ugnet_: SHORT WAS BRIEFED ON BLAIR'S SECRET WAR PACT
Short: I was briefed on Blair's secret war pact Patrick Wintour, chief political correspondentWednesday June 18, 2003The Guardian Senior figures in the intelligence community and across Whitehall briefed the former international development secretary Clare Short that Tony Blair had made a secret agreement last summer with George Bush to invade Iraq in February or March, she claimed yesterday. In damning evidence to the foreign affairs select committee, Ms Short refused to identify the three figures, but she cited their authority for making her claim that Mr Blair had actively deceived the cabinet and the country in persuading them of the need to go to war. Ms Short told the first day of the committee's inquiry into the events leading up to the Iraq conflict that Mr Blair had "used a series of half-truths, exaggerations, reassurances that were not the case to get us into conflict by the spring". She claimed Mr Blair told President Bush that "we will be with you" without laying down conditions to temper US ambitions. She also claimed that the intelligence and diplomatic community had privately opposed the war. This is the first time she has alleged that intelligence figures had serious doubts about the need for early military action. Justifying her charge of deception, she said: "Three extremely senior people in the Whitehall system said to me very clearly and specifically that the target date was mid-February." She went on: "I believe that the prime minister must have concluded that it was honourable and desirable to back the US in going for military action in Iraq and therefore it was honourable for him to persuade us through various ruses and ways to get us there - so for him I think it was an honourable deception." No 10 last night denied Ms Short's charge and said Mr Blair had worked as hard as possible to secure support for a second UN resolution that might have persuaded Saddam Hussein to cooperate. In the same evidence session Mr Cook exonerated Mr Blair of the charge of deliberately misleading the country, but asserted that intelligence material was chosen selectively to fit a predetermined policy. He said his own personal briefing by the Secret Intelligence Service (MI6) confirmed him in his belief that Iraq did not have weaponised chemicals, let alone weapons capable of being fired within 45 minutes, a claim made in the main intelligence document published last September. "I think it would be fair to say there was a selection of evidence to support a conclusion," he said. "I fear we got into a position in which the intelligence was not being used to inform and shape policy, but to shape policy that was already settled." He asserted that No 10 had "a burning fixation" with weapons of mass destruction that led Mr Blair to reject Mr Cook's view that the policy of containment was working. Both former cabinet ministers confirmed a previous Guardian story that cabinet ministers had been given private intelligence briefings by SIS, but insisted the briefings did not indicate that the world had to act immediately to stem an imminent Iraqi threat. At best, Ms Short said, Iraq had scientists working to try to develop biological and chemical weapons, but it was wrong to suggest that meant there were "weaponised" materials. Ms Short also claimed there was a shocking collapse in proper government procedure, with a small unelected entourage in Downing Street making the decisions without minutes, proper options papers or any written material. She said the cabinet was never shown military options papers. She also gave the impression that the foreign secretary, Jack Straw, was a cypher who "went along" with the decisions, while the real decision-making was "sucked out" of the Foreign Office. The vehemence of the attack by the two ex-cabinet ministers and their damning analysis of the intelligence failure over Iraq raises fresh questions for Mr Straw when he gives evidence before the committee next week. He will defend the use of intelligence material in both public and private evidence sessions. The prime minister has declined to speak to the foreign affairs committee, but will co-operate with the private inquiry by the intelligence and security committee. He is determined to disprove the claim that the September document was manipulated by No 10 to exaggerate the case for war. The former UN weapons inspector Hans Blix has withdrawn his earlier offer to give evidence to the foreign affairs committee, arguing the misuse of intelligence is a matter for the British government and parliament. The Mulindwas Communication Group"With Yoweri Museveni, Uganda is in anarchy" Groupe de communication Mulindwas "avec Yoweri Museveni, l'Ouganda est dans l'anarchie"
ugnet_: North, Eastern MPs Furious Over Rebels
North, Eastern MPs Furious Over Rebels The Monitor (Kampala) June 18, 2003 Posted to the web June 18, 2003 Ssemujju Ibrahim Nganda Kampala Members of Parliament from Teso, Acholi and Lango sub-regions yesterday vented their anger against the government for failure to protect local people from the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) rebels. "These fellows are walking as if they are walking in their own compound. How can a few thousand people be more effective than a government with 50,000 soldiers?" said Oyam South MP Ben Wacha. "They are 100,000," chorused some MPs giving their own estimate of the size of government troops. The MPs are angry following the latest rebel attacks by Joseph Kony's LRA rebels in Katakwi, Lira, Apac, Gulu, Kitgum and Pader districts. Kasilo MP Elijah Okupa told Parliament yesterday that he had received a call from Katakwi at 2 p.m., just 30 minutes before the beginning of the plenary session, and was informed that LRA rebels had attacked two primary schools. "He [Kony] has now started training more than 200 children of between 10 to 15 years," Mr Okupa said. He said that the UPDF had deployed 70 soldiers in the area but they had made the situation worse by stopping residents from running away. "This is the only security [running away] that our people have," said a very angry Soroti Woman MP Alice Alaso. Explanations from the Minister of State for Defence Ruth Nankabirwa only got the MPs angrier. It was MP Alaso who started it all when she said that the rebels had attacked Katakwi, killed four people and abducted 100 from a camp for people displaced by the Karimojong cattle rustlers. She said that the MPs from the affected areas had rushed back to their constituencies on Sunday and Monday only to discover that the UPDF had not deployed in the threatened areas. Minister Nankabirwa promised to deliver a statement on the security situation in the country today. She said that she would be short on details because of national "security" considerations. Ms Nankabirwa said that 19 battalions had been deployed but Agago MP Ogenga Latigo demanded that the minister explain the actual numbers deployed instead of hiding behind military jargon. West Budama South MP Akisoferi Ogola said that the country should analyse the causes of the endless insecurity, citing possible failures in defence and foreign policy. The MP wondered why President Yoweri Museveni had committed the country without consulting Parliament to supporting demands by the United States that her soldiers should never be tried by the International Criminal Court. No minister stood up to challenge him. Mr Wacha proposed that the Parliament should sit in a closed session to discuss the security situation.
ugnet_: MP Pleads With President Bush Over Talks With Rebels
MP Pleads With President Bush Over Talks With Rebels New Vision (Kampala) June 18, 2003 Posted to the web June 18, 2003 Muhammad Tamale Kampala RUBAGA South MP, John Ken Lukyamuzi, has appealed to US President George Bush to push for immediate peace talks between President Yoweri Museveni and Joseph Kony's Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) outside the country. Lukyamuzi said despite appointing a presidential peace commission, among other measures to get a peaceful end to the northern war, peace talks here have failed due to the rebels' mistrust of the Government. He said foreign ground would enhance their confidence. Speaking during a press conference at Fairway Hotel yesterday, Lukyamuzi said, "If Museveni during the 1986 guerrilla war against the Tito-Okello Lutwa junta had to go to the Nairobi (January 1986) peace summit, why not the LRA?" He said Bush, on his highly anticipated African itinerary next month, should use his position as the only president capable of convincing Museveni, given their close relationships, to push for immediate peace talks. Lukyamuzi was presenting the Conservative Party stand on the 2003/4 budget, which was last week presented to the nation.
