----- Original Message -----
From: "Lisa Toro" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Saturday, February 07, 2004 8:58 AM
Subject: Fw: [Mwananchi] Ugandan Rebels Slaughter Refugees
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: <[log in to unmask]>
> To: <[log in to unmask]>; <[log in to unmask]>;
> <[log in to unmask]>
> Sent: Saturday, February 07, 2004 4:57 AM
> Subject: Re: [Mwananchi] Ugandan Rebels Slaughter Refugees
>
>
> > Caroline,
> > This is sad. Happening at a time when the peace process in Sudan too is
> being
> > challenged by forces of redundancy, darkness and backwardness, the hopes
> that
> > we were haboring as both Ugandan and Sudan governments made peace and
> > established diplomatic relations, rebels killing refugees might just
> worsen things,
> > just as the slave traders' case in the Sudan.
> >
> > The Ugandan Rebels must understand that two wrongs cannot make a right;
> their
> > refusal to negotiate a settlement and their current actions at
butchering
> > innocent civilians only make things worse, besides giving a clean bill
to
> > Museveni whom we can hardly trust either.
> >
> > For, in retrospect, conflcit and disputes in Cameroun for instance have
> > suggested that bad governments can stage-manage such killings to blame
> their
> > oponents! Who ever knew or dreamt that Cameroun's government could have
> staged the
> > April coup attempts against itself in 1983 and 1984? Who could have
dreamt
> the
> > government could have staged the so-called terrorist attacks of 1997 to
> which
> > the SCNC was blamed? And whocould have dreamt that the Cameroun
President
> was
> > actually the one ploting against the sovereign willof Camerounians by
> going as
> > faras instigating the National Security Chief Forchive to kill his own
> > wife--Chantal Biya, (Just as he did Jeane-Irenne Biya before her!)--so
> that he could
> > bombard our hometown of Bamenda--the so-called Soweto of Cameroun? (See
> > www.cameroon-info.net for more chilling details on Cameroun government).
> >
> > That to me is a pointer that as long as Moseveni and the Khartoum
> governments
> > are not honest, such reports as rebels butchering refugees should be
taken
> > with a second thought in mind. Both belligerents should not be trusted,
> until
> > Museveni himself shows great improvement on how he treats his own
> neighbors and
> > citizens.
> >
> > Which Lord are the rebels serving? Which Lord does Museveni himself
serve?
> > And like Khartoum, I ask the same question! As if they have not
inflicted
> enough
> > sufferings on the said poor refugees? Bottomline: That the report below
> seem
> > to be quick, and so comprehensively blaming only rebels is suspect! Lets
> not
> > be too quick to blame it on the rebels alone,for it seems these are
> > premeditated acts for which one would not be surprised if a cool headed
> investigation
> > reveals otherwise! The heart of African governance is sick, sick to the
> core!
> >
> > The Ugandan rush to The Hague itself is suspect, since, as of now (I
stand
> to
> > be correted on this) Uganda and Sudan are yet to sign and submit their
> > nations to the African Human Rights Court! In like manner, Cameroun
which
> rushed to
> > The Hague over Bakassi Peninsula has been proven to have been hiding and
> > attempting to suppress their pregnancy with the Ambazonia (Southern
> Cameroons)
> > problem; and only when the Ambazonia republic submitted an Intepleader
> Summon
> > challenging Cameroun claims did they broaden their case challenging
> Nigeria over
> > all their common border--knowing their claims of "a certain Western
> Cameroun"
> > which united with Cameroun was bogus! In like manner, since "once
beaten,
> twice
> > shy," one must ask: Is Uganda attempting a similar trick by rushing to
ICJ
> > while by-passing the African Human Rights Court? Is the Ugandan
government
> > attempting too fast to come clean of any wrong? How can they when war
was
> fought by
> > both sides--Rebels versus government? Shame on us Africans!
> > Justice M. Mbuh
> >
> > In a message dated 2/6/04 4:38:53 PM Eastern Standard Time,
> > [log in to unmask] writes:
> >
> > > Subj: [Mwananchi] Ugandan Rebels Slaughter Refugees
> > > Date: 2/6/04 4:38:53 PM Eastern Standard Time
> > > From: [log in to unmask]
> > > Reply-to: [log in to unmask]
> > > To: [log in to unmask]
> > > Sent from the Internet
> > >
> > > Ugandan Rebels Slaughter Refugees
> > > Fri Feb 6, 8:41 AM ET Add World - OneWorld.net to My Yahoo!
> > >
> > >
> > > Jim Lobe, OneWorld US
> > >
> > > WASHINGTON, D.C., Feb 6 (OneWorld) -- Less than a week after the
> > > International Criminal Court announced an investigation of atrocities
> > > committed by the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), the Ugandan rebel
> > > group Thursday attacked a refugee camp, killing as many as 52 people
> > > and wounding more than 70 others, according to published reports.
> > >
> > > It was the worst massacre by the LRA in several months and was
> > > carried out at a camp near the town of Lira, about 75 miles south of
> > > the Sudan border, according to the UN's Integrated Regional
> > > Information Networks (IRIN).
