PRESS RELEASE BY ACHOLI ASSOCIATION’S LONDON HEAD OFFICE (09 September 2005)

PRESS RELEASE BY ACHOLI ASSOCIATION’S LONDON HEAD OFFICE
09 September 2005

RESPONSE TO THE NRM GOVERNMENT MISSION IN LONDON ON ITS
“Consultative meetings of Acholi residents in the Diaspora”

I address Acholi Community in the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland in particular, the entire Acholi population worldwide and the International Community at large, that on behalf of Acholi Association and on my own behalf, I reiterate our Constructive and unwavering rejection to the NRM government attempts through its beleaguered ministers : 1) Hon. Jacob Oulanya, MP for Omoro County & Chair, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Committee. 2) Minister for Security Hon. Betty Akech, 3) Minister of State for International Affairs, Hon. Henry Okello Oryem, 4) Hon. Hilary Onek, MP for Lamwo county, 5) Hon. Prof. Tarsis Kabwegere, Minister for Local government and others currently in London, calling for consultative meetings of Acholi residents in the Diaspora. Our position as a community representative organisation is very firm and clear that we will not attend and not advise any peace-loving Acholi in the Diaspora, to participate in organising and or attending such seductive, morally illegal and meaningless propaganda yet again, intended to hoodwink public opinion.

Our firm stance and decision is based upon up-to-date and detailed current country information on continuously mismanaged NRM Uganda. We are therefore neither presumptuous nor ill informed of what anarchy are going on particularly in Acholiland, Northern Uganda generally and the entire country for us to be briefed by any self-centred, emissary as the NRM government and its agents seem to believe and portray.

The recent efforts by the Museveni’s NRM government to achieve pretence of peace in Acholiland have disastrously and lamentably collapsed. There are two main issues that immediately arise from this collapse:
· Firstly, what lessons do we learn from it?
· Secondly, equally as important, what do we do to achieve a long lasting peace and tranquillity in Acholiland?

1) Today, I have undertaken to respond to these issues as follows: -
In 1994, Mrs. B. Bigombe then minister for what has been referred to as ‘the pacification of the North’ heroically took steps to approach Joseph Kony, leader and founder of the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), to enable the resolution of the conflict in Acholiland through peaceful means. What Mrs. Bigombe in our view achieved, was tremendous and would have ensured the realisation of genuine peace in the North, had she been given the support. The greatest obstacle that came in her way was one thing and that was – the perennial arrogance of the dictator Yoweri Kaguta Museveni. First, he [Museveni] gave Joseph Kony an ultimatum of only one week lest he would get killed. Joseph Kony did not surrender to this mighty warrior (lone-parent?) Secondly, Museveni did not kill Kony; thirdly, as I sit at my desk in London; the war hasn’t ended and people in Acholiland continue to die in thousands. We acknowledge with deep appreciation the effort of Mrs. Bigombe in 1994 in this context.

2) Only recently Mrs. Bigombe was involved in efforts to achieve ‘peace’ in Acholiland. There is however, a radical difference between 1994 and 2005 in terms of the magnitude of the war and the fact that numerous complex factors have arisen in relation to the war since 1994. In the light of these two factors it should have been obvious to Bigombe that much more would have to be done in order to facilitate the realisation of peace in the present circumstances. It is the fact that Bigombe intentionally or unintentionally chose not to recognise these factors that have compelled us to characterise the present efforts as being geared towards achieving ‘peace pretence’. We have deliberately done this to enable Bigombe to pay more attention to the issues that are being addressed today and possibly learn from this experience.

It would be entirely wrong on our part also to pretend that we know all the answers to the ‘Human Rights’ and humanitarian catastrophe in Acholiland. On the other hand, it would be wrong to ignore the issues we are highlighting.