ugnet_: "Rebels"Attack Katakwi Again, Lira District in Fear
Rebels Attack Katakwi Again, Lira District in Fear The Monitor (Kampala) June 18, 2003 Posted to the web June 18, 2003 Richard M. Kavuma, Patrick Ebong, Patrick Elobu Angonu and Ayub Kirunda Kakaire Kampala Rebels yesterday attacked and burnt down the Alito camp for internally displaced people at Obalanga, in Katakwi. This was the second Lord's Resistance Army rebel attack on Obalanga in two days. var bnum=new Number(Math.floor( * Math.random())+1);document.write(""); The Regional Police Commander, Mr Bob Ngobi, confirmed that the rebels had also attacked Olwa trading centre in Orungo sub-county. The rebels had also abducted a woman and her four children, Mr Ngobi said. Obalanga sub-county LC-V Councillor Julius Ochen said that the rebels are addressing rallies in the villages and are still camping in Amususu, Kuju sub-county, in Amuria County. He said that thousands of people have been displaced. The rebels also circulated leaflets denouncing the government and the failed peace process. Col. Charles Tabuley Ongayowangtyet signed the hand-written leaflets dated 16 June. Col. Tabuley reportedly led the LRA attack on Obalanga sub-county in Katakwi on Monday. Four people were killed in that attack. According to the leaflets, the LRA would continue fighting the government to end the killings of innocent people in northern Uganda. The leaflets said that Mr Yoweri Museveni's government is arming Karimojong warriors to grab the wealth of the Acholi, Langi, Iteso and the Kumam. The leaflets claimed that even innocent Karimojong are being killed. The leaflets blamed Mr Museveni for not responding to the LRA's peace overtures. The two-page leaflets that are circulating in Obalanga are written in Acholi and English. The UPDF has, however, moved to repulse the rebels who were reportedly advancing toward Amuria and Kapelebyong. Truckloads of soldiers were yesterday seen moving toward suspected LRA positions in Aojakitai Parish, Kuju sub-county. Elsewhere, an uneasy calm prevailed in Lira town in neighbouring Lango, with people arriving from surrounding villages amidst fears of fresh rebel attacks. People were fearful that Lira Municipality, whose surrounding areas suffered attacks by the LRA rebels on Sunday, could be the rebels' next target. The Lira District Chairman, Mr Frank Odur, condemned Sunday's attacks in which at least 15 people were killed and close to 100 abducted. Mr Odur urged the (UPDF) High Command to send senior commanders back to Lira to boost the morale of the soldiers. Residents claim that the morale of the soldiers in the district is very low. A local official said that in some sub-counties such as Aromo, the rebels are roaming freely. The Monitor was, however, unable to independently verify these claims of rebels roaming freely in Aromo. The Lira Municipality MP, Ms Cecilia Ogwal, said that there was a lot of panic, with people running around. "People are coming in from Aromo, Ogur and Otuke areas," she said on phone. A hasty security meeting was held in the Lira RDC's office on Monday afternoon. The deputy RDC, Mr John Butamanya, chaired the meeting that was also attended by Maruzi MP Jovino Akaki. Mr Akaki is also the Minister of State for Tourism. Other people at the meeting included the District Police Commander, Mr Godfrey Aropet, and the UPDF officer in charge of operations, Mr Joel Komakech. A talk on security scheduled for Monday evening on Radio Unity was, however, cancelled. No reason was given but The Monitor learnt that the cancellation was because the rebels had threatened to attack the radio station. In September last year, rebels burnt down Radio Wa at Ngetta, some 6 miles outside Lira town. Ms Ogwal told The Monitor that some rebels had wandered into the Adyelo division of the municipality but failed to find Radio Unity, which they wanted to burn down. The army spokesman, Maj. Shaban Bantariza, yesterday said that the two districts of Katakwi and Lira are now calm. He said that the panic by residents is understandable, coming just within days of Sunday's attacks. "But the thugs have sneaked back into their villages. Lira is not a friendly territory for them," Maj. Bantariza said on phone. Meanwhile, the Gulu Archbishop John Baptist Odama has said that he is shocked that LRA rebels are now targeting Catholic priests and missionaries. The LRA leader, Mr Joseph Kony, last week reportedly ordered the killing of all priests and the destruction of Catholic missions. "Up to now the war in the Acholi sub region has been political and if it is now taking a religious turn, I am very much surprised. I am asking myself who might be behind all this," the archbishop said on the BBC radio. Fr Joseph Gerner at the Catholic parish in Kitgum said that the clergy would not desert their flock despite the death threats from the rebels. "This is very strange; this change, given that before it was only the Catholic Church they said they woul
RE: ugnet_: A blind govt lets her people die of hunger
IMF Approves Three-Year, US$17.8 Million PRGF Arrangement for Uganda The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) today approved a three-year arrangement under the Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility (PRGF) for SDR 13.5 million (about US$17.8 million) for Uganda. The Board determined that Uganda's poverty reduction strategy set out in a Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP) progress report provides a sound basis for Fund concessional financial assistance. As a result, Uganda will be able to draw SDR 1.5 million (about US$1.9 million) under the arrangement immediately. Following the Executive Board discussion, Mr. Sugisaki, Deputy Managing Director and Acting Chair, stated: "The Ugandan authorities are to be commended for the continued implementation of sound macroeconomic policies and structural reforms, which have helped to sustain high economic growth rates with low inflation. This strong economic performance, combined with determined implementation of a comprehensive poverty reduction strategy, contributed to a substantial decline in the incidence of poverty in Uganda over the past decade. "The new three-year PRGF-supported program, which is based upon the authorities' Poverty Eradication Action Plan, aims at reducing poverty further by increasing the rate of economic growth and maintaining macroeconomic stability, through prudent fiscal, monetary, and exchange rate policies as well as continued structural reforms in the areas of budget management, tax administration, fiscal decentralization, governance and the continuing fight against corruption, and financial development. "To ensure sufficient resources for key social and economic priorities, fiscal policy aims to increase revenues—through measures in both tax policy and tax administration—and to curb nonessential expenditure. Measures to improve reporting, monitoring, and accountability at all levels of government are important to enhance the effectiveness of government spending, including notably that supported by donor assistance. The program also includes steps to further improve the operation of monetary and exchange rate management. "The authorities' initiative to expand and diversify the export base will strengthen Uganda's external position. While the economy will still remain dependent on donor support in the foreseeable future, the program is expected to result in an improvement of Uganda's fiscal and external debt sustainability over the medium term. The strength of Uganda's continuing policy effort underscores the importance of timely and comprehensive support by creditors, particularly by non-Paris Club creditors, in providing debt relief under the HIPC Initiative process," Mr. Sugisaki stated. -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of gook makanga Sent: Wednesday, June 18, 2003 5:06 PM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: ugnet_: A blind govt lets her people die of hunger A blind govt lets her people die of hunger This & TThat By Henry Ochieng June 18, 2003 All that is left of Ms Florence Nyangireki is in a wooden box buried in a tiny corner of the public cemetery in Kampala. On Monday, she died of hunger -related causes. She died because for more than a month she and many others have been living rough in Lugogo. Deceased: Ms Nyangireki Ms Nyangireki died because she was trapped in the triba lclashes between the Banyoro and the Bakiga in Kibaale. I will resist the temptation to refer to the Bakiga as settlers as has become typical definition in various essays on the subject. This lady, in the prime of her life at 36 years of age, died because she found herself in the harsh environment of Kampala city with just her God and a few earthly possessions. Presumably, in Kibaale Ms Nyangireki could have been the proud occupant of a stretch of land from which she fed her family. But today she is dead because nobody cared. Remove your mind from the polemics that have characterised the debate on whether or not the Bakiga should be in Kibaale. Now ask yourself what a responsible government should have done for Ms Nyangireki. A responsible government, which allocates millions of shillings every year to a ministry for Disaster Preparedness and Refugees, should not have allowed that woman to die of hunger. But she is dead today, buried with only a few friends to sing her swan song. They put her in an unmarked grave because the government of President Yoweri Museveni has gradually grown a skin as thick as a rhino’s hide. This government has got to a point where it is wrapped up in the more pressing business of signing loan agreements with the wealthy West even when it is clear the national foreign debt at nearly $ 4 billion is unsustainable. Mr Museveni’s government has succeeded in giving the lie that it cares for the peop
ugnet_: Y: waving, not drowning
June 18, 2003 Y: waving, not drowning Analysis of the Y chromosome suggests how it is saving itself from evolving to extinction | By Cathy Holding The human Y chromosome contains 60 million base pairs (Mb) of DNA, it is haploid, and 95% of it is nonrecombining. Helen Skaletsky from the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research and colleagues report in the first of two papers in the June 19 Nature that the 23Mb euchromatic region in the Y chromosome comprises eight massive palindromic sequences and that these regions are rich in genes that are functional and testis-specific (Nature, 423:825-837, June 19, 2003). In the second paper, they describe both comparative sequencing of the great ape Y chromosome, and the mechanism of gene conversion by which the Y chromosome repairs mutations that occur within these genes (Nature, 423:873-876, June 19, 2003). The results raise important questions about the molecular clock dating of segmental duplications in the human genome and the rate of humanchimpanzee divergence in these regions. Skaletsky et al. sequenced 97% of the male-specific region of the Y chromosome (MSY) from one man, and observed that it contained at least 156 transcription units, all located within euchromatic sequences, and identified 24 MSY-specific families to account for 125 of these. Half of the transcription units encode 27 distinct proteins or protein families, 12 of which are expressed ubiquitously, and 11 of which are testis-specific, confirming a previous model proposing two distinct functional classes of MSY genes. They also showed that three different classes of sequences comprised the euchromatin: the X-transposed class, the X-degenerate class, and the ampliconic segments, the latter being composed of sequences that demonstrated intrachromosomal identities of at least 99.9%, and which contained the eight palindromic segments. The palindrome arms range from 9 kb to 1.4 Mb, are symmetrical and identical within a palindrome, and six of them contain the testis-specific genes as gene pairs in the palindromic arms, as well as inverted repeats and long tandem arrays. In the light of these findings, Skaletsky et al. propose a model for the evolution of the MSY. "The occurrence of MSY gene pairs that are subject to frequent gene conversion might provide a mechanism for conserving gene functions across evolutionary time in the absence of crossing over," conclude the authors, debunking the previously held theory of the Y as a genetic wasteland of dead and dying genes that will rot away over the next few million years. "We have a new way of understanding how the rotting tendencies of the Y are counteracted," commented lead researcher David Page. "Although the sex chromosomes provide the strongest case for a special relationship between genome organization and the unique biology of chromosomes, the other chromosomes shouldn't feel left out. [ ] Piecing together these [evolutionary] events remains a worthwhile challenge, for among the flotsam and jetsam of each chromosome lie clues to our history," writes Huntington F. Willard of Duke University in an accompanying News and Views article. Links for this articleS. Ali, S. Hasnain, "Molecular dissection of the human Y-chromosome," Gene, 283:1-10, 2002.[PubMed Abstract] H. Skaletsky et al., "The male-specific region of the human Y chromosome is a mosaic of discrete sequence classes," Nature, 423:825-837, June 19, 2003.http://www.nature.com/nature Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Researchhttp://www.wi.mit.edu/ S. Rozen et al., "Abundant gene conversion between arms of palindromes in human and ape Y chromosomes," Nature, 423:873-876, June 19, 2003.http://www.nature.com/nature Duke Universityhttp://www.duke.edu/ H.F. Willard, "Tales of the Y chromosome," Nature, 423:810-812, June 19, 2003.http://www.nature.com/nature From: www.biomedcentral.com/news/20030618/03Add photos to your e-mail with MSN 8. Get 2 months FREE*.
ugnet_: do u have a foot fetish?
