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“Casting election ballots to address victimhood,” JRP, 16 November 2010

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

November 16, 2010

Casting election ballots to address victimhood

 

GULU— The 2011 Ugandan elections need candidates and parties who commit themselves to sustainable peace in Uganda. This requires not only forward-looking planning and development, but also stakeholders who address past abuses and feelings of injustice. Today, the Justice and Reconciliation Project (JRP) officially launches an advocacy campaign titled, “Casting the Ballot to Address Victimhood: A Call to Put Transitional Justice on the Election Agenda,” to engage war-affected communities and candidates into bringing transitional justice (TJ) issues to the forefront of the elections.

As Uganda enters election season, we see an immense opportunity for war-affected communities to influence the direction that the justice and reconciliation debate takes in this country, whilst informing aspiring politicians of the political and social value of prioritizing transitional justice. Internationally, transitional justice, or TJ, is increasingly recognized as an important tool in resolving post-conflict instability. However, in many circles, especially among politicians and policy-makers, TJ still remains underestimated and largely misunderstood. In a country like Uganda, with a history of violence, citizens and leaders informed of the merits of TJ mechanisms are vital to healing the wounds of war and ensuring the sustainability of peace—locally, regionally, and nationally.

In order to ensure that victim’s voices and interests are at the forefront of contestants’ minds in the upcoming elections, transitional justice must be prioritized on the election agenda. War-affected communities can prioritize TJ by using their votes wisely and voting only for candidates and parties who address and acknowledge their concerns.

According to the communities in which we work, votes this election should be in favour of contestants and parties who commit to:

  1. Accountability for past abuses: That they support a fair, transparent and balanced national transitional justice system that includes judicial investigations and prosecutions and traditional justice mechanisms, so those responsible for human rights violations are held accountable.
  2. National reconciliation through truth-telling: That they support provisions for truth-telling both at the national and community-levels, so that forgiveness, healing and reconciliation can take place in Uganda.
  3. Reparations for war victims: That they support a national reparations policy to fairly administer reparations to war victims in Uganda. There is need for coordination of all compensation efforts to ensure that reparations schemes across the country are consistent and that victims are consulted throughout the process.
  4. Memorialization: That they commit to undertake symbolic measures to promote remembrance, healing and closure nationally and among their constituencies.
  5. Gender justice: That they support efforts that challenge impunity for sexual and gender-based violence and ensure women and children’s equal access to redress of human rights violations.
  6. Structural reforms: That they support efforts that transform state institutions from instruments of repression and corruption to instruments of public service delivery and integrity, with a transparent and independent military, police and judiciary.

This strategy to encourage voters to hold candidates accountable matches our general approach to community involvement: the most successful activities will engage and empower communities to act for themselves. By reminding voters to ask their candidates where TJ is in their manifestos and then offering six general action points to guide their advocacy, we frame these communities’ arguments into a unifying demand that provides strength in numbers.

Throughout the region, and unfortunately much of the world, there is still a profound lack of understanding of how transitional justice can be effectively implemented. But by mobilizing war-affected communities to demand their grievances be addressed and acknowledged, we are providing communities and the country at large a space for reflection, debate, and analysis of the issues.

Knowledge on effective (and ineffective) TJ measures in these complex environments can greatly combat prevailing cycles of violence and contribute to lasting, sustainable peace in northern Uganda and elsewhere. Putting TJ on the election agenda is crucial to prioritizing the issues, meeting victims’ and survivors’ needs, and constructively ending impunity for past abuses and moving forward as a peaceful Uganda.

For more information on this campaign, email info@justiceandreconciliation.com or call Lindsay McClain, Communications Officer, at +256 (0)471433008. Or, visit us on the web at www.justiceandreconciliation.com.

 

ABOUT JRP

The Justice and Reconciliation Project promotes locally sensitive and sustainable peace in Africa’s Great Lakes region by focusing on the active involvement of grassroots communities in local-level transitional justice. Formerly a partnership of the Gulu District NGO Forum and the Liu Institute for Global Issues, University of British Columbia, Canada, JRP has played a key role in transitional justice in Uganda since 2005, through seeking to understand and explain the interests, needs, concerns and views of the communities affected by war between the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) and Government of Uganda (GOU). JRP became an independent NGO in 2010 with support from the Royal Norwegian Embassy, Kampala.

To download this press release, click here

“Letter to presidential candidates,” Daily Monitor, 8 November 2010

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“Letter to presidential candidates,” Daily Monitor, 8 November 2010

http://www.monitor.co.ug/OpEd/Letters/-/806314/1048938/-/yqhoey/-/index.html

By Lino Owor Ogora

 

The time has come when the country is caught up in the election frenzy; when election campaign convoys paint the streets in all the colours of the rainbow depending on what party one belongs to; when accusations are traded left and right and all candidates believe they are the best for the job; when candidates make all sorts of promises.

