Uganda: Lango, Teso MPs Oppose IDPs' Return to Villages
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The Monitor (Kampala)
April 19, 2006
Posted to the web April 18, 2006
Posted to the web April 18, 2006
Monitor Team
Kampala & Lira
Kampala & Lira
THE government's move to return internally displaced persons in Lango and Teso to their homes has drawn mixed reactions.
The NGO and donor community have cautiously welcomed it and some area MPs have opposed it but significantly, the IDPs say they are not going anywhere.
Some of the IDPs in Obalanga, Morungantuny, Amuria and Kapelebyong camps in Teso Daily Monitor talked to say they would not return home.
"We are ready to go back once our security is guaranteed. At the moment we can't because the Karimojong warriors are still raiding and killing people as we are still in camps. How can we now return?" asked Ms Esther Abulo of Ngariam camp in Katakwi.
In a telling remark, the Katakwi Resident District Commissioner, also in charge of the newly created Amuria district, Mr Okoth Nyalulu confirmed that the exercise had failed to take off in the two districts due to Karimojong invasion and lack of resettlement packages for the IDPs.
The Lira RDC, Ms. Joan Pachoto,
also said as the central government representative in the district, she was not aware of the resettlement-taking place soon.
The army announced on Sunday that IDPs would start returning home on Tuesday - after spending 20 years huddled in crowded camps, which are home to millions in the war-torn northern Uganda.
The Defence and Army Spokesman, Maj. Felix Kulayigye, told Daily Monitor on Sunday that displaced persons in the Lango and Teso sub-regions were going home.
He said the resettlement would not extend to the Acholi sub-region because "there are a few rebel remnants". But Erute North MP Charles Angiro told Parliament yesterday that the Joseph Kony's Lords Resistance Army rebels are still killing people.
"How sure are we that our people would be secure in their villages?" he asked. He complained that the owners of the land on which the IDP camps are
built, have not been compensated by the government.
Oyam North MP Ben Wacha told Parliament he was shocked by the news of the IDPs returning to their homes. He said the Lango Parliamentary group is planning a meeting to discuss it.
Voluntary exercise
However, the Prime Minister, Prof. Apolo Nsibambi, told Parliament that the government is not forcing people back home.
"The exercise is so far voluntary," he said. "Government is providing iron sheets and food for six months for those who are willing to be resettled."
He said the State Minister for Disaster Preparedness, Ms Christine Aporu, would present a statement to the House about the resettlement project and criticised MPs for politicising the issue.
"I was disappointed by MPs who are saying that they were not consulted," he
said.
"In fact MP Morris Latigo (Agago) contributed to this matter. We may disagree politically but we should work together on this matter because it's a matter of life and death."
The State Minister for Defence, Ms Ruth Nankabirwa, said the government couldn't send people back home without assessing the situation first.
"But the security situation in the north has improved, that is why we are sending them back to their homes so that they can grow their own food," she said.
Nankabirwa said there has been a lot of suffering in the camps and people should now be resettled in their homes but several MPs disagreed with her.
Earlier in an interview at Parliament, Erute North MP Mr Charles Angiro, told journalists that returning IDPs to their homes, "... is an abuse to our people". He said there are still rebel attacks in the counties
of Dokolo, Erute North, Moroto and Otuke in the Lango sub-region.
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Kasilo County MP Mr Elijah Okupa said the
government should guarantee security before encouraging people to go back to their homes. "This is just politics until we see the situation improve," he said.
MP John Odit (Erute South) blamed the government for not involving Lango political leaders. "We are just hearing this in the mass media," he said.
"My area was attacked a month ago. So we cannot be sure of total security for our people," he said. Apac woman MP Ms Betty Amongin said the army should deploy heavily in the villages to give people confidence. She said army deployment in Lango was minimal.
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