Curb Appeal: Seduction From the Ground Up June 17, 2003 By GUY TREBAY What is it about the bared foot that, even today, has the power to turn otherwise sensible people into prudes? www.nytimes.com/2003/06/17/fashion/17DRES.html?ex=1056865375&ei=1&en=be883a814e6bfcbe Help STOP SPAM with the new MSN 8 and get 2 months FREE*
ugnet_: Fwd: NYTimes.com Article: SCO Revokes I.B.M.'s License for Operating SystemSoftware
SCO Revokes I.B.M.'s License for Operating System Software June 17, 2003 By STEVE LOHR In an escalating legal battle, the SCO Group is revoking I.B.M.'s license for software essential to a multibillion-dollar business. www.nytimes.com/2003/06/17/technology/17LINU.html?ex=1056865707&ei=1&en=a14b77ed006c11c2 Help STOP SPAM with the new MSN 8 and get 2 months FREE*
ugnet_: Fwd: NYTimes.com Article: Word That U.S. Doubted Iraq Would Use Gas
Word That U.S. Doubted Iraq Would Use Gas June 18, 2003 By JAMES RISEN U.S. intelligence analysts reported last year that Iraq would almost certainly not use chemical weapons unless the government's survival was at stake. www.nytimes.com/2003/06/18/international/worldspecial/18INTE.html?ex=1056951286&ei=1&en=486307e91d4ec2e1 MSN 8 helps ELIMINATE E-MAIL VIRUSES. Get 2 months FREE*.
ugnet_: Fwd: NYTimes.com Article: Making Trinkets in China, and a Deadly Dust
Making Trinkets in China, and a Deadly Dust June 18, 2003 By JOSEPH KAHN China has emerged as Asia's leading exporter to the U.S., but the workers who produce those goods are victims of a surge in fatal diseases. www.nytimes.com/2003/06/18/international/asia/18GEMS.html?ex=1056952083&ei=1&en=70515513a4bd1002 Help STOP SPAM with the new MSN 8 and get 2 months FREE*
ugnet_: Fwd: NYTimes.com Article: Microsoft Sues 15 Groups in Broad Attack on Spam
Microsoft Sues 15 Groups in Broad Attack on Spam June 18, 2003 By SAUL HANSELL Microsoft filed lawsuits against groups that it says combined to send its clients more than 2 billion unwanted e-mail messages. www.nytimes.com/2003/06/18/technology/18SPAM.html?ex=1056952337&ei=1&en=83e631eddaa457e0 Add photos to your e-mail with MSN 8. Get 2 months FREE*.
ugnet_: Fwd: NYTimes.com Article: I.B.M.'s Opponent in Suit Criticizes Linux Advocate
I.B.M.'s Opponent in Suit Criticizes Linux Advocate June 18, 2003 By STEVE LOHR In a new court document, the SCO Group criticizes Linus Torvalds, the guardian of the freely shared Linux operating system. http://www.nytimes.com/2003/06/18/technology/18LINU.html?ex=1056952378&ei=1&en=bebba1783ec18728 Add photos to your messages with MSN 8. Get 2 months FREE*.
ugnet_: Fwd: At Age 4,600-Plus, Methuselah Pine Tree Begets New Offspring
At Age 4,600-Plus, Methuselah Pine Tree Begets New Offspring June 17, 2003 By GWEN KINKEAD A tree known as Methuselah, famed as the oldest in the world, has just produced evidence that life begins at 5,000, give or take a few years. Today that evidence - a dozen baby bristlecone pine trees - are about nine inches long with green, bushy tops and long healthy roots. A mere sprout itself when the pyramids of Egypt were being built, Methuselah clings to a dry windswept mountaintop in the Inyo National Forest of east-central California. Last fall, there in the White Mountains, nearly two miles above sea level, a tree farmer named Jared Milarch harvested cuttings and pine cones from Methuselah with special permission from the United States Forest Service, which normally keeps the tree's location secret. After failing in an attempt to clone the tree, he planted seeds from the cones in a growing medium and, much to everyone's surprise, they sprouted. Next month, a ceremony is being planned to recognize the new offspring, and one will be presented to the United States Botanic Garden on the grounds of the Capitol. Experts are unsure whether Methuselah has borne any offspring in its native setting, a 28,000-acre preserve called the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest. Very few seeds of the eerie small trees, some sculptured by the wind into fantastic bows and knots and waves, survive in that harsh environment. But with the help of humans, Methuselah is known to have reproduced itself at least one other time, in the 1970's. "It had a 100 percent germination rate," said Le Roy Johnson, former director of the Institute of Tree Genetics in Placerville, Calif., who led the earlier effort. "That's more than we get on most trees, let alone the oldest tree in the world." Animals and plants lose their ability to reproduce as they age. Bristlecone pines seem "capable of growing forever" in the mountains, Mr. Johnson said. The baby Methuselah will have tight security when it is exhibited at the Botanic Garden this fall, for fear of theft, said the garden's executive director, Holly Shimizu. "These pines are very famous," she said. "We have all read about Methuselah and heard about it, but so few people actually get to see it." When it was shown to the public for the first time in Virginia recently, people lined up to be photographed with it, said Mr. Milarch, co-founder of the Champion Tree Project, a group dedicated to cloning the champions of America's 800-plus tree species for reforestation. Bristlecone pines have both male and female cones and can self-pollinate, but when that occurs, the offspring are usually faulty. Most likely, the father was a neighbor whose pollen was carried by the wind or an insect. Genetic tests will confirm the seedling's lineage. "The scientific value of one specimen like this is small," said Christine Flanagan, public program director at the Botanic Garden, but it can be "a signpost for other studies." By taking samples from the young seedlings, researchers will be able to look for genetic changes associated with that environment that might account for the tree's great age, she said. In trees, unlike in humans, stress fosters longevity. Methuselah grows in rocky, alkaline, nutrient-poor soil and is buried under snow most of the year and blasted by sun and parched for water for the rest. It has a growing season of just two months in the summer to produce and store food for the winter. Yet bristlecones have thrived in that spot for 11,000 years, tree ring analysis shows. They retain their bottlebrush needles up to 40 years, four times as long as other pines, so they need fewer nutrients each year for new growth. Also, their living tissue is just a strip, in Methuselah's case, one inch thick and six wide. Their trunks start dying around 1,000 years. What's left, their crowns and the strip of vascular tissue, grows extremely slowly - one-hundredth of an inch in a good year, said Mr. Johnson, and often less. Giant sequoias, some of them 2,000 years old, grow an inch in diameter in a good year. Experts think the shrinking of bristlecones' live tissue is a strategy to balance growth with available nutrients. But it may contribute to their longevity in another way as well: bristlecones that grow faster in lusher conditions are more susceptible to pathogens, said Tom Harlan, a dendrochronologist who is a consultant to the University of Arizona's Laboratory of Tree Ring Research. The laboratory's senior scientist, Dr. Edmund Schulman, discovered Methuselah in 1957 and estimated its age at about 4,600 years. (The current Forest Service estimate is 4,733.) Only abrupt climate change and pathogens attacking exposed roots kill ancient bristlecones, said John Louth, Forest Service manager of their preserve. For example, the seedlings of Methuselah propagated in the 1970's all died when passed out
Re: ugnet_: US To Give Uganda Sh400m Military Aid
The poor do not eat military aid. America would have got more good will if they had spent that money on refurbishing Mulago Hospital's infrastructure. The poor would then have at least one fully equipped hospital in the country they could go to. What a waste of tax-payer's dollars! Original Message Follows From: "gook makanga" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: ugnet_: US To Give Uganda Sh400m Military Aid Date: Wed, 18 Jun 2003 22:57:56 + MSN 8 helps ELIMINATE E-MAIL VIRUSES. Get 2 months FREE*.--- Begin Message --- What a shame! All that for a few pieces of silver? Gook US To Give Uganda Sh400m Military Aid UGANDA will receive US$200,000 (about sh400m) in military aid from the US following the non-surrender agreement the two governments signed last week, reports Jude Etyang. President Yoweri Museveni, while on a visit to the US, signed the non-surrender pact with Secretary of State Collin Powell, exempting US soldiers on international combat assignments from prosecution by the International Criminal Court (ICC). Uganda like 63 other countries in the world which receive US military aid, had up to July 1 to sign the non-surrender pact or risk losing the aid. Under the pact, Uganda and the US will not surrender their citizens wanted for war crimes to the ICC without consent. Ends Published on: Thursday, 19th June, 2003 Email this article to a friend. "You can't separate peace from freedom because no one can be at peace unless he has his freedom."- Malcom X STOP MORE SPAM with the new MSN 8 and get 2 months FREE* --- End Message ---
ugnet_: A blind govt lets her people die of hunger
