{UAH} IDDI AMIN NEVER TARGETED LANGIs/ACHOLIs, THEY TARGETED HIM {---Series Seventy-Two}

Friends

 

Amon the very many studies that were done in Acholi land, The International Center for Transition Justice and the human rights center, University of California Berkeley, made a study under a heading "Forgotten voices: a Population-based survey of attitudes about peace and justice in Northern Uganda". The authors are Phuong Pham. Patrick Vinck, Marieke Wierda, Eric Stover and Adrian Di Giovan. The part that interested me the most in  their study, which was mainly about numbers was who actually wanted  or believed into accountability. 76% of those interviewed agreed that the people that commited atrocities must be  held accountable for such. Now why is this statement important? It is important because it is followed by a very quick "Except the people in Kitgum district" Nope if you do anything about the violence in Northern Uganda, do not talk about holding people accountable for their actions in Kitgum District. One wonders why only Kitgum district? "Respondents from the non-Acholi districts were three times more likely to believe someone should be held accountable than the Acholi districts".  Well I think that tells a whole story.

 

We are posting from page 25

 

Accountability

Three questions were designed to probe respondents' attitudes toward accountability: "Is

it important to you that persons responsible for abuses in Northern Uganda are held

accountable for their actions? If, yes, should anyone be held accountable for the abuses

you listed? And, if yes, who should be held accountable?" So as not to presume what respondents meant by accountability, they were also asked what they would like to see

happen to those who committed abuses.

Overall, the majority of respondents (76 percent) said that those responsible for abuses

should be held accountable for their actions. Except for Kitgum district, males were

significantly more likely than females to want accountability (􀈤2 = 37.8, df = 2, p-value =

.001). Those who were exposed to at least one of the 11 traumatic events listed in Table 2

were more likely to believe accountability is important than those who were not exposed

to any of the listed traumatic events (􀈤2 = 10.6, df = 2, p-value = .005).

Respondents from the non-Acholi districts were three times more likely to believe

someone should be held accountable than the Acholi districts (Odds Ratio = 3.37, 95

percent CI = 2.71, 4.20). When the interviewers probed further to identify those who

should be held accountable, approximately 37 percent of 1468 respondents said Kony and

other LRA leaders, 29 percent the LRA in general, 16 percent President Museveni and

the Ugandan government, 7 percent the government security apparatus (i.e., military,

police, and local militias), and 11 percent all those who committed abuses.

To understand further what the respondents meant by accountability, interviewers asked

specific questions about what they would like to see happen to the actors mentioned

above (see Table 4).

 

Table 4: What would you like to see happen to those LRA leaders

who are responsible for violations?*

Districts

Gulu

(n = 618)

Kitgum

(n = 638)

Lira

(n = 652)

Soroti

(n = 642)

Total

(n = 2,550)

Forgive (reconcile and reintegrate) 229 (37%) 160 (25%) 50 (8%) 114 (18%) 553 (22%)

Confront and confess to community 21 (3%) 19 (3%) 6 (1%) 13 (2%) 59 (2%)

Compensate victims 3 (1%) 8 (1%) 2 (0.3%) 13 (2%) 26 (1%)

Punishment (trial and imprison or

kill) 271 (44%) 392 (61%) 575 (88%) 439 (68%) 1,677 (66%)

Other 94 (15%) 59(9%) 19 (3%) 63 (10%) 235 (9%)

* Average Sampling Error is +/-3 Percentage Points.

While 37 percent of respondents said LRA leaders should be held accountable for their

crimes, more than half (58 percent) do not want lower-rank members to be held

accountable.44 In Gulu, this number was as high as 72 percent, and in Lira, 62 percent.

Conversely, in Soroti and Kitgum, many were also in favor of holding lower-ranking

LRA members accountable (61 percent and 41 percent, respectively).

When asked what should happen to UPDF who have committed abuses, about 51 percent

of respondents stated that they want to place them on trial; one-third (33 percent) wanted

them to be punished in some form (e.g., imprisonment, dismissed from the military, demoted, counseled, etc.); 18 percent stated that they wanted them to be amnestied; and 8

percent did not know or stated "other." Comparing between districts, respondents in Lira

differed greatly from their counterparts in other districts. The desire for trials (64 percent)

predominated in Lira compared to the other three districts sampled. The differences in

responses regarding the LRA may be partly explained by the fact that in the past, some

violations by the military have been punished.

Respondents were asked who should be in charge of holding accountable those

responsible for abuses. Support for the government and the international community was

relatively high, with 56 percent stating the government, 25 percent the international

community, and 16 percent the local community.45 To gain a greater insight into this

question, respondents were asked who they had heard expressing views about

accountability. Thirty-six percent said the government and 23 percent stated the media.

Eight percent pointed to the international community. (These answers correlate the

responses on who should be in charge of holding people accountable.)46

Consistent with these responses on accountability, 41 percent of the respondents also said

that the government best represented their views on accountability. Fourteen percent

stated that NGOs best represented their views. Overall, 12 percent stated that religious

leaders were the best party for representing their views, and 6 percent identified the

traditional leaders as most effective. The overall rate of respondents who stated that

religious leaders are best at representing their point of view was 60 percent higher in the

Acholi districts than the non-Acholi districts (OR = 1.60, 95% CI = 1.25, 2.05). Although

overall 6 percent of the total respondents stated that the traditional leaders are the best at

representing their view, 15 percent of the 620 respondents in Gulu said that they best

represented their views. When asked who best represents the view of the victims, similar

figures were obtained.

 

Stay in the forum for Series seventy three on the way   ------>

EM

On the 49^th Parallel          

                 Thé Mulindwas Communication Group
"With Yoweri Museveni, Ssabassajja and Dr. Kiiza Besigye, Uganda is in anarchy"
                    Kuungana Mulindwa Mawasiliano Kikundi
"Pamoja na Yoweri Museveni, Ssabassajja na Dk. Kiiza Besigye, Uganda ni katika machafuko"