> > >
> > > "Some of the people were killed by bullet wounds, some were burned
> > > alive in their homes, and others were beaten and hacked to death with
> > > pangas," Father Sebhat Ayele, a Roman Catholic priest, told
> > > IRIN. "This is terrible."
> > >
> > > The attack, which was reportedly led by a senior LRA commander, came
> > > less than a week after Luis Moreno Ocampo, the chief prosecutor of
> > > the newly established International Criminal Court (ICC) announced in
> > > London that he would begin an investigation into crimes committed in
> > > Uganda during the LRA's 18-year insurgency.
> > >
> > > Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni, who met with Moreno Ocampo before
> > > the announcement, formally asked the ICC--mandated by an
> > > international treaty to investigate and prosecute war crimes,
> > > genocide, and crimes against humanity--to investigate the LRA. Uganda
> > > is the first government to refer a case to the ICC since it began
> > > work at The Hague (news - web sites) July 1.
> > >
> > > Human rights groups that have long documented atrocities committed by
> > > the LRA have called on the ICC to investigate abuses committed by
> > > Ugandan People's Defense Forces (UPDF), as well.
> > >
> > > "Human Rights Watch has documented many shocking abuses by the LRA in
> > > Uganda," said Richard Dicker, director of the organization's
> > > International Justice program. "But the ICC prosecutor cannot ignore
> > > the crimes that Ugandan government troops allegedly have committed."
> > >
> > > "Any Court investigation of war crimes and crimes against humanity in
> > > northern Uganda must be part of a comprehensive plan to end impunity
> > > for all such crimes, regardless of which side committed them and of
> > > the level of the perpetrator," London-based Amnesty International
> > > said, noting that the text of Museveni's referral to the ICC
> > > apparently sought to limit the investigation to the LRA.
> > >
> > >
> > > Amnesty pointed out that under the ICC rules, which are established
> > > in the 1998 Rome Statute, the prosecutor has the right to investigate
> > > all relevant crimes, regardless of who committed them.
> > >
> > > Both Amnesty and HRW said the amnesty law noted UN Secretary General
> > > Kofi Annan (news - web sites) assertion that "amnesty cannot be
> > > granted in respect of international crimes such as genocide, crimes
> > > against humanity or other serious violations of international
> > > humanitarian law" as appropriate guidance for the scope of the ICC
> > > prosecutor's investigation.
> > >
> > >
> > > Moreno-Ocampo has already appointed a U.S. attorney, Christine Chung,
> > > to lead the investigation. A Harvard-trained lawyer, Chung has no
> > > prior experience with international tribunals but has earned a strong
> > > reputation as a formidable prosecutor in her work in the U.S.
> > > Attorney's office in New York City, where she targeted street gangs
> > > and organized crime.
> > >
> > > Aid agencies and human rights group estimate that the war between the
> > > LRA and the UPDF has taken some 23,000 lives since 1988 and forced
> > > more than one million people to flee their homes.
> > >
> > > The LRA says it is fighting to overthrow the government of President
> > > Yoweri Museveni and replace it with one based on the Biblical Ten
> > > Commandments. But the groups attacks have mainly targeted civilians
> > > from the Acholi tribe.
> > >
> > > The LRA has gained a reputation for extraordinary cruelty, most of
> > > all in its treatment of children, tens of thousands of whom have been
> > > abducted from their homes and forced to work as porters, soldiers or
> > > sex-slaves. More than 10,000 children were reportedly abducted by the
> > > LRA since 2002. According to HRW, children who fail to comply with
> > > orders are murdered, often by other children, who are forced to kill
> > > them.
> > >
> > > The UPDF has also been accused of forcibly recruiting children under
> > > the age of 15 into government militias.
> > >
> > > New York-based HRW said the presence and security of children in LRA
> > > ranks required special caution on the part of the prosecutor. While
> > > UNICEF (news - web sites) and the UN's office for humanitarian
> > > assistance have recently expanded their presence in northern Uganda,
> > > additional measures, including the deployment human rights monitors,
> > > should be considered.
> > >
> > > "The situation in northern Uganda is exactly the kind that the ICC
> > > was established to address," said Fiona McKay, director of the
> > > International Justice program at the Lawyers Committee for Human
> > > Rights (LCHR), recently rechristened as Human Rights First. "The
> > > atrocities committed there are extremely serious and well documented,
> > > and merit investigation to identify those responsible."
> > >
> > > A key issue will be locating and arresting the LRA leadership. While
> > > the rebels have lost a number of commanders in recent fighting,
> > > several senior leaders, including overall commander Joseph Kony,
> > > remain at large.
> > >
> > > As a result of its own recent military successes, the government in
> > > Kampala claimed last month that it had "nearly defeated" the LRA, and
> > > military officials Thursday depicted the most recent attack as
> > > a "desperate attempt at getting publicity."
> > >
> > > But the Refugee Law Project in Kampala issued a statement Wednesday
> > > noting that the LRA retains a formidable arsenal and warned that by
> > > scrapping the amnesty for the LRA's top commanders, it risked
> > > prolonging the insurgency.
> > >
> > >
> >
> >
> > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
> >
> >
> >
> >
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