A blind govt lets her people die of hungerThis & That By Henry OchiengJune 18, 2003 All that is left of Ms Florence Nyangireki is in a wooden box buried in a tiny corner of the public cemetery in Kampala. On Monday, she died of hunger -related causes. She died because for more than a month she and many others have been living rough in Lugogo. Deceased: Ms Nyangireki Ms Nyangireki died because she was trapped in the triba lclashes between the Banyoro and the Bakiga in Kibaale. I will resist the temptation to refer to the Bakiga as settlers as has become typical definition in various essays on the subject. This lady, in the prime of her life at 36 years of age, died because she found herself in the harsh environment of Kampala city with just her God and a few earthly possessions. Presumably, in Kibaale Ms Nyangireki could have been the proud occupant of a stretch of land from which she fed her family. But today she is dead because nobody cared. Remove your mind from the polemics that have characterised the debate on whether or not the Bakiga should be in Kibaale. Now ask yourself what a responsible government should have done for Ms Nyangireki. A responsible government, which allocates millions of shillings every year to a ministry for Disaster Preparedness and Refugees, should not have allowed that woman to die of hunger. But she is dead today, buried with only a few friends to sing her swan song.They put her in an unmarked grave because the government of President Yoweri Museveni has gradually grown a skin as thick as a rhinos hide. This government has got to a point where it is wrapped up in the more pressing business of signing loan agreements with the wealthy West even when it is clear the national foreign debt at nearly $ 4 billion is unsustainable.Mr Musevenis government has succeeded in giving the lie that it cares for the people. High-sounding programmes under equally fascinating titles have become the lingua franca at the annual State-of-the-Nation addresses and other national events. The peasants have been told that a miracle-working holistic approach has been discovered as the ultimate cure for the de-humanising living conditions under which they have subsisted these past many years. They have heard about the magical Poverty Eradication Action Plan, and the equally intriguing Poverty Action Fund which together with the Plan for Modernisation of Agriculture should have them without the ever-present hunger pains in no time at all. Many peasants have actually believed these sweet nothings that have dripped from the mouths of the regimes spin-doctors. The men and women of the regime have come to them with these lies while clad in designer suits and driving fuel guzzling 4WD behemoths.But the truth must have flashed before Ms Nyangireki in one instant of clarity in her last moments. Just before her broken body gave up the ghost, just before she was freed of the physical and mental anguish she has suffered this past month, Ms Nyangireki must have understood that the government does not feel hungry. If the government also felt hungry, if it also did not have money to pay the doctor when it is sick, if the government was aware that people are dying at its very doorstep, the government would have not allowed that woman to die like that. The minister for Disaster Preparedness would have cast aside any fixed positions the government has on the Kibaale land crisis and made it imperative that the fellows who had somehow found their way to Lugogo lived in relative comfort. This is what it means when you have a Constitution that recognises the right to human dignity as one of the fundamental human rights and freedoms. The government should have given them food, water and medical relief of a sort. But it did not, may be because some politician with a warped mind put the politics of their presence at Lugogo ahead of the fact that they were first and foremost Ugandans. Ms Nyangireki died because Mr Musevenis government has been around for such a long time, and is presently engrossed in the involving business of seeking ways to perpetuate its stay, that he has forgotten what Article 99(3) obliges him to do. All the presidents men have become insensitive to the hunger of Gods people in this country. This is why they have forgotten to remind Mr Museveni that Article 99 says, It shall be the duty of the president to abide by, uphold and safeguard this Constitution and the laws of Uganda and to promote the welfare of the citizens . If that basic fact had not been obscured by layers of fat the result of feeding off the citizens that now press against the politicians brains, they would have remembered that they have a duty to the peasants. The death of the woman in Lugogo shocked those who thought the peasants mattered beyond the cynical price paid for their votes in election years. It shocked them into the reality that Ms Nyangireki is free to die and be buried in a strange land so alo
ugnet_: US To Give Uganda Sh400m Military Aid
What a shame! All that for a few pieces of silver? Gook US To Give Uganda Sh400m Military Aid UGANDA will receive US$200,000 (about sh400m) in military aid from the US following the non-surrender agreement the two governments signed last week, reports Jude Etyang. President Yoweri Museveni, while on a visit to the US, signed the non-surrender pact with Secretary of State Collin Powell, exempting US soldiers on international combat assignments from prosecution by the International Criminal Court (ICC). Uganda like 63 other countries in the world which receive US military aid, had up to July 1 to sign the non-surrender pact or risk losing the aid. Under the pact, Uganda and the US will not surrender their citizens wanted for war crimes to the ICC without consent. Ends Published on: Thursday, 19th June, 2003 Email this article to a friend. "You can't separate peace from freedom because no one can be at peace unless he has his freedom."- Malcom X STOP MORE SPAM with the new MSN 8 and get 2 months FREE*
ugnet_: Uganda joins list of shame
Uganda joins list of shameEditorialJune 18, 2003 President Yoweri Museveni has signed the so-called Article 98 agreement with the United States of America. By this action he has exposed this country to a situation where an American soldier can commit crimes against humanity here and get away with it. The soldier would escape because the US is presently carrying out a diplomatic operation that frees it from the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court (ICC). Let us reflect on what the ICC is all about. The final Act establishing this court became enforceable after 17 July 2002. It was a culmination of a process following the United Nations General Assembly adoption of Resolution 51/207 on 17 December 1996. Months after, when all the legal niceties had been worked out, Uganda as a States Party signed into this agreement and our Parliament subsequently ratified our signature. The ICC was a conscious effort by the world community to put an end to the impunity of perpetrators of war crimes, genocide, crimes against humanity and aggression. This was an attempt to end crimes, vivid examples of which are provided by the illegal internment of Afghan prisoners of war by the US on Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and the ongoing killings inside Iraq. But almost from stage one, the United States, a country that purports to uphold human rights and dignity in all its forms, thwarted this noble effort enshrined in the ICC. First, the US Senate has not ratified their signature. Second, the US is presently going around signing Article 98 agreements with countries as obscure as Tonga. The essence of the Article 98 is that it annuls the co-operation [of a given state] with respect to waiver of immunity and consent to surrender. This means that the US is not compelled to waive the immunity of, or surrender its nationals for prosecution by the ICC. Mr Musevenis decision was unilateral in a matter that definitely required discussion in Parliament and the Cabinet. He single-handedly committed Uganda in a process that comes very close to abetting the commission of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity, etc. Did our President sign because he believed it was in the national interest or was he buying some hidden favours from the Americans, who as we all know are increasingly acting in near criminal fashion worldwide? © 2003 The Monitor Publications Gook "You can't separate peace from freedom because no one can be at peace unless he has his freedom."- Malcom X MSN 8 helps ELIMINATE E-MAIL VIRUSES. Get 2 months FREE*.
ugnet_: PRESIDENT MOI TO FACE POLICE QUESTIONS
By Andrew Harding in Nairobi BBC East Africa correspondent Moi stepped down last year after 25 years in power The Kenyan Government has ordered anti-corruption police to question the country's former president, Daniel arap Moi. The unprecedented move is part of a wider investigation into a banking scandal which saw large sums of public money disappear. This has never happened before in Kenya - a former president ordered to submit to police questioning. Kenyan investigators want to ask Mr Moi about Euro Bank. It went bust in February after it was discovered that almost $14million worth of public money had vanished from its accounts. Five senior officials have already appeared in court. At least one has said he was acting on the direct orders of President Moi when he transferred state funds to Euro Bank before its collapse. At the moment Mr Moi is not being accused of any wrongdoing but investigators are keen to hear his version of events. UnimaginableThis situation was unimaginable only a few months ago. Kibaki campaigned against corruption President Moi stepped down in December after a quarter of a century in power. He has acknowledged that corruption was a serious problem during his rule but has strenuously denied any personal involvement. His son, Gideon Moi, is being investigated over the Euro Bank scandal. He has accused the new government of launching a political witch-hunt. Privately senior officials in the new government have said they have no intention of hounding Daniel arap Moi following his retirement. Kenyan democracy has more to gain from a peaceful transition, said one, than from delving into the former president's past. Nonetheless, the new government has launched a series of probes into high-level corruption. It estimates that almost $10billion worth of public money was stolen during the Moi era The Mulindwas Communication Group"With Yoweri Museveni, Uganda is in anarchy" Groupe de communication Mulindwas "avec Yoweri Museveni, l'Ouganda est dans l'anarchie"
Re: ugnet_: AND THE APOLOGISTS DEFEND THIS?
