilating people by cutting off their ears and
lips.)
Those in the ICC's cross hairs include the group's leader - Joseph Kony -
who reportedly wishes to form a government based on the Ten Commandments,
his second-in-command, Vincent Otti, and four others. The ICC, inaugurated
in 2003, is responsible for trying people accused of genocide, war crimes
and crimes against humanity.
But, while some might view the court's actions as an overdue attempt to
bring the LRA to book for its atrocities, others believe the ICC initiative
will simply prolong the agony in northern Uganda.
Five years ago, the government of President Yoweri Museveni passed the
Amnesty Act to pardon the members of a variety of groups which had rebelled
against Ugandan authorities since 1986 (when the LRA took up arms): 22
organisations in all.
Under the amnesty, former rebels are required to turn in their weapons.
They receive a certificate indicating that they have renounced conflict, and
are given assistance to resettle in their communities. So far the government
has awarded amnesty to about 10,000 LRA soldiers.
The idea of amnesty complements the traditions of the Acholi people, the
main ethnic group in northern Uganda.
"Culturally there is a lot of respect for life. You don't repay death
with another death," explains Rwot David Achana, chief of the Acholis in
Gulu district which is at the centre of fighting between the LRA and
government.
Talks are also underway to end conflict in northern Uganda, although the
peace process has appeared shaky since efforts to reach an agreement on Dec.
31 failed.
Some fear that if the ICC is allowed to press ahead with its prosecution
of LRA leaders, these negotiations would unravel completely as Ugandan
forces went in pursuit of senior rebels to bring them before the court - and
the LRA responded with increased violence.
"If the ICC issues arrest warrants now, what would happen to
these...processes?" asks retired colonel Walter Ochora, now an official in
Gulu district. "It would mean the amnesty is gone."
With this in mind, a delegation of Acholi elders and religious leaders
visited the ICC's chief prosecutor, Luis Moreno-Ocampo, at his office in the
Dutch city of The Hague earlier this month. They hoped to persuade him to
delay action against LRA members until peace could take root in northern
Uganda.
The prosecutor responded by issuing a statement that he was "mindful of
traditional justice and reconciliation processes and sensitive to the
leaders' efforts to promote dialogue between different actors in order to
achieve peace."
But, says Christian Palme, a public information adviser at the ICC,
Kampala's decision to refer matters in northern Uganda to the court gives
the ICC "full jurisdiction over grave crimes under the Rome statute for the
ICC that have been committed by any party to the conflict in northern
Uganda." The Rome statute, which established the court, came into effect on
Jul. 1, 2002.
ICC proceedings may be initiated by a state which is party to the court,
the United Nations Security Council or the chief prosecutor. Warrants for
LRA members would be the first to be issued by the ICC for war crimes.
The Ugandan government referred its longstanding conflict with the LRA to
the international court two years ago in a bid to "use every means to end
the war," says Internal Affairs Minister Ruhakana Rugunda.
Nonetheless, he adds, "The amnesty law is a blanket law for all,"
including Kony.
Other authorities appear less accommodating. The ministry responsible for
northern Uganda recently said that it supported the ICC's wish to arrest
Kony and his inner circle.
The situation is complicated still further by the fact that Ugandan
forces are themselves accused of committing abuses such as rape, torture and
mass killing in northern Uganda, and of being partially responsible for the
displacement that has taken place in this region. More than 1.4 million
people currently live in camps for displaced persons; these facilities lack
proper housing and basic services.
While groups such as the New York-based Human Rights Watch have called on
the ICC to ensure that all parties responsible for abuses in northern Uganda
are brought to book, it remains to be seen whether the Museveni government
will allow its troops to be tried alongside LRA leaders.
Zachary Lomo, director of the Refugee Law Project in Kampala, has
conducted extensive interviews with people in northern Uganda about how best
to end the hostilities that have plagued this region for so long.
"I went there with a legal mind that wanted accountability, but I was
humbled," he says.
"All these international rich people...They say 'You must be so African.
This guy does all these bad things, and you're saying he should be
forgiven?'," says Lomo. "But you've flown from London. You've flown from
Europe. You're living comfortably. You live in your home. You're free in the
street."
Twenty-five percent of northerners polled by Lomo want the LRA to account
for its crimes.
Still, amongst that 25 percent there are people with strong feelings on
the matter - such as Okello Laouries.
This 15-year-old night commuter, who has been a regular visitor at Noah's
Ark for two years, worries constantly that the LRA will attack her parents
sleeping at home. Wearing a T-shirt that says 'Beware of Landmines' and
preparing just before daybreak to return home, the girl said children forced
into the bush should be forgiven.
"But Kony and other rebel leaders who formed the group should be thrown
into jail. He's done a bad thing." (END/2005)
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