2) The following concrete steps must be taken with immediate effect: -
(i) Museveni’s soldiers must leave Acholiland immediately as they represent the greatest danger to the Acholi people. If they were genuine organs of government, they would protect the people and their property. Instead, Museveni and his soldiers have waged a genocide war against the Acholi. Museveni’s soldiers have used different genocide techniques.
(ii) Killings must stop. In addition to outright mass killings of innocent civilians, the vast majority being women and children, Museveni and his soldiers have systematically and massively expelled more than 95% of the Acholi civilians from their homes and confined them to the (dreaded camps), more accurately, ‘death chambers’. They have inflicted on our people in the ‘death chambers’ conditions intended to destroy their physical integrity in whole or in part. Our people are being destroyed through starvation, malnutrition, and exposition to unacceptably horrible unsanitary conditions, diseases [HIV/AIDS] and various kinds of insecurity. This has resulted in high rate of suicide in IDP camps for instance, 25th.08.2005, Bishop Odama reported 15 cases in the month of August in one such camp, ‘AcoliForum’, 6th Sept, 2005.
(iii) Uganda praised by the West on HIV/AIDS - While the West for heroically having tackled the scourge of HIV/AIDS, in reality, has praised Uganda Museveni’s soldiers continue to use this scourge as a weapon of war against the Acholi people. This was done through the deliberate deployment of HIV/AIDS positive soldiers in the north who have continued to rape men, women and children as young as ten years old. There is evidence to support this from various reliable sources as well as from the victims themselves. A recent UNICEF report on the Internally Displaced People’s (IDP’s) Camps, in Acholiland shows clearly that the rate of HIV/AIDS in Acholiland is 35%, that is, six times that of the rest of Uganda. This contrasts very much with pre-Museveni [1985] STD Health report – 0.5%. Further more, the last WHO [Aug, 2005] report, indicates that the rate of death in the IDP’s Camps is 1000 per week and growing. Could there be any better evidence of genocide than that? Stop the genocide!
(iv) Museveni inflict mental and bodily harm - Museveni and his regime have inflicted and continue to inflict serious bodily and mental harm on individual members of the Acholi ethnic group; the aim being to destroy in whole, or in part.
(v) Conditions that restrict births - imposition on the Acholi people, conditions intended to restrict births.
(vi) Forcible removal of children - forcible removal of Acholi children, to other groups. Is this not ethnic cleansing?

3) All the camps must be immediately dismantled to enable Acholi people to return to what is left of their homes and homesteads throughout their motherland without fear of intimidation by the dictator’s soldiers and mercenaries. This must stop and stop now!!

4) Toady as I sit at my desk in London, rivers of blood of my people flow across the length and breadth of our God-given beautiful motherland.
Museveni and his soldiers have been and continue to be responsible for spilling Acholi people’s blood. Museveni has blood on his hands. The blood of our people cries out to heaven for redress.

Museveni is not fit to point a finger of blame at anybody. He should first take the log from his own eyes, in order to see clearly the specs in other persons’ eyes.
An International Criminal Tribunal should be established so as to indict him [Museveni] for his crimes of genocide in Acholiland. His presidency will not preclude legal action against him.

5) The grievances of the Acholi people should be crucially addressed. The people of Acholiland must realise that it is clearly in their own interest to stand up and speak boldly for themselves. The people of Acholiland know who has done what, when and where against them. All they need is an opportunity to express their views freely about the painful experience. They should get properly organised and establish effective mechanisms to facilitate the articulation of their views.

6) The Western Press and media especially those based in the USA have actively participated in fundamentally distorting the issues related to Museveni’s war. This worked in favour of enhancing Museveni’s genocide agenda. We [Acholi people] therefore appeal to the US and UK governments to regulate information such that it does not enhance the genocide in Acholiland.

