{UAH} IDDI AMIN NEVER TARGETED LANGIs/ACHOLIs, THEY TARGETED HIM {---Series two-Hundred and three}

{This is a continuation of series 202}

 

 

Over 90 percent of the girls and young women abducted by the LRA were forced into

marriage.11 Of these, at least 73 percent continued to fight as soldiers even if married.12

Although very infuriating to get in terms with, the young girls who allowed to be

repeatedly raped under the 'marriage of convenience with the rebels' were more safer

than those who were single. Interviews with some of female FAPs indicate that

unmarried boys and girls were responsible for the heaviest and most dangerous workloads

such as carrying supplies or moving at the front of a military deployment in

battle.13 I wish to clearly state that this does not necessarily imply that FAPs especially

the young girls who raped under the disguise of being married to the LRA commanders

did so voluntary. In reality, they were forced into marriage and have sex against their

will, after being beaten, tortured and threatened with death.

 

In principle, the FAPs were physical and sexual slaves of their abductors. If you are to

form a picture on the situation of the FAPs while under captivity, the chances are that the

imagery will be very tormenting and traumatizing. Many researches and studies like the

ones cited in this paper have been very good at helping us map out the ghastly and

inestimable suffering the young men and women (FAPs) went through under LRA

captivity, but fall short of answering the question of who is responsible for their suffering.

Uganda is one of the African countries that have signed and ratified most of the

international conventions and treaties that define and prohibit slavery and practices

similar to slavery like abduction of civilians in times of war and peace. To mention

though not limited to, the UN charter of 1945, UDHR of 1948, Slavery Convention of

1962, Convention on the Right of Children, Geneva conventions, which place obligations

on individuals and warring parties to govern their conduct in war, and of recent the 1998

Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court among others. UDHR (1948) declares

that everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of the person.14 The 1995 Uganda

Constitutions provides for under general principle 3 that all organs of the state and the

people of Uganda shall work towards the promotion of national unity, peace and

stability.15 It is the primary responsibility and duty of the government of Uganda to

protect the life and property of all Ugandans at all times.

 

The existence of IDPs in northern Uganda, with some of there family members forced into military combat by the

LRA is a clear testimony of the inadequacy of the various duty bearers, in Uganda and

the international community to protect the rights of these victimized people.

The above should note be perceived to mean that nothing has been done by the

responsible duty bearers in Uganda and beyond, primarily the Government of Uganda.

There have been attempts both military and dialogue (stick and carrot) approaches,

whose merits and challenges are not necessarily discussed in this paper. The discussion

is around the stark realities of the civilian (IDPs) suffering as one category of victims

alongside the FAPs, who this paper takes to be the worst affected. For these, there is

no contest over the actuality that they were not protected from being manipulated and

used as pawns in sustaining the whole insurgency.

 

Whereas these sound as strong statements, they can be substantiated. Some scholars

are in agreement with me that behind the LRA abductions is a systematically crafted

strategy of turning the population of northern Uganda against the government in power,

which has majority members from the south. This has widened the north-south divide,

which the author like many nationalist do not support and look forward to see its end,

through both academic and proactive activism engagements with the responsible

stakeholders as analyzed in the authors other related papers: The Northern Question in

Uganda; and Joining Hands to Build a better Uganda through National Recocniliation16

The above statement is premised on the reality that the LRA send the abducted young

girls and boys on the battle front as human shield. During the UPDF offensive against

the LRA, most often they could kill the armed abductees as rebels. From some of the

interviews with the FAPs who survived the UPDF offensive, they narrated that:

 

We used to fight the UPDF troops once we fell into their ambush. We had to put

up a spirited resistance against them to save our lives, because if you were to

retreat the LRA commander of your group could shoot you. What we feared

most were the government war planes that could drop deadly bombs, killing

many of our colleagues. We were however instructed upon seeing there advance

towards us, to remove our shirts, smear with dust or mud, take cover in a tree of

bush, hiding both our finger and toe nails, and in that way the planes could not

easily spot us.17

 

