[allAfrica.com]  [The_Leon_H._Sullivan_Summit_Dinner]


No Apology - Sudan

The Monitor (Kampala)
NEWS
May 14, 2004
Posted to the web May 14, 2004

By Elias Biryabarema
Kampala
A Sudanese envoy has said his government should not be held responsible for the
suffering of the people in northern Uganda. Mr Mohammed Eisa Ismail Dahab,
Sudan's deputy head of mission in Uganda and charge' d'affaires, had made a
courtesy call to The Monitor offices in Namuwongo yesterday.
He said Sudan had no apology to make since it took no responsibility for the
perpetuation of the LRA war in which an estimated a million people have been
displaced and thousands killed.
"A country or someone can apologise only if he has done something wrong. We've
done nothing as far as (the) LRA war is concerned and we have nothing to
apologise about," Eisa said.
Answering a question from The Monitor managing director, Mr Conrad Nkutu, on
why the LRA has been able to enjoy Sudanese support for 18 years, Dahab said:
"Sudan has never supported LRA at any single time. It's true they have been
living in southern Sudan, which has been in civil war and where we couldn't
easily restrain them."
President Yoweri Museveni has consistently blamed the unending war on Sudan,
which he accuses of providing support to LRA by giving them a safe haven and
sourcing weapons.
Dahab said the LRA rebellion should be blamed on the inequalities between the
north and the rest of the country.
"LRA is an internal problem and you must blame yourselves," he said. He added
that the UPDF, which has failed to neutralise the LRA fighters in northern
Uganda, should bear all the blame.

   

  =============================================================================
  Copyright © 2004 The Monitor. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica
                         Global Media (allAfrica.com).
  =============================================================================