7) The international community, organizations and agencies should get more actively involved in bringing about a quick but sure end to the conflict in Acholiland.
(i) We [the Acholi people] are profoundly horrified by the appallingly insensitive and indifferent position that the UN Security Council has adopted in relation to the war. We therefore request the Security Council to appoint a mediator to initiate peace talks with a view to achieving a lasting peace in Acholiland and Uganda at large. We are confident the UN Security council can effectively tackle Museveni’s arrogance and require him to comply with his obligations under International Human Rights and Humanitarian Laws. Whereas the Security Council has been involved in the Sudan, Liberia, Ivory Coast, etc, nothing concrete has happened in the case of Acholiland and people. We are sure much more can and will be done about this war.
(ii) The US has poured a huge amount of money in support of Museveni’s regime as well as training the regimes soldiers who have the intent to destroy the Acholi, their environment and cultural heritage. Aid to Uganda should only resume when Museveni can demonstrate his preparedness to work in favor of peace, or has peacefully vacated power in Uganda. It is the fact that the US has supported Museveni’s government so much despite his genocide crimes, which has emboldened him to deliberately refuse to comply with human rights obligations under international Law.

It’s in our view that it is dishonest and inappropriate for the US government to talk peace in the morning only to arm Museveni in the evening to wage war against the Acholi. Indeed this constitutes double standards and this does not lead to peace.
The US position, in other words, has been that she believes in adopting both pursuing war against the insurgence and at the same time engages in peace talks. This in our view, as pointed out above, does not lead genuine peace.

(iii) Her Majesty’s government can play a major role in bringing peace to Acholiland. The recent suspension of certain forms of AID to Uganda is a drop in the ocean. Much more can and should be done in terms of stopping financial assistance to Museveni and refusing to train his arm.
(iv) We appeal to the EU and other Western donors to halt giving assistance to Museveni because of his genocidal crimes in Acholiland.
(v) The African Union (AU) has a fundamentally important duty to ensure that notorious dictators like Museveni are compelled to comply with his international obligations by not infringing on Human Rights.

8) An important aspect of ensuring lasting peace is organising a national conference that enables Ugandans to discuss key issues facing a country in pain. Museveni is Uganda’s pain. Museveni is a great misfortune. We suggest the conference be organised in a neutral country. This should involve all the political parties and other stakeholders including civil society organisations, religious and traditional leaders. The conference should be a forum that enables the demands of the LRA and the political parties to be discussed and resolved.

9) One particularly destructive useless lie has been used by Museveni and the Western press and media in relation to the war in Acholiland, and it is this: that Joseph Kony wants to overthrow Museveni so as to rule Uganda on the basis of the Ten Commandments. Another bogus argument that has been persistently perpetrated is that the insurgency in Acholiland has no basis and therefore, no political purpose.

We condemn in the strongest terms possible, those responsible for this kind of unproductive distortion of issues because the effects can only lead to confusion, suffering and more deaths. A lot of research has been done to establish the root causes of the conflict, to deal with them and find a way forward to lasting peace.
We are confident that peace is perfectly possible and it is important that irresponsible and vile propaganda against a people is avoided.

10) A huge obstacle has arisen in relation to the Northern conflict, which needs to be courageously dealt with: the characterisation of the LRA insurgency as an aspect of “international terrorism.” The US government has labelled the insurgents as international foreign terrorists. This is largely a result of Museveni’s deliberate distortion and manipulation of issues so as to gain the support of the US government thereby empowering Museveni to pursue this genocidal war. It is important to note that armed resistance in the North began on 20 August 1986, when then NRA began to harass and persecute the general population of Northern Uganda. This was well before the US bombing by Al-Qa-eda on 11 September 2001, after which even liberation fighters like the LRA are now called terrorists. The conflict is hugely the product of Uganda’s concrete experience of the nightmare of British colonialism, Western Imperialism and neo-colonialism. A much deeper understanding of the issues will be enhanced by honestly disentangling the complex nature of the conflict. We appeal to the UN to give a forum that ensures dealing effectively with this challenge.

11) The idea of the so-called Recovery Programme is incoherent nonsense. You cannot destroy a people so as to create room for commercial farming. We unequivocally condemn this kind of state terrorism and call upon Museveni to stop it forthwith, to enable Acholi people go back, to their God-given homeland.

