Tag Archives: compensation

New video of the Attiak massacre memorial prayers

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As part of our objective to preserve memory of conflict-affected communities through documentation, JRP’s Community Documentation department has produced video coverage of the 17th annual Attiak massacre memorial prayers, which took place on April 20th. The footage has been divided into two parts, with both available below, here and on our YouTube page: JRPUganda.

[yframe url=’http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XoaY28XUxpg’] [yframe url=’http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R4lpjfoN8rA&feature=relmfu’]

The prayers were attended by the President of Uganda, H.E. Yoweri Museveni, and the Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Hon. Jacob Oulanyah. Immediately following a performance by the Attiak Massacre Survivors Association, President Museveni delivered 400,000 Ugandan shillings in cash to the association. During his speech, he further pledged 50 million Ugandan shillings ($20,000 USD) to the group.

While we welcome this acknowledgment of need for the victims in Attiak, the President’s actions further demonstrate the urgency for a comprehensive, transparent reparations policy and programme for all victims of conflict in Uganda. For more information on our recommendations for reparations, please see our policy brief, “Pay Us so We Can Forget: Reparations for Victims and Affected Communities in Northern Uganda.”

For more information on the 1995 Attiak massacre, please see our field note, Remembering the Atiak Massacre.

“Absence Of Compensation Law Worries LRA War Victims,” Uganda Radio Network, 10 Aug. 2011

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“Absence Of Compensation Law Worries LRA War Victims,” Uganda Radio Network, 10 Aug. 2011
http://ugandaradionetwork.com/a/story.php?s=35992

By Joe Wacha

Absence of a law regulating compensation of war victims is causing worry among the people, who suffered losses during the two-decade insurgency in northern Uganda.

Absence of a law regulating compensation of war victims is causing worry among the people, who suffered losses during the two-decade insurgency in northern Uganda.

Several people who lost family members, suffered harm or lost property during the war between Joseph Kony’s Lord’s Resistance Army rebels and government, have been demanding for compensation but such a move requires a legal basis for its successful realization.

During the Juba peace agreement, both government and the LRA rebels resolved that government should establish necessary arrangements for making reparations to victims of the conflict. The implementation protocol of the agreement signed on May 27th 2007 provides that government shall include a special fund for victims out of which, reparations shall be paid.

However, over four years later, no such arrangement has been initiated leaving some of the war victims to question the willingness of government to address their plight.

Already, a number of rights groups and civil society organizations have voiced their concerns over the absence of a policy providing for compensation of the war victims.

Catherine Lakareber, a twenty seven year old mother who was maimed during the war, says that for years they have continued to wait on government to pronounce itself on the issue of reparation.

Richard Todwong, the MP for Nwoya County in Nwoya district was previously assigned to compile the list of the war victims, when he was still a presidential adviser in charge of northern Uganda. Todwong says he registered over 6,000 war victims. He however notes that no attempt has been made to enact a law providing for the compensation of the victims.

As a result, Todwong says he is now preparing to move a Private Members Bill on Compensation of war victims.

Democratic Party president, Norbert Mao has underscored the need for such a law. He explains that the presence of a law governing compensation of war victims would make it a national government program and not for political patronage as is being practiced.

//Cue in: “Compensation to war victims…”
Cue out: “…victims’ compensation act.”//

Lino Ogora, a transitional justice expert in Gulu says that present attempts to provide compensation are biased. He cites the compensation of the Mukura victims that he said had no clear criteria and was conducted through an individual. In 2010, government paid 200 million shillings to the survivors and relatives of the 1989 Mukura massacre. On 11th July 1989 soldiers of the National Resistance Army suffocated to death 55 suspected rebels in a train wagon at Mukura in Ngora District.

Train tracks in Mukura near where the infamous train wagon sat

The Mukura Massacre of 1989, FN XII

Field Notes, , , ,
Train tracks in Mukura near where the infamous train wagon sat
Train tracks in Mukura near where the infamous train wagon sat

On July 11, 1989, the 106th battalion of the National Resistance Army (NRA)1 allegedly rounded up 300 men from Mukura and other surrounding areas and incarcerated some of them in train wagon number

C521083. These men were suspected of being rebel collaborators against the NRA regime, but there is little evidence to suggest that most of them were anything other than innocent civilians. Trapped in the crowded train wagon, trying not to trample on one another, the men struggled to breathe, and by the time they were released after more than four hours, 69 of them had suffocated to death, while 47 of them survived.

Twenty two years after the occurrence of this massacre, the Justice and Reconciliation Project (JRP) reconstructs an account of what took place, using narratives from survivors, in order to bring the concerns of victims to the attention of the Government and other stakeholders. Through our interactions with survivors of the massacre, we learnt that besides constructing a memorial mass grave in which the dead were buried, the Government also supported the construction of the Mukura Memorial Senior Secondary School and a public library in memory of those who lost their lives.

