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Uganda Rejects UN Analysis On North

New Vision (Kampala)
NEWS
October 23, 2004
Posted to the web October 25, 2004
Kampala
Kampala on Friday rejected a comparison drawn by a top UN official between the
conflicts in northern Uganda and Sudan's Darfur, insisting its fight against
the rebel LRA was almost over.
"The situation in northern Uganda is not any nearer to what we see in Darfur,
because in Uganda, there is no state-sponsored situation the same way it is in
Darfur. The comparison is, therefore, not exact," Information Minister James
Nsaba Buturo said on Friday.
UN humanitarian assistance chief Jan Egeland said Thursday that the conflict in
northern Uganda was the "world's greatest neglected humanitarian crisis" and a
"moral outrage" rivalling that of Sudan's Darfur.
"I hope that we can now, as the international community, wake up and help
Uganda to solve its crisis. What we need is a much bigger international effort
and presence in northern Uganda," Egeland said.
Buturo said the crisis in Uganda was at a "low ebb, only posing challenges
related to post-conflict programmes."
"Egeland might be out of touch with the reality on the ground. The conflict is
at its low ebb because massive defections have weakened the rebel army that can
no longer stage attacks on displaced people's camps," Buturo said. However, he
admitted that the UN official was right about the state of the humanitarian
situation in the region.
"It's true our people need a lot of help. The challenge we face is that people
need to live a normal life again and improve the lives of the internally
displaced people," Buturo said.

   

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