12) Negotiated settlement is a process that begins with building trust between the parties in conflict. Museveni’s ministers cannot fulfil this role. Museveni himself has never come out openly and willingly for, but is adamantly against meaningful and peaceful conflict resolutions, as confirmed in his usually arrogant remarks.

Finally, we thank all of you members of Acholi community, friends and sympathisers for your patient attention to our representation. We hope that these efforts have not been in vain. I urge you all to stay united against the dictatorship and may God bless you all, till we meet again (Psalms 91:1-16).

For God and my country

JC Amone
Chairman
Acholi Association
London (United Kingdom).
Phone: +447984758 236
Email: acholiassociation@online24.co.uk
Website: http://acholi-association.mysite.wanadoo-members.co.uk



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Previous communications with the Uganda High Commission in London:
Scanned Documents can be accessed via the website. Please click the link http://acholi-association.mysite.wanadoo-members.co.uk

ACHOLI ASSOCIATION
C/o The Froud Centre, No 1 Toronto Avenue, Manor Park, London E12 5JF, Tel 0208 514 7820
__________________________________________________________________
“Kacel Wacito anyim”
31 July 2004
Dr. Tomasi Sisye Kiryapawo
High Commissioner of the Republic of Uganda
Uganda House, 58-59 Trafalgar Square
London WC2N 5DX

Dr. Kiryapawo

Re: Reply to Your Recent Invitation for a Meeting with the Secretary General of the Acholi Association.

Having deliberated on issues pertaining to and arising out of your phone calls inviting the Secretary General of Acholi Association for a meeting. The Acholi Association Ad-hoc Committee members resolve this 31st day of July 2004, that:

1) The Ugandan High Commission makes reference to the letter by the Secretary General of Acholi Association; Mr. Y. Okech dated 19th June 2004, since issues raised therein stand as foundation to our subsequent decision.
2) The Uganda High Commission responds to the above quoted letter in writing before engaging in any telephone conversation or asking for a meeting with any member of the Association.
3) Acholi Association disagrees on a meeting of any kind with the Ugandan High Commission so long as such is not sanctioned by the United Nations, and/or the British government Authorities.
4) By copy of these resolutions, we the undersigned strongly advise all members of Acholi community in the UK, to desist from meeting the Ugandan High Commissioner forthwith. Any unilateral violation of these resolutions will be individually answerable to the General Meeting of the Association.

Yours sincerely


Y. Okech
Secretary General
Ad-hoc Committee Members

Endorsed……………………

Endorsed…………………...

Endorsed…………………...

Endorsed…………………...
Dr. Tomasi Sisye Kiryapawo
High Commissioner
High Commission of The Republic Of Uganda
Uganda House
58-59 Trafalgar Square
London WC2N 5DX
Dear Kiryapawo

RE: REFUSAL TO ATTEND MEETING WITH UGANDA GOVERNMENT MINISTERS.

I thankfully acknowledge receipt of your letter dated 16th June 2004 inviting me to attend a meeting with three cabinet ministers of General Museveni’s government. I regret that I am unable to attend the meeting.

I am a political refugee from Uganda and it would be utterly ridiculous to expect me to engage in any direct meeting with representatives of a government that has not only exiled me but also committed and also continues to commit the crime of genocide against the Acholi. I am also the Secretary General of Acholi Association an organisation of the Acholi ethnic group who live in the United Kingdom and are protected by Her Majesty’s Government.

It would be obviously inappropriate, reprehensible and contrary to the interests of members of the association to meet to meet you directly in terms of discussing the issues related to the Ugandan crisis of legitimacy. While the above reasons make it impossible to meet, the fact that you have written to me enables me to urgently draw your attention to the following crucially important issues that are at the very heart and nerve of the current situation in the country.

Killing of ordinary civilians the vast majority of whom are the helpless women and children have taken place and continue to take place throughout Acholiland. While at the official level the argument advanced by the government is that it is the alleged rebels of the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) who are responsible for these killings.