Dear [EMAIL PROTECTED], It is your mu7 behind all these crimes. He is master in this dark art. One day, justice will catch up with him. Mitayo Potosi From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] CC: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: ugnet_: AND THE APOLOGISTS DEFEND THIS? Date: Wed, 18 Jun 2003 13:32:43 EDT LRA Kill 3 In Gulu IDP Camp HAVE MERCY: Bernard Odongo was hacked by rebels in a recent attack on Alito sub-county, Apac district REBELS of the Lord’s resistance Army (LRA) have again struck Anaka Internally Displaced Persons’ (IDP) camp in Nwoya county, about 35 miles (56km) west of Gulu, killing three people including a UPDF soldier. Dennis Ojwee reports that they also set ablaze over 380 grass-thatched huts. The rebels reportedly looted foodstuffs from the camp and forced the captives to carry the loot to their hideouts in the bushes. Local sources said the rebels, whose number could not easily be determined, struck the camp from its western side, the same direction they used when they attacked the catholic mission late last year. Details of the attack were still scanty by press time due to the poor communication network between Anaka and Gulu town. Anaka hosts over 25,000 internally displaced persons from various villages within Anaka sub-county. Others are from Purongo in Nwoya county. The army spokesman based in northern Uganda, Lt. Paddy Ankunda, yesterday said three people, including a UPDF soldier, were killed. He said the rebels burnt down at least 382 grass-thatched huts, looted foodstuffs and abducted several civilians. The rebels, in a letter dropped during their massacre at Pabbo IDP camp in Gulu, said they were showing their power by killing civilians. Ends Published on: Wednesday, 18th June, 2003 http://www.newvision.co.ug/newsletter/emailarticle.form.php?mainNewsCategoryId=8&newsCategoryId=13&newsId=141202";>Email this article to a friend. © Copyright The New Vision 2000-2002. All rights reserved. _ Protect your PC - get McAfee.com VirusScan Online http://clinic.mcafee.com/clinic/ibuy/campaign.asp?cid=3963
Re: ugnet_: Join us, UPC tell R.A \ blander
Bwambuga, In the NRM/A hey days ALL THE TOP DOGS would only talk of crashing, wiping them out! Then came corner Kilak, that killings continued up to now, Soroti train wagon roast tranform into many episodes, Lango the havoc is still fresh up to today etc. NRM/A should understand that they can kill, kill & kill but it might be difficult to wipe out, or make things easy for them!!!. tORO - Original Message - From: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Wednesday, June 18, 2003 2:31 AM Subject: RE: ugnet_: Join us, UPC tell R.A \ blander > AND Ss. Ssenyange, > What a round about politics in Uganda will have made Could one ever have thought that many lives would be lost before we, as Ugandans, will have been all over only to find that it was all "a blander"? But the most important question then still remains, are we ready NOW to start it all over again? Together that is? Strength in diversity?? > > Bwambuga. > -- > > > > "Ed Kironde" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > >It would be unthinkable in a country where UPC oligarchy banned all > >forms of opposition to find people who belonged to other political > >parties. It was illegal to have freedom of association; the > >authoritative brutal rule crashed such associations. > >It is laughable that now UPC members remind us which Ugandan joined them > >as though there were any other political organizations to join. > >-Original Message- > >From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf > >Of ssenya nyange > >Sent: Tuesday, June 17, 2003 5:49 PM > >To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > >Subject: RE: ugnet_: Join us, UPC tell R.A \ blander > > > > > >Mr. Bwambuga, > > > > Thats why I called it a blander. One portion will > >go > >back to UPC, another led by Njuba will go back to DP or Concervative > >Party, > >another will join Ochega, Kibirige, Juuko etc. It wont be a solid block > >allying or joining UPC. > > > >J. Ssenyange > >--- > > > > > >>From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > >>Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > >>To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > >>Subject: RE: ugnet_: Join us, UPC tell Reform Agenda\ blander > >>Date: Mon, 16 Jun 2003 22:02:58 -0400 > >> > >>Netters, > >>One thing people must realize is that most of those guys in the > >movement > >>(and Reform for that matter) were at one time or another UPC subcripts. > > > >>They believed in the principles that UPC stands for. But politics as > >usual > >>keeps it smell trails. Having divergent views is one thing UPC stands > >for. > >>Some of these people might have harboured some political fantacy at > >some > >>point in time which made them good recruites for NRM. But as reality > >dawned > >>on them they had to to go soul searching. At least they realised that > >NRM > >>was just a fantacy. > >>UPC did not disown them. UPC had no bitterness with any of them. What > >>difference they may have had, it was healthy. It was good for each > >other's > >>health in political terms. Now UPC is making clear to them that home is > > > >>still home. > >>Please come home. > >> > >>Bwambuga. > >>- > >> > >>"Mulindwa Edward" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > >> > >> >Mwaami Ssenyange > >> > > >> >Reform Agenda is NRM in a blue suit. They have been a movement > >combining > >> >every Ugandan under one blanket, what is different from that and > >>accepting > >> >publicly in round two that we are going to take every body this time > >but > >>as > >> >a recognised entity? > >> > > >> >Em > >> > > >> > The Mulindwas Communication Group > >> >"With Yoweri Museveni, Uganda is in anarchy" > >> > Groupe de communication Mulindwas > >> >"avec Yoweri Museveni, l'Ouganda est dans l'anarchie" > >> > > >> >- Original Message - > >> >From: "ssenya nyange" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > >> >To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > >> >Sent: Thursday, June 12, 2003 12:24 PM > >> >Subject: Re: ugnet_: Join us, UPC tell Reform Agenda\ blander > >> > > >> > > >> >> > >> >> That will be Reform's biggest blander of this century. A reform > >based > >>on > >> >> sentiments and "nothing to reconcile" is NOT a Reform. > >> >> > >> >> J. Ssenyange > >> >> > >> >> -- > >> >> > >> >> >From: "gook makanga" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > >> >> >Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > >> >> >To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > >> >> >Subject: ugnet_: Join us, UPC tell Reform Agenda > >> >> >Date: Wed, 11 Jun 2003 22:49:28 + > >> >> > > >> >> > >> >> _ > >> >> STOP MORE SPAM with the new MSN 8 and get 2 months FREE* > >> >> http://join.msn.com/?page=features/junkmail > >> >> > >> > > >> > > >> > > >> > >> > >>-- > >>He it is Who created for you all that is on earth...He is the > >All-knower of > >>everything. > >>Swaddaq Allahu Al-Adhim. > >> > >>Michael Bwambuga. > >> > >> > >>__ > >>McAfee VirusScan Online from the Netscape Ne
ugnet_: AND THE APOLOGISTS DEFEND THIS?
LRA Kill 3 In Gulu IDP Camp HAVE MERCY: Bernard Odongo was hacked by rebels in a recent attack on Alito sub-county, Apac district REBELS of the Lord’s resistance Army (LRA) have again struck Anaka Internally Displaced Persons’ (IDP) camp in Nwoya county, about 35 miles (56km) west of Gulu, killing three people including a UPDF soldier. Dennis Ojwee reports that they also set ablaze over 380 grass-thatched huts. The rebels reportedly looted foodstuffs from the camp and forced the captives to carry the loot to their hideouts in the bushes. Local sources said the rebels, whose number could not easily be determined, struck the camp from its western side, the same direction they used when they attacked the catholic mission late last year. Details of the attack were still scanty by press time due to the poor communication network between Anaka and Gulu town. Anaka hosts over 25,000 internally displaced persons from various villages within Anaka sub-county. Others are from Purongo in Nwoya county. The army spokesman based in northern Uganda, Lt. Paddy Ankunda, yesterday said three people, including a UPDF soldier, were killed. He said the rebels burnt down at least 382 grass-thatched huts, looted foodstuffs and abducted several civilians. The rebels, in a letter dropped during their massacre at Pabbo IDP camp in Gulu, said they were showing their power by killing civilians. Ends Published on: Wednesday, 18th June, 2003 Email this article to a friend. © Copyright The New Vision 2000-2002. All rights reserved.
ugnet_: Uganda rebels kidnap orphans-BBC
Last Updated: Wednesday, 18 June, 2003, 13:34 GMT 14:34 UK E-mail this to a friend Printable version Uganda rebels kidnap orphans By Will Ross BBC, Kampala In northern Uganda, well-armed rebels of the Lords Resistance Army attacked an orphanage at around 2400 local time from where they abducted Sudanese and Ugandan children. Rebels turn the children into fighters and wivesThe rebels, who have been terrorising the north of Uganda for the past 17 years, have no clear political agenda. But the Ugandan Government's attempt to defeat them militarily has so far failed, leaving the civilian population extremely vulnerable. The United Nations Children's Fund estimates that during the past year, over 5,000 civilians have been abducted by the LRA. According to Sacred Heart sisters who run the orphanage in the northern Ugandan town of Adjumani, less than 40 kilometres from the Sudanese border, the rebels abducted 16 Sudanese and Ugandan orphans between the ages of seven and 15. After taking them from their dormitories, the children were beaten, tied together with ropes and then marched off into the bush. Four of the children managed to escape, but 12 are still missing. Attacks The LRA is almost entirely made up of abducted civilians. While the boys are turned into ruthless killers, the girls are often given out to senior rebel officers and forced to become their wives. In recent weeks, hundreds of innocent civilians have been abducted and dozens killed by the LRA, and while the Ugandan army claims to have severely weakened the rebel force, it has failed to protect the civilian population from the attacks, which are occurring on a daily basis. Over 800,000 civilians are displaced and as the attacks continue, that figure is rising. Attempts by the Ugandan Government to talk peace with the rebels broke down earlier this year, with a total lack of trust between the two sides and now, President Yoweri Museveni is once again stressing that the LRA will be defeated militarily. However, after 17 years of suffering, the civilian population doubts that the war can end through the gun and is calling on the international community to intervene. E-mail this to a friend Printable version Do you Yahoo!? SBC Yahoo! DSL - Now only $29.95 per month!