Most candidates are promising the usual things that appeal to the ears of the common man: economic revitalisation and an end to poverty; modernisation of agriculture and loans to the rural poor; infrastructure development and good roads; support to the health sector; free education for all and creation of jobs for the youth. The humour in all these election promises is that most of them are hardly kept and are forgotten the moment the election passes. Even political parties that will lose the elections will focus more on demonising the incumbent regime than in pressurising it to implement its election manifesto.

The sad fact with most of the election manifestos that have been unveiled thus far is that they offer a ‘one size fits all’ solution for all regions in Uganda regardless of the current context on the ground.

Northern Uganda for example is just emerging from conflict after over 22 years of civil war, which has had disastrous impacts upon the population. Between 28,000 and 38,000 children are believed to have been abducted by the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) to serve as child soldiers, sex slaves and porters; it is estimated that over 1.8 million people were displaced and forced to live in squalid conditions of the IDP camps.

I am yet to see a manifesto that seeks to holistically deal with the problems of northern Uganda. In the wake of conflicts, there is always an overwhelming need to pursue a wide variety of post-conflict mechanisms aimed ushering in lasting peace, stability and reconciliation. Perpetrators of war crimes and human rights violations need to be brought to book. There is need for acknowledgement and apology to victims, including a guarantee of non-occurrence. There is need for individual and collective reparations to victims, including compensation for property. There is need for reconciliation. We need proper memorials and monuments constructed in areas where massacres occurred to honour memories of people who lost their lives.

In addition, national development programmes need to be specific in addressing regional imbalances created as a result of the conflict. If we are talking about economic revitalisation and poverty eradication for example, would we address it in northern Uganda the same way we would address it in central Uganda? Would we pursue implementation of education programmes in Karamoja in the same way we would do it in Kampala? Would we make equal budgetary allocations for all regions?

We need to be mindful that after several decades of conflict and instability, the different regions are at different levels of development and therefore require different remedies using different strategies. What do the different political parties intend to do in this regard if elected?

Lino Owor Ogora,
ogoralino@gmail.com

“Curbing violence against women is everyone’s task,” Daily Monitor, 1 November 2010

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 “Curbing violence against women is everyone’s task,” Daily Monitor, 1 November 2010

http://www.monitor.co.ug/OpEd/Commentary/-/689364/1044056/-/13u0io8z/-/index.html

By Lino Owor Ogora

 

I read with interest a press release by MIFUMI, a renowned women activist organisation, in Daily Monitor of October 27. MIFUMI accused the Police of further victimising women who take steps to defend themselves when confronted with sexual and domestic violence.

Some of these women went as far as killing their perpetrators. While MIFUMI’s concern is genuine regarding the fact that perpetrators of domestic and sexual violence are often not brought to book, while their victims are victimised through detention, I think they missed the point regarding the role of the Police.

Furthermore, the examples used in this press release may not be necessarily suitable as examples in the fight against domestic violence. There was the example of a woman called Koriang who allegedly shot and killed her husband with 30 rounds of ammunition as he slept.

Another example they used was of a woman called Mbabazi who sent a radio announcement claiming she had died yet in actual fact, she was alive. In another controversial example, they sympathised with a woman called Nuuru Namatovu, who buried baby dolls and was arrested by police on allegations of giving false information.

Another example used, and one I would sympathise with, is of a 14-year-old girl called Mpigiki, who killed a 40-year-old man who attempted to defile her. As expected of them, even in the case of Mpagiki, the Police responded in all the above situations and did what the law required of them – to arrest the suspects, detain them and wait for court to determine their destiny.

The Police acted responsibly and within the law. In the wake of a serious crime such as murder or manslaughter, the fact remains that the perpetrator is considered a killer first, before the facts and circumstances under which the crime was committed are analysed.

In the case of Koriang, the fact remains that she killed her husband using a gun and 30 rounds of ammunition. In analysing her case, the first and most obvious fact is that she is a killer. On further analysis, she was driven to the limits to do so because she could not stomach her husband’s abuse any longer. What did MIFUMI, therefore, expect the Police to do? To pick her up and deliver her to FIDA offices for counselling? Did her husband have to pay with his life?

While I agree that there is need to address the root causes of violence against women, I do not agree with MIFUMI’s allegation that the Police are victimising women who are in trouble with the law by detaining them.