What have been established beyond reasonable doubt is that it are actually members of the Uganda People’ Defence Forces (the official army of the National Resistance Movement Government) disguising themselves as rebels of the LRA who are killing the Acholi in fulfillment of the government suicidal policy. Extermination and genocidal massacres have taken place in Acholiland since Yoweri Kaguta Museveni came to power in 1986.

It becomes absolutely vital once again to remind General Museveni as we have consistently done that the duty of a government is to protect the inter alia, not only to protect, preserve and safeguard the physical integrity of the people of Uganda obviously including the Acholi people also their property.
We are therefore entitled to expect the army as an organ of the government itself in the manner that is consistent with upholding, implementing and concretising rule of law. If members of the security forces commit unlawful killings then others may feel that they too can act with impunity.

In addition to killing civilians in particularly large numbers, what the military government has done in during the last 18 years has been to devise other effective mechanisms for the perpetration of the genocide war against the Acoli people. For instance, one the most dangerous genocidal weapon of the government has been the massive deportation of the people; driving them away from their homes in favour of concentrating them in the Death Chambers (the so called protected villagers) where they have in strict terms been condemned to death. The government has deliberately imposed conditions of life intended to destroy in whole or in part thereby committing the crime of genocide as provided by Article 2 (c) of the Genocide Convention of 1951.

There is a humanitarian and human rights catastrophe in the camps in Northern Uganda. People have died and continue to die in large numbers due to starvation, diseases (HIV/AIDS), malnutrition, gun-barrel and numerous other insecurities. Recently, a few months ago sixty people died of starvation in Pader District. People in Erute –Lango District also suffered death as a result of hunger.

While the some official explanation adopted by the government is that the camps were created to protect people from the alleged rebels, what is in truth taking place is that the people of have been condemned to slow death.

The official government explanation is that the camps have been created to protect the people becomes fundamentally fallacious in yet another respect in terms of the location of the soldiers. The location of the soldiers is right in the midst of the camps with the result that in the event of an armed rebel attack it’s the civilians who are the immediate victims (human shields for the invincible armed men).

It is an open secret that the soldiers are instead of protecting the civilians actually run away. The General then sacks the commander the next day and explains to the world the technical errors involved including the fact that “the enemy” forgets “soft spot”.

While Museveni has been praised for having effectively dealt a relentless blow against AIDS/HIV, one of the most powerful weapons of genocidal war against the Acoli has been the use of AIDS/HIV. Museveni has deployed HIV/AIDS infected soldiers simply to spread the virus. And they are really doing the job.

Rape which has now received authentic judicial recognition under international criminal law as a genocide crime, continues to be perpetrated by Museveni’s soldiers in the camps with impunity

The so-called “protected” villages are effectively torture structures in terms of the fact that the space is extremely inadequate moreover people are packed there like logs of woods. To keep you within the structure is extremely painful and utterly destructive to health. There is simply no fresh air. Both parents and children are packed within these structures. The Acholi has effectively been reduced to “an existential shadow”.

People are not allowed to go and work in the fields. At the moment anyone who goes to work in his field is shot at sight.

The creation of camps in Acholiland has significantly disrupted and destroyed the situation of the family, which is the heart and nerve centre of Acholi culture. For example in the year 2000 60 women in Palabek Kal left their husband in favour of Museveni’s soldiers. Girls as young as 12 and 13 have not only been defiled, but turned into sex slaves of Museveni’s soldiers. Prostitution, hitherto an uncompromisingly and exclusively unwelcome vocabulary in any true Acholi home is now rampant in the camps.

The fundamental issues facing our country have been deliberately grossly misrepresented to the international community. There has also been a deliberate concealment of genocide. General Museveni has used cheap, vile and singularly irresponsible propaganda to divert attention from the crucially important issues that are required to be addressed. The issues of constitutional legitimacy; democracy; human rights and rule of law. The western media especially the BBC world dis-service; the western press; the local reactionary press and media have all powerfully worked to distort the issues and to work so as to promote the interests of the notorious dictator.

