By every act that glorifies or even tolerates such moronic delight, the progress of humanity is on a spiral set-back.
Written by Samuel Olara Okello | Wednesday, 09 July 2008 21:24
As the human race, we cannot have peace among men whose only way of 'talking peace' is through war – a delight in killing.
By every act that glorifies or even tolerates such moronic delight, the progress of humanity is on a spiral set-back.
The Juba talks between government and the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) are no more, we have been told; but are we at all surprised? Juba has been our best and perhaps last attempt at bringing peace to northern Uganda.
The victims as this Museveni-Kony war would have expected all available peaceful avenues for a just and equitable solution to the conflict to be exhausted.
Even with its difficulties, Juba was a glimmer of hope. This is why, much as expected, the announcement by the UPDF Spokesman, Maj. Paddy Ankunda, that "negotiations are no more…and we have resolved to go the military way," has to be seen as sleep-walking the country into another disaster.
It was abundantly clear from the very beginning that the Juba meeting was not a gathering of the willing, but rather the politically and morally destitute who as usual wanted to be seen as wanting to deliver "something", not for the sake of peace, but rather to satisfy their egos. Thus, just like numerous other attempts at achieving peace in northern Uganda, Juba suffered the same fate: failure.
How did we come to this sad state of affairs? Juba to the Museveni government was about setting the terms of surrender for the LRA (soft landing); the LRA on the other hand, were more interested in the withdrawal of the ICC arrest warrants than anything else.
The only positive outcome of the Juba talks has been the relative semblance of normalcy it brought to the region. The greatest concern therefore lies in the consequences of its failure.
While hope for a peaceful settlement of the conflict remains strong; the victims are united in saying that neither the NRM/A-UPDF nor LRM/A, with or without a signed final peace agreement, will upset this relative semblance of normalcy.
The earliest indication of Juba's failure came from the cheer-leaders (or doom-slayers) who were already busy throwing stones at every Okello, Okot and Ocan (at home and Diaspora) for being a "spoiler" of the Juba talks.
Others like RDC of Gulu, Col (rtd) Walter Ochora went as far as to say that "the Acholi in the Diaspora were planning to hire Yemeni commandos to reinforce the Lord's Resistance Army rebels.
" Really! At best this is an attempt at fragmenting Acholi unity for peace. The history of broken pacts between the government and the LRA and the catastrophic consequences which follow, is now too familiar to merit repetition. The conditions couldn't have been more right to negotiate an end to the conflict. A resumption of war will only spell further suffering and turmoil for the people of northern Uganda. Certainly, every community will be a loser in the event this bleak scenario comes to pass.
Weak and scattered as they may be, nobody can be sure of the end of the LRA. After all, how many times have their end been predicted? Generals Museveni Tinyefuza, Kazini, Saleh, Nyakairima have all vowed to capture or kill Joseph Kony.
Instead of addressing the issues that brought about the failure of the talks, peace saboteurs are busy blaming those that had no hand in it.
Firstly, Kony is not a remotely controlled dim-wit, he makes independent decisions prompted by his shrewd, perceptive, inner self and the very voice that has guided him all these 22 years and counting.
Secondly, the extent of the opportunistic and deceptive intent which has been perpetrated by both parties and their associates will be the subject of disbelief when we look back in years to come.
Thirdly, the challenges facing Northern Uganda are now even more daunting than ever before, thanks to a failure to see humanity in each other
How do we get back on the peace track? We start by recognising that peace-making is not sitting around a campfire singing 'Kumbaya' all night. It is difficult work that requires wisdom, patience, courage, but above all, honesty.
The psychological and material costs of war are so high that any triumph other than peace is a pyrrhic victory. Only peace can be won and it has been snatched from the people of northern Uganda once again; we wish war no more.
Our humanity as a nation, irrespective of who we are, is for the fourth attempt being severely tested again. Let us not fail this all important benchmark trial of our spirituality and strength.
Samuel Olara Okello, The author is a human rights advocate living in the UK. This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
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