Re: ugnet_: Re: Church fears Uganda rebel threat
Me think there could be some senses in what Chris and Lucima are saying. But, I have also listened to some Kony" bush public" rally tapes and I must confess the language was pretty vulgar against the entire Acoli. In fact much more vulgarly than those epithet the NRM used. What does the Bishop or do the people on the ground who are more acquainted to Kony voice say? Prefabrication pwoc killelo noc´l From: "Chris Opoka-Okumu" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: "Okello Lucima" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>,<[EMAIL PROTECTED]>, <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>, <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> CC: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>, <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: ugnet_: Re: Church fears Uganda rebel threat Date: Wed, 18 Jun 2003 08:24:16 -0400 Okello, Even if it was translated from Luo to English, there is no expression that you beat someone "black and blue" in Luo. That expression is only for whites who turn black and blue when beaten. So the person who wrote the order must be either an educated person who has lived among whites and simply forgot himself or a white military advisor who forgot that he is no longer in Britain or US and that Africans do not turn black and blue when when beaten. Chris - Original Message - From: Okello Lucima To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] ; [EMAIL PROTECTED] ; [EMAIL PROTECTED] Cc: [EMAIL PROTECTED] ; [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Wednesday, June 18, 2003 7:56 AM Subject: RE: Church fears Uganda rebel threat Comrades, My cynicism should be forgiven; but that phrase: sounds like something that could have only come from the pen and mind of John Nagenda. First of all, I have listened to Joseph Kony tapes and I have read transcripts of Kony speeches, but I am yet to be convinced that Kony used words such as "cold blood"; let alone if he even knows the expression to be beaten "black and blue". I am skeptical about this, unless it was translated from Luo / Lwo into English. Okello Lucima -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Wednesday, June 18, 2003 7:32 AM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]; [EMAIL PROTECTED] Cc: [EMAIL PROTECTED]; [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Church fears Uganda rebel threat Church fears Uganda rebel threat Children, even sheltered in churches, are at risk from the rebels Catholic church priests fear they are the new targets of rebels in a brutal insurgency in northern Uganda. The Lords Resistance Army (LRA) has become well known for abducting children to use as soldiers and sex slaves during its brutal 17-year insurgency against the government. But, after attempts by church leaders to mediate a ceasefire between the rebels and the government, LRA leader Joseph Kony is reported to have ordered Catholic missions to be destroyed, priests and missionaries killed and nuns beaten up. Army spokesman Major Shaban Bantariza told reporters they were aware of the threat. "This is not the first time, and we warned the church about it." Church fears Archbishop of Gulu John Baptist Odama told the BBC's Network Africa he was taking the warnings very seriously, but could not understand why the LRA were now targeting them. Catholic missions must be destroyed, priests and missionaries killed in cold blood and nuns beaten black and blue LRA order An atrocious war "Up till now, Kony has been talking to us and telling us he is fighting the government of Uganda." "I would be very happy if he talked to me and said: Archbishop the reason I am targeting the people you are leading is this..." Churches provide much of the health care and education facilities in the north - and thousands of civilians seek protection in church compounds. Archbishop Odama said he was "very much surprised" that the war, which had always been a political one, was now taking a religious turn. He added that if the army could not halt the attacks then international help was needed. "The people of the north have suffered too long and they need security," he said. Attacks One missionary leader Father Carlos Rodriguez told reporters "We have no reason to doubt the message was authentic... In the last five weeks LRA has burned, bombed and desecrated churches on nine occasions." According to the Italian-based Missionary Service News Agency (Misna) the order given to the LRA rebels by their leader was: "Catholic missions must be destroyed, priests and missionaries killed in cold blood and nuns beaten black and blue." Father Rodriguez said he believed the attacks were being ordered because some junior LRA commanders had deserted after peace meetings with church officials. "We live among the people and we are taking as many precautions as we can, but how safe are we if the LRA is killing children?" he said. Father Gerner in Kirgum told Misna: "Kony's words are deeply scaring." Last year, the Ugandan army was given permission to enter Sudan to wipe
ugnet_: 'What East Africa?' the Body Language Said-Charles Onyango-Obbo
Opinion-EastAfrican-Nairobi-Kenya Monday, June 16, 2003 CHARLES ONYANGO-OBBO 'What East Africa?' the Body Language SaidIts a near-miracle of integration that the three finance ministers of the East African Community now read their budgets on the same day. Thus, last Thursday afternoon, Kenya's David Mwiraria, Tanzania's Basil Mramba, and Ugandas Gerald Sendawula delivered their budget statements to their respective parliaments. None of them, however, was notably East African either in his policy statements, body language, or intent. Of the three, I listened to Mwiraria's statement. For the two hours he spoke, he actually didn't mention the words "East Africa." His only reference to the idea was when he said the finance ministers of "the region" had agreed on uniform taxation of air time for cellular phones. Neither did the reports on Mramba and Sendawula's presentations indicate that they had dwelt on East African issues in a way that was worth writing about. This is striking because after the East African Legislative Assembly, the common Customs Union is supposed to be around the corner. And President Yoweri Museveni a few months ago told Kenyan ministers who were visiting Uganda that an East African political federation was long overdue. Of course, some of these things are easier said than done. In 1996, during his presidential campaign, President Museveni aired his dream of an East and Central African Confederation, in which the Democratic Republic of Congo led by Laurent Kabila -- whom he and other "New Breed" leaders in the region had just helped to install in power by kicking out Mobutu Sese Seko -- would be a proud member. Two years later, Kabila had been assassinated in a plot in which fingers were pointed at his erstwhile allies like Uganda. And Ugandan forces returned to DR Congo not as liberators, but occupying forces who have since been accused of plunder and horrific human-rights abuses. In Museveni's 2001 election manifesto, the East and Central African Confederation dream now appeared as one of his worst nightmares. East Africa, though, was a different story. Relations between Uganda and Kenya were icy in the first years after Museveni had come to power at the head of a guerrilla army, and suspicious Moi ruled in Kenya. The relations warmed gradually, then dramatically - partly, of course, by default, as the politics in Kampala came to resemble Kanu's in Nairobi. However, since President Mwai Kibaki has come in, the injury and blood clot that sidelined him notwithstanding, the East African Community heads have not met. And their current diplomatic and domestic preoccupations couldn't be more different. Uganda remains absorbed by the conflict in Congo. On the domestic front, Museveni's attempt to have the constitution amended to remove presidential term limits, and continuing rebellion in the north, still take up a lot of the regime's time. In terms of regional agendas, Uganda recently appointed a deputy head of the Internal Security Organisation - in charge of Congo! It is seeking to renew a protocol with Khartoum to allow it to pursue rebels of the Lords Resistance Army who wreak havoc in northern Uganda, and retreat to bases in southern Sudan. In Kenya, the preoccupation is with rebuilding the country after the corruption and maladministration of the last 15 years of the Kanu government. The rest of its time has been taken up by the constitution-making process, and dealing with the threat of terrorism. Regionally, the Somali and Sudan peace processes have taken a lot of Foreign Minister Kalonzo Musyoka's time. Tanzania has had relatively calmer domestic waters, but its regional diplomatic currency has been spent mostly on the peace process in Burundi. It's not surprising in this environment that the only thing the three governments were able to do was fix the date of the reading of their financial statements. Charles Onyango-Obbo is managing editor in charge of media convergence at the Nation Media Group. E-mail: i [EMAIL PROTECTED] Do you Yahoo!? SBC Yahoo! DSL - Now only $29.95 per month!
ugnet_: Uganda Referendum: EC says it will Be Ready in Time
Referendum: EC Says it Will Be Ready in TimeBy DAVID KAIZA THE EASTAFRICAN -16/6/2003 - NAIROBI - KENYA PREPARATIONS are already underway to hold the proposed referendum on whether Uganda will adopt a multiparty system of government or retain the Movement system. The Electoral Commission (EC) says it is making arrangements to hold the controversial referendum, which, according to the law, is supposed to take place in about a year's time. The EC says that the law on the poll should be discussed to avoid a chaotic situation. But parliament has not even started discussing the law. The constitutional amendment process could also further delay the legislation. The European Union has also warned that a delay in discussing the law should not be used as a tactic against the opposition. The last time a referendum asked Ugandans to choose between the Movement and a multiparty system was in June 2000. The Movement won by an overwhelming majority, although turnout was poor and the banned opposition called it a non-contest. EC secretary Sam Rwakoojo told The EastAfrican that the EC was ready "to implement the referendum come that time even if they will not have amended the law." He said that preparations for the photographic voter's register and the photographic voter's cards, which had been disrupted because of confusion before the commission's leadership was changed, would resume. Preparation of voting materials in a number of districts and constituencies has already been done and will be displayed and updated when the time comes. The districts include Kabale, Mukono, Rakai and Lira, all districts in which by-elections for Local Council III and V have had to be held, prompting the need to prepare materials in advance. Others are Rubanda and Kinkizi West where Defence Minister Amama Mbabazi was controversially re-elected Bukomansimbi, Kabonda South and Bubulo West. Preparations are also going on for a by-election in Busiki County to replace former MP and Information Minister Basoga Nsadhu, who died last month. The same materials that have been prepared in these areas will also be used for the referendum, Mr Rwakoojo said. Despite these preparations, the future of the referendum itself is still in abeyance, although President Yoweri Museveni is said to be determined to see it through. The opposition and civil-rights organisations say that the referendum should not be held at all, arguing that it would not be on a level-playing field because political parties, which are expected to compete with the Movement, have not been allowed to present their case to the population. Legal experts have also questioned its legality, saying that the right of a group of people to form a political party should not be for the population to decide. The preparation for the referendum is being done against a background of legal "contradictions." When the constitutional court nullified articles 18 and 19 of the Political Organisations Act, it also, in effect, turned the old parties the Democratic Party, the Uganda People's Congress, the Uganda Patriotic Movement and the Conservative Party into what legal experts have referred to as "quasi-political parties." However, the state has since appealed against the ruling, although judgement is yet to be passed. Eriyas Lukwago, a Kampala advocate who has opposed the referendum, said that the referendum was an expensive and unnecessary way to decide on the political future of Uganda. He said that the problem had been created by a rigid constitution, which in article 74 says that a referendum was to be held to change the political system, "if requested by a resolution supported by more than half of all Members of Parliament; or if requested by a resolution supported by the majority of the total membership of each of at least one-half of all district councils." The national conference, which sat in Kyankwanzi this year, recommended that political parties be allowed to operate. Mr Lukwago said that the national conference should itself be considered as representative of the people's views. Sources within the Movement say that President Museveni is determined to see the referendum go ahead. But he has at the same time ordered that the process to register the Movement as a party be initiated. Opposition politicians also point out that the constitutional court's ruling on March 20 undermined article 70 of the constitution, which states that "The Movement political system is broad based, inclusive and non-partisan," Beti O. Kamya, spokesperson of the Reform Agenda, told The EastAfrican, "If there is no one contesting it, then why hold the referendum? All the parties have agreed that there should be open space. But that is typical of Museveni: He knows what he wants to be done, how he wants it and when he wants it." Preparations for the poll are expected to end by December this year to give ample time for display of the voter registers by next February. Although it has not ye
ugnet_: More Pregnant Women Taking Aids Drug in Uganda
Regional - East African-Nairobi-Kenya Monday, June 16, 2003 More Pregnant Women Taking Aids Drug in UgandaBy ESTHER NAKKAZI SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT THE NUMBER of pregnant women in Uganda taking Nevirapine, the drug that stops mothers from passing the HIV to their new-born babies, is rapidly growing in Uganda. This success story is attributed to the fact that more expectant mothers are gathering the courage to go for HIV tests. In the past, women shied away from determining their HIV status for fear of losing their husbands. According to the 2002 edition of the Ministry of Health's report on Prevention of Mother-to-Child Transmission of HIV (PMTCT), 4,175 women received Nevirapine in 2002, up from 3,929 in 2001. The HIV positive mothers receive a single dose of Nevirapine at the onset of labour and a single dose of syrup is given to the baby within 72 hours of birth. "The Ministry of Health in 2001 developed a plan to increase the intervention to cover at least half of the country by 2002 and to establish at least one implementing site in all districts by the end of 2004," said PMTCT co-ordinator Dr Saul Onyango. The 22 health centres currently dispensing the drug represent a fivefold increase from the four districts in 2001. The new centres include the war-torn districts of Kitgum, Gulu and Pader in the north. The success of the programme is partly measured by the number of pregnant women willing to undergo the test, which in 2002 grew almost twofold, from the 46,993 achieved in 2001 to 76,197. In 2001, 68 per cent of all mothers attending antenatal clinics were given pre-test counselling for HIV, while 76 per cent agreed to be tested. Mulago Hospital, the main referral hospital in the country, had the largest number of mothers taking Nevirapine. This attracted a third of the total number of patients participating in the programme last year. It had more than a half of the women who participated in the previous year. Comments\Views about this article Do you Yahoo!? SBC Yahoo! DSL - Now only $29.95 per month!
