[allAfrica.com] [celtel.com] Bush Signs Law to Monitor Kony And UPDF The East African (Nairobi) NEWS August 9, 2004 Posted to the web August 10, 2004 By Kevin J. Kelley And Wairagala Wakabi Washington/Kampala A LAW signed last week by President George W. Bush will see the US monitor more closely the actions of both sides engaged in the Kony war in northern Uganda. Under the terms of the new law, known as the Northern Uganda Crisis Response Act, the US Secretary of State must report to Congress early next year on the sources of support for the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), which is led by Joseph Kony. The top American diplomat is also required to assess the conduct of Ugandan government forces in the conflict zones. This review will focus on the military's responses to civilian complaints and its efforts to ensure that any member of the armed forces that abuses a civilian is held accountable for such abuse. Other sections of the law, which was sponsored by Senator Russ Feingold, require no specific actions on the part of the US government. But the initiative does convey the sense of Congress that the Bush administration should play a greater role in helping to end the 17-year-long war. A Democrat known for his involvement in African issues, Senator Feingold said last month that his legislation is an attempt to energise both the government of Uganda and the international community to address this horrifying crisis. Because it does not signify any shifts in US policy toward Uganda, Senator Feingold's legislation encountered no obstacles as it moved through Congress and on to the White House, where President Bush signed it without comment. The absence of controversy also reflected the generally low level of interest in Uganda on the part of US legislators. At the same time, the law does highlight Washington's refusal to give uncritical backing to the Ugandan government's prosecution of the Kony war. A preamble to the law says that the US and the Republic of Uganda enjoy a strong bilateral relationship. The text also notes that the US regards the LRA as a terrorist organisation responsible for the abduction of thousands of Ugandan children. But the law further observes that the government's military campaigns have not succeeded in bringing security to civilian populations in the region. The Northern Uganda Crisis Response Act then calls on the Bush administration to increase pressure on President Yoweri Museveni in regard to human rights concerns. The US, the law says, should urge Mr Museveni's government to improve the professionalism of Ugandan military personnel currently stationed in northern and eastern Uganda, with an emphasis on respect for human rights, accountability for abuses, and effective civilian protection. The Ugandan government should also be persuaded to permit international human rights monitors to operate in the north and east of the country, the law adds. Senator Feingold further intended that his legislation should serve as a crystal clear warning to the government of Sudan. Relations between Washington and Khartoum cannot improve, the senator declared last month, until Sudan's rulers have cut off all forms of support for the LRA. The law itself refers to the finding by Human Rights Watch that Sudan has been the only known sponsor of the Lord's Resistance Army since the mid-1990s. It also notes the Sudan government's denial that it assists the LRA. Meanwhile, Ugandan military officials say the Uganda Peoples Defence Forces (UPDF) will remain deep inside Sudan until they conclude the campaign against the LRA rebels. Since March 2002, the Sudanese government has been giving the UPDF about eight months at a time to hunt Kony inside Sudan, and has even drawn a line beyond which the Ugandan forces could not go. But now, in a move that could deal a severe blow to the insurgents, the stay of the UPDF is unlimited, and the "red line" around Nisitu-Tolit-Jabelein has been scrapped. "We are still working with the Sudanese army, and the red line is no more," UPDF spokesman Major Shaban Bantariza told The EastAfrican last Thursday. He added that the Ugandan forces would not leave the area before completing the ongoing operations against the LRA, in an area the UPDF was only able to access for the first time at the end of last month. The biggest blow to the rebels in a very long time came on July 28 when a combined force of the Sudan Peoples Armed Forces (SPAF) and the UPDF attacked Kony's camp, which was said to be two kilometres from an SPAF camp. Over 120 LRA fighters were killed and several residents of what is believed to be Kony's last camp captured - among them four of his wives and 13 children. The Biriniang attack followed demands by Kampala that the Sudanese army arrests Kony, as he was in territory, which the protocol between the two countries did not allow Ugandan forces to access. A letter Defence Minister Amama Mbabazi wrote to his Sudanese counterpart on the instructions of President Yoweri Museveni said Kony was about two kilometres from Nisitu, in a zone where the UPDF were not allowed to go, so it asked Sudanese authorities to arrest the rebel leader.   =============================================================================   Copyright © 2004 The East African. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). =============================================================================