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Acholi Needs Change of Heart

New Vision (Kampala)
EDITORIAL
December 6, 2004
Posted to the web December 7, 2004
Kampala
REBELS OF the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) have expressed fears of retaliation
by local people should they give up the rebellion. Chief peace broker Betty
Bigombe says that the rebels have requested to meet local Acholi leaders for an
assurance of pardon before they take advantage of the prevailing ceasefire. The
truce has been extended yet again, to December 7 to enable those giving up the
fight to gather in designated zones.
There is a lot of legitimacy in the rebels' fears. The rebellion has mostly
aimed at soft targets - the civilians. Unlike most conventional guerrilla
forces, the LRA have been terrorists of unmitigated proportions, taking not on
the military but on the local civilian population. They have routinely avoided
direct combat with the army, opting instead to burn villages and abduct people.
Secondly, the rebel ranks are mainly drawn from the local areas.
A large majority of the fighters have been local children abducted and then
inducted into murderous ways, while only a few would have voluntarily joined
the leader Joseph Kony. But because many in the rank and file were unwilling
recruits, and because they faced threats from their very commanders while in
the LRA, they should be treated with special understanding. And, again, they
are local boys (and girls) who, anyway, would have to be reabsorbed in the very
society that suffered.
On the other hand, we cannot simply sweep away the local people's ire. After
all, they were the ones in the eye of the storm. This is why the truce and the
overall peace process with its long-term implications have to be managed by
more than just the army and the Commander-in-Chief.
Acholi needs a well-rounded reconstruction effort that would include hearts and
minds. Local luminaries like priests and retired civil servants, NGOs and
respected politicians, trauma counsellors and old soldiers, are all well-placed
to use platforms like radio, the pulpit, public rallies and home-to-home
outreaches to get this message across. It is an all-round effort.

   

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