US, UK Fueled Kony War - Report

New Vision (Kampala)
NEWS
November 6, 2003
Posted to the web November 6, 2003

By Anne Mugisa And Maurice Okore
Kampala
A study on the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) rebellion in northern Uganda has
blamed the US and British governments for causing and prolonging the conflict.
The report recently launched in Kampala by the Human Rights and Peace Centre
(HURIPEC), also blamed former president Milton Obote and the National
Resistance Movement (NRM) for the war, which has raged for 17 years.
It said the conflict was a hatred war, which was first started by Obote in his
attempt to get rid of Acholi and Catholics from the Government.
"This has also been part of the US and British policy in...the Great Lakes
Region. The US support to Uganda in fighting the then Islamic fundamentalist
regime in Sudan and Uganda's support to the SPLM/A is what motivated the Sudan
government to give military assistance to the LRA," the HURIPEC report said.
It attacked the US for supporting the UPDF "Operation Iron Fist" which aims at
routing the LRA. It said this complicated the conflict within Uganda.
The study was carried out by HURIPEC under the Makerere University Faculty of
Law assisted by the Canadian-based LIU Institute of Global Issues, Norwegian
Refugee Council, Africa Study Centre and Gulu based Human Rights groups.

   

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