Whereas some of the FAPs survived combatant, many died. When these children are

killed in combat by the UPDF, their parents condemn the government for killing their

children. As a result many enraged parents of the killed abductees resent the

government, which indirectly meets the intended objectives of the LRA of turning the

people of the north against the central government of Uganda. There have been

instances were the abductees who had managed to escape from the LRA during combat

with the UPDF found themselves harassed and physically harmed by the community

members were they had run for rescue. This is resentment is attributed to the fact that

most of the families that had lost their relatives could not stand any LRA suspected aide

or involved combatant. They transferred there rage to the escapee FAPs for revenge.

Although such road blocks exist in the course of the FAPs pursuing of freedom from their

abductors, many found their way to the reception centers like Gulu Save the Children

Organization-GUSCO and World Vision, where they were received and rehabilitated for

a while before being rejoined with their families. Some of them who were captured by

the UPDF were taken to the barracks and later transferred to the reception centers.

There also exist those FAPs that directly escaped from combat and found their way

home to their relatives, and for those who failed to trace their relatives or feared the

communities revenging against them, they moved to the main towns within the war

affected districts to engage in petty brokery jobs to earn a living.

 

 

Reintegration Initiatives for FAPs

 

Uganda's former child soldiers, haunted by exposure to violence at a young age, often

find little solace when reintegrated into their home communities. When they return home,

the nightmare continues, as they face stigmatization from their family and peers.18 The

government of Uganda has not come up with a comprehensive plan for reintegration of

FAPs back into their communities. Few IDPs feel that reintegration of FAPs has been

satisfactory so far. Some FAPs have had difficulties for example, to adjust from the

power of the gun as a source of self-reliance and the gun being taken away without

facilitation for alternative livelihood skills. What exists as reintegration intervention

processes by humanitarian agencies and the civil society, are basically adhoc activities

implemented and duplicated by the various stakeholders. Nevertheless, the government

of Uganda instituted the Amnesty commission to process blanket amnesty for the LRA.

 

I Amnesty for the FAPs

As a response to the persistent insurgency in Uganda, the government enacted the

amnesty act in the year 2000. This move was to pardon, exempt and discharge former

rebels who voluntarily give up fighting the government through military means from

criminal prosecution or any from of punishment from the state. The blanket amnesty that

the government offered to all people engaged in rebellions against the government of

Uganda, including the LRA covers all rebel movements since the 26th day of January

1986. For the LRA ex combatants interviewed in the process of writing this paper, the

greatest significance of the amnesty law is that it confers upon them as beneficiaries of

amnesty, an irrevocable legal immunity from prosecution or punishment. Indeed Key

LRA rebels like the former notorious Brigadiers: Sam Kolo and Banya received blanket

amnesty from the government. A number of junior LRA commanders and FAPs who

managed to escape from combat and gave up arms have equally been granted the

amnesty status. There is a general consensus within the war affected communities to

grant full amnesty to the FAPs especially those who were in the lower ranks of the LRA

because most of them were victims of abduction against there will. It is imperative to

note that, "the Amnesty Act 2002 of Uganda empowers the Amnesty commission to

promote appropriate mechanisms of reconciliation in the affected communities".19

The affected communities perceive Amnesty process insufficient in causing reintegration

and reconciliation as understood by the war victims. At most some of the FAPs are given

amnesty certificates, blanket and mattress, plus some basic farm equipments. The

victim communities perceive the amnesty packages from many folds. Some argue that

the government is empowering the FAPs, who are perceived by some community

members as the perpetrators that contributed to the communities' suffering in the camps.

While others fill that the packages are necessary to enable the FAPs start a new life

after abduction. The families of the FAPs feel that proper reintegration of their children

should on top of the Amnesty process involve traditional cleansing; Mato oput.

 

 

Stay in the forum for Series two hundred and four 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"