This report aims at providing a narrative of key events leading up to the massacre, based on the testimonies of survivors, and explores the major initiatives which were used by the incumbent Government to promote accountability, healing and reconciliation for the families of the Mukura victims and the survivors from the train wagon. A central finding of this report is that most of these initiatives to provide reparation—though likely well intentioned—were implemented in an untimely manner, with little involvement and consultation of the victims and in times of increased political incentive for Government. As such, the people do not attach much significance and ownership to structures such as the mass grave and Mukura Memorial Senior Secondary School. The report concludes with lessons learnt and recommendations aimed at improving the implementation of future post-conflict transitional justice (TJ) initiatives which the government may undertake in other parts of the country, such as northern Uganda which has recently emerged from conflict.

To access the report, click here.

Community members during the Mucwini community dialogue

When Two Elephants Fight: Reflections from the Mucwini Community Dialogue

Statements & Briefs, , , , , ,
Community members during the Mucwini community dialogue
Community members during the Mucwini community dialogue

It is mid-morning on a beautiful, sunny Sunday, June 6, 2010. Residents of Mucwini, mostly men, are chatting away, seated in small groups at the trading centre. Meanwhile others, mainly women and children, are returning from church, most likely heading to their homes to prepare meals for the family. It is the season for mangoes, and children seem to be more interested in the seasonal fruits than going straight home to eat the meal prepared by their mothers.

Under the famous mango tree shade in the compound of one of the elders in the area, located just about 20 metres from the sub-county headquarters, two large public address system speakers, mounted by the JRP and Mega FM team, are playing loud local music by Acholi artists and attracting curious passer-by. This mango tree shade is a favourite spot in the area for hosting community events. Today’s gathering is part of a series of community dialogues organised by JRP in collaboration with Mega FM, a popular radio station in Northern Uganda. Later the opinions recorded here will be fittingly aired on Mega FM’s ‘Te-yat’ programme, meaning “under the tree,” a reference to Acholi traditions of discussing important issues collectively under the shade of a tree.

The discussions put a lot of emphasis on the need for all stakeholders to build on the Acholi traditional justice principles that involve compensation, truth-telling and symbolic ceremonies for the dead. Community members also urged each other to find ways to forgive one another and go back to start living as one people so that they can set good precedence for their children.

To access the brief, click here

A community member during the Mucwini massacre memorial service, 2010

Statement by the Mucwini Massacre Memorial Committee: In conjunction with the 8th Annual Mucwini Massacre Memorial Service

Statements & Briefs, , , , ,
A community member during the Mucwini massacre memorial service, 2010
A community member during the Mucwini massacre memorial service, 2010

In the early morning hours of 24 July 2002, our villages awoke to the bloodied corpses of 56 innocentmen, women and children. The massacre was a deliberate and ruthless act of retaliation by the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) after they claimed that one of our own members who had been abducted escaped with their gun. In cold blood, the rebels rounded up our community and randomly selected some of our friends and family members to be murdered by axes, hand hoes, machetes and logs. Some women among us were painfully forced to participate in clubbing to death their own children.

Eight years later, the person or persons responsible for the Mucwini massacre remains controversial, unresolved and unacknowledged. The massacre divided us and further fuelled longstanding conflict between the Pubec and Pajong over a piece of land where both parties claim ownership. As a result, the relatives of the alleged perpetuator still live in the camp, as they have been denied access to the said land. While the mediation team headed by the Rtd. Bishop McLeord Baker Ochola has tried to forge some kind of reconciliation among the alleged parties to this tension, most of us feel left out in the process as few families are being included. The families of the 56 people who died still live with immense trauma; psychosocial and physical difficulties; biting poverty; the burden of meeting the educational and basic needs of numerous orphans; and a generation of elderly who have no one to care for them, yet some have the responsibility to take care of orphans.

To access the statement, click here.

Young women perform traditional dances during an event in Gulu district, 2010

Pursuing Justice for Women and Children in Northern Uganda: Observations from the field

Statements & Briefs, , , , , ,
Young women perform traditional dances during an event in Gulu district, 2010
Young women perform traditional dances during an event in Gulu district, 2010

Initiatives to end violence often focus on ‘silencing the gun’ and bringing home largely male combatants. As a result, girls and women who were captured, raped, and forced into marriage and childbearing by armed groups remain largely unacknowledged and ignored. In this statement, we focus on the unique justice and reconciliation issues facing young mothers and their children in northern Uganda who have returned from captivity. We offer specific recommendations to ensure their holistic well-being and successful reintegration into society.

To access the statement, click here.