ugnet_: 4.5 billion Mass mobilisation Indeed
UGANDA - EAST AFRICAN JUSTICE PARTY - http://www.dfwa-u.tk 4.5 billion shillings vote towards the mass mobilization in the 2003/2004 Budget bwanika __ bwanika url: www.idr.co.ug Logon & Join in ug-academicsdb discussion list http://www.coollist.com/subcribe.html List ID: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Your Email address: ~~ ~~ url: http://uhpl.uganda.co.ug http://pub59.ezboard.com/fugandamanufacturersassociationfrm1
ugnet_: Witchcraft has become so strong of late in Uganda-Joachim Buwembo
Opinion-East African-Nairobi-Kenya Monday, June 16, 2003 JOACHIM BUWEMBO Vote Joachim or I'll Turn You Into a CockroachAny man or woman who wants to rule Uganda in 2006 must read this. It is a foolproof formula which, if all other things remain constant, should easily catapult the contender into State House, Kampala. And it is a simple one too: Just get yourself the smartest witchdoctor in the country and the majority votes will be yours for the taking. It is amazing how belief in witchcraft has become so strong of late. It must be the recent revelations that some religious pastors are secret practitioners of the old rites. This seems to have led us ordinary mortals decide that once someone has stronger witchcraft than yours (if you have any, that is to say), then you are helpless and had better let them have their way. Evidence of this was seen last Saturday, when the national soccer side, the Cranes, were lined up against Rwandas Amavubi stars in the continental tournament qualifier match at Kampala's Mandela Stadium. By Ugandan standards, it was a capacity crowd of 45,000, and they had paid a quarter of a billion shillings in gate collections. The cranes had earlier held the Rwandans to a draw in Kigali and it now appeared that they were set for victory in Kampala. But the predictions had not taken into account the stronger juju of the Rwanda team. When the Rwanda goalie was seen fixing some juju to the goalpost, the Ugandans knew they were sunk. The match lasted three hours, instead of one and a half. Half of the time was spent despairing over the alleged witchcraft and exchanging blows. In the end, the Rwandans triumphed one-nil. They had stronger witchcraft, didnt they? It was that simple. So the football question is settled: If you want to beat the Ugandans, just convince them you a strong medicine-man at your service and they will lie down and let you walk all over them. The business question had been settled much earlier. Before you enter into a big deal, it is now de riguer to enlist a competent witchdoctor. Sadly, some of these "traditional" practitioners demand human sacrifices to perform their money-making miracles and many children have been abducted and murdered as a result. But most business people engage in the less harmful types of witchcraft, especially before making trips to the free port of Dubai. Recently, the public was entertained with a lengthy press report of a juju battle between two top bus operators. At stake was the control of the multi-million dollar road passenger business. Apparently, the battle was deemed too important for just any local witchdoctor to handle. So expatriate witchdoctors were enlisted from Tanzania. They came and set camp in Kampala hotels and the battle began. It was fought out over several weeks and, in the end, both camps found themselves much poorer. Now, all that remains to be sorted out is the political question. With a people who believe so fervently in the supernatural, the potential for winning the election using witchcraft is enormous. What a presidential aspirant needs to do now is go undercover for a year and on re-emerging, pass the word that he has been in China being schooled in the most complicated and potent types of magic. The next step is to study all the calamities and good fortunes in rural communities and claim responsibility for them. If a bad storm destroys a hundred huts in an area, convince them that you passed by and they failed to recognise you and give you your due welcome and respect, hence the punishment. If any form of bad luck befalls a big politician, let it be known that he had been quietly undermining you but your spirits detected his malice and acted swiftly. Within a few months, nobody will dare utter a word against you. Police cannot be deployed against you because policemen are ardent believers in witchcraft. They would not in a hundred years mess around with a magic as strong as yours is reputed to be. So when the elections finally come around in 2006, all your campaign agents will need to do is make one trip to every village and tell the superstitious residents that they will have only themselves to blame should they vote for any other candidate. And youll find yourself laughing all the way to State House. Joachim Buwembo is Editor of the The Sunday Vision of Kampala. E-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Comments\Views about this article Do you Yahoo!? SBC Yahoo! DSL - Now only $29.95 per month!
ugnet_: East Africa Budgets: Pulling Apart?
Editorial - EastAfrican-Nairobi-Kenya Monday, June 16, 2003 EA Budgets: Pulling Apart?The much awaited budget readings of the three East African states of Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania came and went last week, with little indication that the countries were any closer to harmonising regional policies than they were three years ago. True, some taxes were "harmonised" upon agreement among the three finance ministers, as, for example, when they subjected airtime on cellular phones to a 10 per cent excise duty surcharge in Kenya and Uganda, and 7 per cent in Tanzania, which however has a higher VAT rate. However, even in these joint moves, there was reflected the usual attitude on the part of Uganda and Tanzania that Kenya, as the "senior partner" in the integration effort, should sacrifice more. In the case of mobile phone charges, it was Tanzania and Uganda that were charging more and were the interests of the consumer to prevail, the charges should actually have been reduced to the lower rate prevailing in Kenya. However, it appears to have been decided that Kenyan businessmen enjoyed an advantage in this aspect over their EA Community neighbours and should therefore be made to bear the costs since Tanzania and Uganda could not afford to forgo the revenue. Little regard was given to the fact that mobile phone charges in Kenya are already far higher than in the other two countries. When that is contrasted with the situation in the beer sector, double standards emerge. With excise duty at 85 per cent, Kenyan brewers are the most heavily taxed in the region Ñ excise duty rates in Tanzania range between 60 and 70 per cent. Why did the other two countries not raise their duties on beer to the level of Kenya's? The thinking at Arusha, the secretariat of the East African Community secretariat, appears to be that the only way to keep the drive towards a Customs Union alive is to tax Kenyan manufacturers more so that their rivals across the two borders can compete more favourably. As matters now stand, Kenya has implemented virtually all the tax reductions required to achieve a Customs Union, but Tanzania and Uganda lag behind on the pretext that their infant industries need protection from the Kenyan juggernaut. Never mind that industry in the three countries is dominated by fairly technologically-efficient multinationals. It would appear that this mistrust, which killed the initial East African Community in 1977, will make progress towards a Customs Union, leave alone the utopian political federation, an uphill task. Apart from gaps in harmonising taxation policy, there was, moreover, little elucidation of the human and physical changes that would indicate that the region is really becoming one. Shared resources would be a natural starting point in this regard. As disputes between fishing communities around Lake Victoria become commonplace, the three budgets lack any tangible proposals as to how the lake can be harnessed as a collective regional resource. Why did the three governments, for instance, not think of establishing a Lake Victoria licensing authority which would collect fees from those who commercially benefit from the water mass in various ways and use the proceeds to fund joint projects aimed at making the exploitation sustainable? This would substantially minimise disputes and contribute towards the eradication of the hyacinth menace. At another level, joint initiatives to develop an industry and tourism economy around the expanse of the lake, irrespective of whether they are on Kenyan, Ugandan and Tanzanian soil, could be explored and the benefits shared equitably. The landlocked nature of Uganda also provides an incentive for the country to join forces with Kenya and Tanzania in the development of the Mombasa and Dar es Salaam harbours, on the understanding that it will enjoy preferential terms in warehousing and other port charges as well as inland transportation between the two ports and points of entry into Uganda. With security concerns Ñ and increased terrorist threats Ñ posing a key handicap to investors and visitors to the region, collective security initiatives would be more effective in a region surrounded by several of the most unstable states in Africa. That the three countries are not pulling together on security and foreign policy matters was evident in the US war against Iraq a couple of months ago, in which Uganda joined the "coalition of the willing" mooted by President George Walker Bush. The impact of such unilateral decisions, taken in the name of sovereignty, on the region's economy and politics were evident last week as President Museveni was feted by Bush in Washington while a US travel advisory, backed by the withdrawal of British Airways flights to the region, was wreaking havoc on the three countries' tourism. However, it is on the cultural integration front that the much-touted integration becomes almost laughable. Despite talk of an East A
Re: ugnet_: Re: [Ugandacom] Why Kill the Messenger?