The Police are doing their job by arresting them in the wake of a crime. Rather than blame the Police for ‘doing their work’, and doing it well at that, MIFUMI should intensify the campaign for ending violence against women, in which most peace-loving Ugandans like myself, would gladly join. MIFUMI should sensitise men regarding the fact that times have changed and it is no longer fashionable to batter a woman to prove your manhood.

MIFUMI should also sensitise both women and men to let them know the legal steps they can take in case they are victims of gender violence, and the channels through which they can seek redress, rather than resorting to violence. Finally, MIFUMI should intensify efforts to change existing laws rather than sending out misguiding press releases to the media.

Mr Ogora is a team leader of research and advocacy, Justice and Reconciliation Project, Gulu
ogoralino@gmail.com

“There are more than 13 who fought for peace in the north,” New Vision, 27 October 2010

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“There are more than 13 who fought for peace in the north,” New Vision, 27 October 2010

http://www.newvision.co.ug/D/8/459/736281/there%20are%20more%20than%2013%20who%20fought%20for%20peace

By Lino Owor Ogora

 

IN September, the New Vision ran a story about 13 people who had been honoured for their contribution to bringing peace in northern Uganda.

These people are: Dr. Ruhakana Rugunda, Steven Kagoda, Betty Bigombe, Gen. Katumba Wamala, Maj. Gen. Kale Kayihura, Archbishop John Baptist Odama, Bishop Zack Niringiye, Omukama of Bunyoro Solomon Iguru, Angella Katatumba, Richard Ocici, Edward Kigongo, Moses Bamuze and Francisca Akello.

We are not aware of the criteria that was used to select these people, but I would like to say, there were some people who deserved recognition, but were left out.

These include; Bishop Macleod Baker Ochola, the retired Bishop of Kitgum; Sheikh Musa Khelil and Bishop Nelson Onono Onweng.

They also include the founders of the Acholi Religious Leaders’ Peace Initiative. This was one of the first organisations to advocate blanket amnesty in northern Uganda.

Others are cultural leaders like Rwot David Onen Achana, the Emorimor of Teso, the King of the Alur and the Won Nyaci of Lango.

More so, why were the peace negotiators on the LRA side not recognised?

Could Dr. Rugunda have negotiated without the other side?

Where are the other prominent politicians, such as Gulu chairman Nobert Mao, Reagan Okumu and Col. Walter Ochora, who were involved in the peace negotiations.

I, therefore, call upon the national platform for peace building to think more broadly beyond the 13 people, who were recognised.

They also need to make public with the criteria they used to select these ‘achievers’.

It would also be good for the public to be told why such people are being recognised, and what their contribution was.

Finally, there is need for more consultation with the victims of the war in northern Uganda to ensure that the peace ‘achievers’ who get awarded, are also known, and appreciated by the survivors of the war.

The writer is the team leader for research, advocacy and documentation at the Justice and Reconciliation Project in Gulu

“New Hope for Northern Ugandans Seeking Reparations from Government” Ugandansabroad, 13 October 2010

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“New Hope for Northern Ugandans Seeking Reparations from Government” Ugandansabroad, 13 October 2010

http://ugandansabroad.org/2010/10/13/new-hope-for-northern-ugandans-seeking-reparations-from-the-government/

 By Samuel Ouga

 

KAMPALA, Uganda–

A team of researchers and lawyers will offer free legal services to thousands of survivors and victims of war conflicts in northern Uganda that are seeking reparations from the government.

The team, part of the network of the Northern Uganda Transitional Justice Working Group, hopes to help the victims demand compensation without any fear.

One of these lawyers is Charles Toolit Atiya, the coordinator of the group and a human rights lawyer.

“It’s obvious that after the wars, the structures, pillars and elements of justice got eroded like any other sector,” he told Ugandans Abroad. “Police work was objurgated to the military.”

The group is a large network of 120 organizations in Teso, Lango, Acholi, and West Nile regions.

Collectively, they hope to promote post-conflict justice mechanisms among survivors.    Many hope the government will compensate them for the destruction of their communities, the loss of their relatives’ lives, and disabilities they acquired during the war.

The survivors include those from massacres in Atyak, Mucwini, Mukura, and in West Nile. During the Atyak massacre alone, more than estimated 250 people were killed. Many want the government to also compensate them for when the UPDF occupied their land during the insurgencies.

The group recently set up a survivors’ membership desk, which helps them register their concerns for redress, as well as document their experiences from the conflict.  Atiya would like Ugandans in the diaspora to know that as much as government stepped in to re-establish the pillars of justice in the war-ravaged regions, a lot has to be done in settling offences and damages from recent conflicts.

One major problem is that survivors who are rewarded damages by the Uganda Human Rights Commission die before getting their benefits from the government, and face serious delays in the reparation process.