Consider he cancer of corruption that has ferociously and viciously eaten the cells and nerves of a once vibrant entity of which the world was genuinely proud ‘The Pearl of Africa’. Uganda is now the second most corrupt country in the world. And yet this Africa’s ‘success story’. Look at the ghost soldiers for example, look at the way the Congo; a mighty African force in terms of its huge resources gets plundered but the chief culprit like Museveni get away with it.

OUR RESPONSE TO THESE ISSUES ARE AS BELOW
Our fundamental rights are inherent and inalienable. Museveni should not expect us to beg for the preservation of our rights. We demand that Museveni stop this genocidal war against the Acoli. The so-called ‘Kony factor’ is being used as an excuse to divert attention from the real key issues facing the country. Museveni should engage in a negotiated settlement of a political crisis.
Museveni must also recognise that his presidency will not preclude him from being indicted for his genocidal crimes.

The fact that Museveni has not only divided Ugandans and incited them against each other; but has reduced the country to a mere academic entity. What he must do is step down and go to his farm in Nyabushozi and drink both milk and ‘kashera’ (a millet porridge) while waiting being required to answer for his crimes.

The life presidency agenda through the third term non-sense is strictly speaking unconstitutional constitutionalism and works contrary to national interest. Step down now and give room for the free expression of the peoples’ wishes.

“We look upon the United Nations as the only organisation that has any real hope for the future of mankind (Nkrumah). We appeal to the UN to use its powers and require Museveni to recognise his legal and moral obligations in the light of the profoundly horrifying events in Acoliland.

Yoweri Museveni has become hugely arrogant because of the huge support he gets from the USA in terms of financial support, training for his army and the supply of military hardware. We request the USA to use its influence by withdrawing its support for Museveni’s government. That will compel him to bow down to Ugandans wishes and act lawfully.

The African continent according to Prime Minister, Tony Blair is “A scar on the conscience of the world”. Museveni is a significant contribution to Africa’s absolutely horrifying nightmare in the context of what he has done in the Acoliland, Teso, Lango, the Congo, Rwanda and the Sudan. We therefore request Her Majesty’s government to require Museveni to rule in accordance with the law for “Law maketh the King”. To suggest that Museveni is Africa’s success story while he has committed all this atrocities is an affront to our intelligence.

We also appeal to the European Union to engage Museveni putting him to task in terms of ensuring the observance of his obligations as stipulated in the various international instruments.

We appeal to the African Union too, to address the Ugandan issue effectively because a pain encountered in any part of Africa is perfectly within the scope of the African Union’s operational framework.

We expect Acoli members of parliaments (MP) to fully discharge their responsibility by representing the interest of the Acoli people in the light of what their fundamental rights are. When Museveni terrorises the Acoli people and you do nothing about it. You effectively indicate that you are partnership with him to the detriment of our people. We are however, sensitive to the practical aspects of a dictatorial environment.
We recognise with deep appreciation the contribution from His Eminence Cardinal Wamala in terms of his appeal to Museveni’s government to stop the genocidal war in Acoliland.

We thank all Ugandans who love peace and clearly indicate their readiness to work for peace. Museveni is a formidable obstacle to the realisation of true peace in terms of constitutional manipulation in favour of life-presidency agenda. The third term agenda will lead to further disaster for Ugandans.

We appeal to the people of Acoli, Teso and Lango as victims of Museveni’s genocide to work together in tackling the fundamental issues.

People of Acoliland should not be afraid to let us know everything now happening in Acoliland. We need to work together and preserve and victory will come.

JC Amone
Chairman
Acholi Association
London (United Kingdom).
Phone: +447984758 236
Email: acholiassociation@online24.co.uk
Website: http://acholi-association.mysite.wanadoo-members.co.uk