Ugandan rebels delay peace deal
Joseph Kony, the notorious, phantomlike leader of a brutal rebel army in Uganda, on Thursday delayed signing a landmark peace treaty once again, but Ugandan officials remained hopeful that peace was still close.
Mr. Kony, the leader of the Lord’s Resistance Army, said he needed more time to consult Ugandan elders and contemplate the war crimes charges he faces, according to Ugandan government sources.
More than 200 officials, diplomats, journalists, elders and family members of Mr. Kony have camped out in a jungle clearing near the Sudan-Congo border, waiting for Mr. Kony to emerge.
It is a familiar waiting act. Several times before, Mr. Kony has avoided or delayed meetings with negotiators. Last week, the elusive rebel leader, who has been seen in public only a handful of times in the past decade, postponed signing the peace treaty, apparently because he was sick.
If the peace deal goes ahead this time, it could mark the end of a sadistic, 20-year-old civil war that began with a trace of ideology — the liberation of the Acholi people of northern Uganda — but quickly descended into barbarism and crime. The Lord’s Resistance Army was notorious for carving its way across the Ugandan countryside, kidnapping children, burning down huts and slicing off the lips and ears of anyone who got in its way.
Tens of thousands of people are thought to have been killed and more than a million displaced in the conflict, which destabilized a large swath of central Africa, including parts of Congo, Sudan and the Central African Republic.
The main hitch with the peace deal, though, is international war crimes indictments against Mr. Kony and three top commanders. Mr. Kony’s aides have indicated that he will sign the treaty to show he is serious about peace, but the Lord’s Resistance Army will not fully disband until the indictments, issued in 2005 by the International Criminal Court in The Hague, are dropped.
Yesterday I went to the screening of the Invisible Children documentary and while I had known about this for a few years I really didn’t delve into it. Having seen the documentary I feel as do many others, that it is a very important issue facing the world today. I feel that there are so many opportunities in Africa along with the fight to “end” extreme poverty and the aids/HIV relief; these are all opportunities for the western world to invest in something positive. These lands are obviously unstable and we are fools to not try to help out. If nothing else, these are opportunities to boost America’s image in the world. These are investments of peace and investments of life. These are also predominantly Muslim countries and it would be in our best interest to make friends with these people before they become so disillusioned with us that they want to come over here and kill us.
In regards to the article, I was obviously disappointed to hear that yet again, the peace talks are being delayed. I pray that at some point these talks can actually prove something tangible, if peace is tangible.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/11/world/africa/11uganda.html?ex=1208577600&en=b56991c60477116f&ei=5070
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