...about Father Rodriguez, i am challenging you since you say you are a humanist to go to Iraq and once you are there secretly (without the knowledge) of the occupying powers establish contact with the insurgents (including those who did the beheading), in the name of peace, now if you are caught in the process, by the occupying powers see whether you won't be arrested and/or kicked out of the country. I don't give a damn who the Father is or what goodwill he has, the fact of the matter is that he has no power to carry out any activities with the LRA terrorists without the knowledge of the government of Uganda. You even contradict yourself when you say on one hand that the government of Uganda is responsible for the security of it's citizens (which no one disagrees with) and then you on the other hand support someone (a foreigner for that matter) going behind the government of Uganda and establishing contacts with a terrorist group. Now any government which allows foreigners (whoever they maybe) to go around making contacts with known terrorist without the government knowing about it, should obviously be guilty of dereliction of it's duty of protecting it's citizens. Besides are you saying that ARPI cannot negotiate peace without Father Rodriguez?....so once the "bazungu" fathers live the ranks of the ARPI, peaceful resolutions are impossible.....only "bazungu" fathers have so much love for the people of Acholi to the point of "matyrdom"....give me a break. Where were all the bazungu fathers when tutsis were being massacred in Rwanda?, that was a great chance opportunity for genuine matyrdom.....maybe they are now suffering from guilty conscince....they are now seeking redemption...that is there own bussiness, we Ugandans should learn to solve our own problems. People like father Rodriguez only complicate matters......how can you attempt to force peace...that's nonsense.
Mr. Lupa-Lasaga you need to appreciate that there are two sides to a negotiation. You surely don't expect the government to negotiate with itself....what do you expect government to do in the interim?...fold her arms and watch the killers kill in the name of government being peaceful?. Obviously government needs to do more to protect her citizens in the trouble areas, but let's be sincere, no amount of protection will be perfect unless the LRA is completely stopped either through force, sincerely peaceful negotiations or combination or both. It doesn't help when the rebels are sent conflicting messages from the other side....like some on this forum openly acting as cheer leaders for the terrorists, justifying there murderous activities, urging them on and then turning around advocating peace talks. The best remedy for stoping this conflict is for all stakeholders in the Ugandan body politic coming out with one voice of condemnation of the terrorists and then putting politics aside and working with government to stop the terrorists. NO SOLUTION WILL WORK WITHOUT THE GOVERNMENT BEING A PART OF IT. It doesn't matter what option is taken as long as it is unanimously accepted by all. The problem in Uganda (and indeed in Africa) is the notion that once you are in opposition you should COMPLETELY have nothing to do with the government of the day...you should NEVER EVER EVER agree or work with them...that perception is wrong. There are times when politics needs to be put aside for the sake of the nation or national interest and i think the northern tragedy is one of those times.
Finally you characterize my immediate former posting as "verbiage" but you will accept that it is factual verbiage. Cheers.
From: Vukoni Lupa-Lasaga <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: RE: ugnet_: Acholi clergy defends fr. Rodriguez Date: Sat, 15 May 2004 19:08:53 -0500
Bwana Musaazi,
Once again, with so much verbiage you have deftly sidestepped the real issues.
But I'll revisit them anyway.
1. The government of Uganda has the responsibility of protecting the property and lives of all Ugandans from both internal and external threats. By commission and omission, Yoweri Museveni's administration has done a terrible job of it in Acholiland. This fact isn't altered, regardless of whether there is local support for the LRA or not and whether Sudan or any other foreign country is supporting the LRA or not. All your arguments in this regard amount to little more than lame excuses.
2. It is curious that to you, southern elements have to be present in the LRA for us to characterize the outcome of the armed conflict in Acholiland as genocidal. I beg to differ. Incompetence, corruption, and dereliction of duty by UPDF officers (including Yoweri Museveni) and rank and file largely accounts for the continued existence of Joseph Kony (who by all reckoning is a psychopath with no credible political agenda). Nearly every one of the commanding officers posted to Gulu, Kitgum, and Lira, to help fight armed rebellion, has profiteered from the war rather than stop it. This includes Salim Saleh, Tinyefuza, and Wasswa. Follow the money, if you think I'm lying or playing politics, as you cheaply shot.
3. The Yoweri Museveni administration has two real junctures for ending the suffering in Acholi. Either to defeat the LRA militarily (which it has failed) or to pursue less violent options.
4. You still haven't quoted for me any Ugandan law that penalizes an attempt to broker peace. If such laws exist, I have already said that we should have it repealed. Contrary to your assertion, I think all Ugandans and friends of Uganda are bound by duty, conscience, and human decency to contribute toward seeking an end to the suffering of more than one million Ugandans, whose tragic fate is a reflection of monumental failure of government. For state functionaries and toadies to hide behind real or imagined laws in an attempt to monopolize genocidal incompetence is mind-boggling.
5. One doesn't have to have a political agenda to point these things out. Personally, I carry water for no one. I speak as a journalist and concerned Ugandan, African, and humanist. Many people, including myself, have condemned and will continue to condemn the savagery of Joseph Kony and the LRA. We have also condemned and will continue to condemn criminal negligence by civilians and soldiers in the Museveni administration that have directly or indirectly led to unnecessary loss of life in northern Uganda and elsewhere in the course of war. Are there those who try to make political hay out of Museveni's and the UPDF's abject failure to defeat a ragtag group of brigands? You bet. That's in the nature of politics. I recognize it although I don't play it. Does that fact (i.e. political hay-making) eliminate the necessity to speak out? Of course not.
6. All this noise Movement apologists and propagandists make about Fr. Rodriguez is just a diversion. Somebody, Ugandan or not, has to put their life on the line, to do the risky job of pursuing alternatives to the government's failed approach. This job is truly dangerous and I'm sure those who undertake the role of mediators are well aware that they will meet hostility from both Kony/LRA and UPDF/Museveni, who share the unsavory reputation of treachery in the face of peace.
vukoni
-------------------------------------------- This service is hosted on the Infocom network http://www.infocom.co.ug
_________________________________________________________________
FREE pop-up blocking with the new MSN Toolbar – get it now! http://toolbar.msn.click-url.com/go/onm00200415ave/direct/01/
-------------------------------------------- This service is hosted on the Infocom network http://www.infocom.co.ug