“We shall work days and nights to ensure that this process is expedited and made shoryer to serve the interests of the victims,” Atiya said.

Lino Owor Ogora, the research and advocacy team leader for the Justice and Reconciliation Project,  which is part of the larger network, told Ugandans Abroad that although guns have gone silent, war is not over for the victims.

“There are overwhelming demands for reparations by survivors and victims of the conflicts,” he said.   According to Ogora, the survivors of the 1989 massacre, have not been compensated by the government.

“In the West Nile, [the] Kony massacre survivors’ association also want compensation from the government,” he said. Many victims of the wars want to know how their friends and family died. Traditional justice can also help in settling some of the conflicts in the villages, which the organizations in the network can help facilitate.

Unfortunately, many of the survivors lack the financial resources and media coverage to pursue justice, since they are primarily impoverished relatives of those who were massacred, or victims trying to live with bullet wounds and amputated limbs.

Free legal services can be an important step in the right direction, since successfully seeking reparations is an expensive and time-consuming undertaking. Victims need support.

“These are not just straightforward cases,” said Toolit. “They are complicated and need a lot of research. And one of our fears is that of intimidation of the victims.”

The network is also pushing for a special reparation program to be created in northern Uganda to address the post-conflict needs of the region, and hope it can be coordinated with those seeking justice for war survivors in other parts of the country.

Samuel Ouga is a Ugandans Abroad reporter based in Kampala, Uganda.

“Families of Mucwini victims want reparation,” Daily Monitor, 20 August 2010

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“Families of Mucwini victims want reparation,” Daily Monitor, 20 August 2010

http://www.monitor.co.ug/News/National/-/688334/980774/-/x3sbey/-/index.html

 By James Eriku

 Families who lost their dear ones in Mucwini massacre in Kitgum District at the peak of the Lord’s Resistance Army rebellion in 2002 have asked the government to consider compensating them for the loss.

 The bereaved relatives said it is through compensation that they would feel government’s commitment in redressing the plight of children and women orphaned and widowed by the raid.

 “We ask the government to join hands with the cultural institution to compensate the families of those who died, to foster reconciliation and healing,” a statement read by the victims during a memorial prayer at the weekend, reads in part.

 In the early morning of July 24, 2002, the village witnessed one of the bloodiest attacks by the LRA on civilians when 56 people were massacred.

The women and children were massacred as a deliberate act of retaliation by the rebel outfit.

This is after they claimed that one of the sons of the village who had been abducted escaped and returned to the area with their gun.

The rebels allegedly rounded up the community and randomly selected some of the friends and family members to be murdered by axes, hand hoes, machetes and logs.

 Unfair act
They said although they appreciate government’s efforts to compensate lives of people killed by the July 11, 2010 twin bomb blasts in Kampala and those killed in Mukura massacre in 1989, they are not happy that there is no attention directed to survivors of the massacre in Mucwini.

 The most affected parishes in Mucwini by the LRA raids were; Pajong, Yepa, Pubec, Pudo, Ogwapoke, Agwoko, Akara and Bura.

“Delay Forgiveness—LRA Victims,” New Vision, 1 August 2010

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 “Delay Forgiveness—LRA Victims,” New Vision, 1 August 2010

http://www.newvision.co.ug/D/8/16/727574/Delay%20Forgiveness%E2%80%94LRA%20Victims

By Chris Ocowun

RESIDENTS of Lukodi parish, Bungatira sub-county in Gulu district have called for a delay in the reconciliation drive with the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) until rebel leader Joseph Kony comes out of the bush.

They said the Acholi traditional method of reconciliation (Mato-Oput) was supposed to take place between Kony and the Government.

Martin Lukwiya Ocam-Lenga wondered whom Kony would undergo the Mato-Oput with since President Yoweri Museveni was not an Acholi.

This was during a community dialogue organised by the Justice and Reconciliation Project on Friday at Lukodi Centre.

Gipson Okullu said: “Mato-Oput with the LRA rebels cannot stop justice from taking its course against some of the rebel leaders; they should be jailed to give relief to those whose people were massacred in the various areas in Acholi.”

The LRA rebels massacred more than 70 people at Lukodi in 2004.

Okullu added that there were some former LRA returnees, including his son, who were being haunted by the spirits of the people they killed.

He called for more traditional cleansing activities by Acholi elders and traditional leaders.

The project community mobilisation team leader, Sylvia Opinia, said similar dialogue had taken place in Atyak, Barlonyo, Mucwini and Abia.

Jane Francis Adongo of the Uganda Law Reform Commission said the commission was working towards exploring the use of traditional justice mechanisms to solve conflicts.