Matek, Lets stoop to check perspectives. I believe there is need here to make a little distinction, a concession. The art of the perseverance in the North and Eastern Uganda is that of EMERGENCY. Indeed, it requires both long term and preventive democratic approaches. But, emergency as it is, proceeds from immediate remedy. In Sweden we say, Acute / emergency has no law. I am talking about national democracy / national party politics. First thing first! Solve curb the hell in the north and allow them play along in the national struggle to curb the democracy deficit you are talking about. We do not want no ready made / ready served democracy. We want to play along and actively participate on equal ground. That is why I prefer not to blunder party politics in the peace resolution initiatives. All parties should without reservation condemn the LRA atrocities and actively support our people to create a milieu conducive for their participation in Ugandan culture and development. This is a state where both the Movement, DP, UPC or what ever should operate from the same pavilion. Like I once said, you can not look at a weeping childless mother or weeping motherless child and say, you weep on, persevere a little long. When we shall bring democracy, your problems will be solved. You child or mother is killed for democracy etc. To me, that is the trail of logic of party political blunder. You did not quite tell me clearly what you viewpoint on this subsequent terror on my people is. Elusive ala Kalulo Apwoyo! best rgds & Happy Mid-summar noc´l Lets stoop to check perspectives. I believe there is need here to make a little distinction, a concession. The art of the perseverance in the North and Eastern Uganda is that of EMERGENCY. Indeed, it requires both long term and preventive democratic approaches. But, emergency as it is, proceeds from immediate remedy. In Sweden we say, Acute / emergency has no law. I am talking about national democracy / national party politics. First thing first! Solve curb the hell in the north and allow them play along in the national struggle to curb the democracy deficit you are talking about. We do not want no ready made / ready served democracy. We want to play along and actively participate on equal ground. That is why I prefer not to blunder party politics in the peace resolution initiatives. All parties should without reservation condemn the LRA atrocities and actively support our people to create a milieu conducive for their participation in Ugandan culture and development. This is a state where both the Movement, DP, UPC or what ever should operate from the same pavilion. Like I once said, you can not look at a weeping childless mother or weeping motherless child and say, you weep on, persevere a little long. When we shall bring democracy, your problems will be solved. You child or mother is killed for democracy etc. To me, that is the trail of logic of party political blunder. You did not quite tell me clearly what you viewpoint on this subsequent terror on my people is. Elusive ala Kalulo Apwoyo! best rgds & Happy Mid-summar noc´l From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED],[EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED],[EMAIL PROTECTED] CC: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Re: ugnet_: Re: [Ugandacom] Why Kill the Messenger? Date: Tue, 17 Jun 2003 23:40:06 EDT Noc. Many of the top leadership of Uganda Peoples Congress strongly believe rather would argue that the so called LRA rebels come to be as a result of Yoweri Museveni's/NRM policy of militarisim and committing atrocities in Northern Uganda. Still many, including this writer, believe that a good many of the atrocities which are said to have been committed by the so called "KONY" rebels are actually committed by UPDF forces. Indeed, some of the atrocities committed on our people in Northern Uganda occurs barely a few meters from UPDF Army detachment. And yet and yet, the UPDF cannot stop this acts of brutality from occuring...even if it is only a few meters away from a UPDF detach. As an intelligent individual what would be your deductive reasoning ( intiution) when such event occur? I would say this naturally and logically leads one to conclude that members of the UPDF detach are very much aware that it is one of their kind committing atrocities against our people. If that was not the case the UPDF would have acted to defend and protect citizens. Look, Noc, I speak for and on behalf of many UPC top leadership, when I say that the UPC, aware that the war in Northern Uganda has claimed many many lives, has aways advocated for the peaceful resolution of the conflict in Northern Uganda. But does the Militaristic NRM listen. hell no... Absolutely not. For the NRM every political issue has to be solved by the GUN. For 17 years the NRM has insisted and attempted to solve t
ugnet_: Re: Church fears Uganda rebel threat
Okello, Even if it was translated from Luo to English, there is no _expression_ that you beat someone "black and blue" in Luo. That _expression_ is only for whites who turn black and blue when beaten. So the person who wrote the order must be either an educated person who has lived among whites and simply forgot himself or a white military advisor who forgot that he is no longer in Britain or US and that Africans do not turn black and blue when when beaten. Chris - Original Message - From: Okello Lucima To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] ; [EMAIL PROTECTED] ; [EMAIL PROTECTED] Cc: [EMAIL PROTECTED] ; [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Wednesday, June 18, 2003 7:56 AM Subject: RE: Church fears Uganda rebel threat Comrades, My cynicism should be forgiven; but that phrase: sounds like something that could have only come from the pen and mind of John Nagenda. First of all, I have listened to Joseph Kony tapes and I have read transcripts of Kony speeches, but I am yet to be convinced that Kony used words such as cold blood; let alone if he even knows the _expression_ to be beaten black and blue. I am skeptical about this, unless it was translated from Luo / Lwo into English. Okello Lucima -Original Message-From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]Sent: Wednesday, June 18, 2003 7:32 AMTo: [EMAIL PROTECTED]; [EMAIL PROTECTED]Cc: [EMAIL PROTECTED]; [EMAIL PROTECTED]Subject: Church fears Uganda rebel threat Church fears Uganda rebel threatChildren, even sheltered in churches, are at risk from the rebelsCatholic church priests fear they are the new targets of rebels in a brutal insurgency in northern Uganda. The Lords Resistance Army (LRA) has become well known for abducting children to use as soldiers and sex slaves during its brutal 17-year insurgency against the government. But, after attempts by church leaders to mediate a ceasefire between the rebels and the government, LRA leader Joseph Kony is reported to have ordered Catholic missions to be destroyed, priests and missionaries killed and nuns beaten up. Army spokesman Major Shaban Bantariza told reporters they were aware of the threat. "This is not the first time, and we warned the church about it." Church fears Archbishop of Gulu John Baptist Odama told the BBC's Network Africa he was taking the warnings very seriously, but could not understand why the LRA were now targeting them. Catholic missions must be destroyed, priests and missionaries killed in cold blood and nuns beaten black and blue LRA order An atrocious war "Up till now, Kony has been talking to us and telling us he is fighting the government of Uganda." "I would be very happy if he talked to me and said: Archbishop the reason I am targeting the people you are leading is this..." Churches provide much of the health care and education facilities in the north - and thousands of civilians seek protection in church compounds. Archbishop Odama said he was "very much surprised" that the war, which had always been a political one, was now taking a religious turn. He added that if the army could not halt the attacks then international help was needed. "The people of the north have suffered too long and they need security," he said. Attacks One missionary leader Father Carlos Rodriguez told reporters "We have no reason to doubt the message was authentic... In the last five weeks LRA has burned, bombed and desecrated churches on nine occasions." According to the Italian-based Missionary Service News Agency (Misna) the order given to the LRA rebels by their leader was: "Catholic missions must be destroyed, priests and missionaries killed in cold blood and nuns beaten black and blue." Father Rodriguez said he believed the attacks were being ordered because some junior LRA commanders had deserted after peace meetings with church officials. "We live among the people and we are taking as many precautions as we can, but how safe are we if the LRA is killing children?" he said. Father Gerner in Kirgum told Misna: "Kony's words are deeply scaring." Last year, the Ugandan army was given permission to enter Sudan to wipe out the LRA's rear bases there. But since then the attacks have intensified. Major Bantariza said the LRA was targeting villages across northern Uganda, making it impossible for the army to stop them. "The problem is a terrorist problem," he said. "As we know, no-one in the world has the capacity to deal with a terrorist problem decisively and very quickly because you do not know which will be the next target.
ugnet_: Church fears Uganda rebel threat
Church fears Uganda rebel threat Children, even sheltered in churches, are at risk from the rebels Catholic church priests fear they are the new targets of rebels in a brutal insurgency in northern Uganda. The Lords Resistance Army (LRA) has become well known for abducting children to use as soldiers and sex slaves during its brutal 17-year insurgency against the government. But, after attempts by church leaders to mediate a ceasefire between the rebels and the government, LRA leader Joseph Kony is reported to have ordered Catholic missions to be destroyed, priests and missionaries killed and nuns beaten up. Army spokesman Major Shaban Bantariza told reporters they were aware of the threat. "This is not the first time, and we warned the church about it." Church fears Archbishop of Gulu John Baptist Odama told the BBC's Network Africa he was taking the warnings very seriously, but could not understand why the LRA were now targeting them. Catholic missions must be destroyed, priests and missionaries killed in cold blood and nuns beaten black and blue LRA order An atrocious war "Up till now, Kony has been talking to us and telling us he is fighting the government of Uganda." "I would be very happy if he talked to me and said: Archbishop the reason I am targeting the people you are leading is this..." Churches provide much of the health care and education facilities in the north - and thousands of civilians seek protection in church compounds. Archbishop Odama said he was "very much surprised" that the war, which had always been a political one, was now taking a religious turn. He added that if the army could not halt the attacks then international help was needed. "The people of the north have suffered too long and they need security," he said. Attacks One missionary leader Father Carlos Rodriguez told reporters "We have no reason to doubt the message was authentic... In the last five weeks LRA has burned, bombed and desecrated churches on nine occasions." According to the Italian-based Missionary Service News Agency (Misna) the order given to the LRA rebels by their leader was: "Catholic missions must be destroyed, priests and missionaries killed in cold blood and nuns beaten black and blue." Father Rodriguez said he believed the attacks were being ordered because some junior LRA commanders had deserted after peace meetings with church officials. "We live among the people and we are taking as many precautions as we can, but how safe are we if the LRA is killing children?" he said. Father Gerner in Kirgum told Misna: "Kony's words are deeply scaring." Last year, the Ugandan army was given permission to enter Sudan to wipe out the LRA's rear bases there. But since then the attacks have intensified. Major Bantariza said the LRA was targeting villages across northern Uganda, making it impossible for the army to stop them. "The problem is a terrorist problem," he said. "As we know, no-one in the world has the capacity to deal with a terrorist problem decisively and very quickly because you do not know which will be the next target.