News focuses on the basket cases of the world. In Africa, than means Sudan, Zimbabwe, the Congo and Somalia. But less obvious to the casual news reader is the effect these extreme cases have on their neighbors. In Uganda, conflict elsewhere has immediate, visible impact at home. While Uganda has its internal conflicts, they are decisively amplified and nourished by what happens next door.
Today, for example, we focused on northern Uganda. For over 20 years, guerrillas known as the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) have been fighting the government of Yoweri Kaguta Museveni. Lucy Hovil, a researcher with the Refugee Law Project, explained to us that no one knows much about their demands, ideology or even the character of their elusive leader, Joseph Kony. The LRA would not exist but for the occasional support of the Sudan and the Congo.
The Refugee Law Project is an independent group doing fantastic work in Uganda: pro bono legal representation, policy work, research, reconciliation work, teaching and training and advocacy on the issue of human rights. In a nutshell, the LRA was formed out of a guerrilla army defeated in the wake of dictator Idi Amin, whose brutal rule ended in 1979. Guerrillas banded together under a female spiritual leader, Alice Lakewenya, who was herself replaced by Kony, her nephew, in 1987.
Kony (right) initially fought the government. But when civilians organized into civilian defense patrols began to pursue him, he began attacking villages and forcibly recruiting children. Hovil estimated that the LRA has recruited over 20,000 children, often forcing them to kill their own parents, rape and commit other atrocities.
A recent BBC report noted that Kony uses biblical references to explain why it is necessary to kill his own people, “since they have – in his view – failed to support his cause. ‘If the Acholi don’t support us, they must be finished,’ he told one abductee.” There are also practical reasons for the war to continue. Reportedly, Kony and his senior commanders live well, taking the pick of the girls they capture as wives. They also believe that if they surrendered they would be killed by the government.
Currently, Uganda has over 1.4 million displaced people. Another daunting reality is the thousands of children who manage to flee the LRA and need assistance. Today, we also heard from James Odong, who works on this issue for World Vision. A former child soldier himself, Odong talked about the immense difficulties involved in bringing these kids back from the dead through psychological treatment, contact with their families and communities and the teaching of work skills.
He described how rebels would storm the family home, grab the children, then force them to burn homes. This was, he said, the “best case” scenario. In the worst case scenario, rebels give a child a club to kill their parents. Later, the rebels return with the children to their home villages and make them appear to be leaders. The child is easily convinced that his or her family will shun him. “They think the safest place for them is with the guerrillas,” Odong said.
Girls are distributed as fighters, cooks and sex slaves. Often, they contract HIV. If they survive all of this, it is often hard for them to marry. “A man would say, ‘Why do I want this woman who is a killer? Or why should I have a wife who has been a wife to hundreds of men,” Odong explained.
There is some hope on the horizon. Peace talks between the government and LRA are on-going. Doing the right thing, the government of Sudan is supporting the talks by providing a gathering point for the rebels and acting as a broker.
We also heard today from a government representative who is involved in these talks: Veronica E. Bichetero, a member of Uganda’s Human Rights Commission. One of the particular difficulties they face is that several years ago, Uganda asked the International Criminal Court to investigate Uganda as a possible case. In October 2005, the ICC issued five arrest warrants for LRA leaders, including Kony.
Now, Bichetero told us, this is a real problem, since Kony and his men are understandably unwilling to turn themselves over for prosecution in the Hague. In fact, the ICC decision was widely unpopular in Uganda, since people see this as a choice between continued war – since the Ugandan Army has been unable to capture Kony, who often counts on the support of the Sudan – or a slim possibility for peace.
This is really one of the thorniest questions faced by those of us who support human rights. How much “justice” – in other words, prosecution and imprisonment – must you trade away for peace and the possibility or better, peaceful government? In Uganda, the choice is not at all easy or clear. Bichetero quite honestly asked us — what should we do? At what price justice? At what price peace? That is the Ugandan dilemma.