Reparations ‘Te-Yat,’ Mega FM, 23 July 2011
Transcript is not available at this time.
Tag Archives: reparations
“Give LRA victims justice, says ex-bishop,” Daily Monitor, 20 July 2011
Give LRA victims justice, says ex-bishop,” Daily Monitor, 20 July 2011
http://www.monitor.co.ug/News/National/-/688334/1204356/-/bl4ltxz/-/index.html
By Sam Lawino
Gulu
The government and Judiciary should deliver true justice to survivors of war in northern Uganda, civic and religious leaders have said. Addressing a rally during the International Day of Justice celebration in Gulu Town on Sunday, the retired Bishop of Kitgum Anglican Diocese, Macleod Baker Ochola, said the day should remind the government and its partners that they have failed to dispense justice to the victims of the 23-year-old Lords Resistance Army (LRA) rebellion.
Government blamed
He said: “Uganda has failed to support victims and survivors of the LRA and government mayhems in Acholi yet it also deliberately refused to accept responsibilities for the crimes they may have committed.”
Bishop Ochola said: “Everyone in Uganda and the rebels must be brought to book for atrocities they may have committed against unarmed civilians during the war. It is one way through which we can attain peace and justice,” Bishop Ochola said. He criticised the government for not coming up with a clear policy on compensation of the families of those killed, and the survivors.
A programme officer with Justice and Reconciliation Project in Northern Uganda, Mr Lino Owor Ogora, said: “Justice and accountability or the quest to end impunity should not be limited to criminal prosecution.” He said there should be other solutions like reconciliation.
A programme officer for Advocate Sans Frontiere, an association of lawyers supporting the fight against impunity, Mr Vincent Babaranda, said victims of the LRA atrocities should be granted access to the ongoing trial of former rebel commander Thomas Kwoyelo in the International Crime Division of the High Court to enable them know what is being done to address injustices perpetrated against them. Kwoyelo is facing 53 counts of murder, destruction of properties and abductions, accusations he denied.
“Lukodi Massacre Victims Struggle To Live With Memories,” Uganda Radio Network, 27 May 2011
“Lukodi Massacre Victims Struggle To Live With Memories,” Uganda Radio Network, 27 May 2011
http://ugandaradionetwork.com/a/story.php?s=33984
By Joe Wacha
The survivors of the 2004 massacre at Lukodi internally displaced people’s camp in Gulu district say they require government to urgently initiate mechanisms to help them cope with the dreadful memories of the attack.
Survivors of the 2004 Lukodi massacre in Gulu district say they are individually carrying the burden of the atrocities committed during the war due to lack of government support to heal the past.
Many of the survivors say they require truth-telling by all the parties in the massacre, construction of memorials to honor the dead, acknowledging the past and a comprehensive reparation to be able to move on from the incident.
On May 19, 2004, a group of the Lord’s Resistance Army rebels descended on the Lukodi displaced people’s after overpowering a nearby military unit and murdered over 50 people. The rebels also destroyed property, abducted scores of the IDPs, while others managed to escape with bullet wounds. Only a few huts and a memorial stone inscribed with some of the names of the people who died in the attack, stands near the ground that used to be the camp.
However, seven years after the attack, the victims complain that government has done nothing to help them recover from the traumatic incident.
Nelson Oloya, a resident of Lukodi village, on whose land the IDP camp once stood, tearfully recalls how the rebels killed his family members. Oloya ran to Gulu town. He explains that although he is now back home, memories of the past still haunt him. He says government should establish counseling services to help them overcome the trauma.
Doreen Abalo, another victim who lost her husband and three step children in the attack, explains that she is haunted by memories. Abalo explains that her only relief is when she meets with the village mates to share experiences.
Abalo says she wants the murderers to be prosecuted and government to compensate people who lost their relatives and property or got wounded. Although the Juba peace agreement between the government and LRA rebels provides for reparations for war victims, the government is yet to implement the resolution.
Barlington P’angwec, the LC5 representative for Bungatira Sub County repeated the calls for urgent reparations. He wondered how government could quickly compensate victims of the July 2010 bomb blasts in Kampala and ignore those in northern Uganda.
The UN Principles and Guidelines on the Right to Remedy and Reparation for Victims of Gross Violation also demands that victims adequate, prompt and appropriate remedies for victims.
Evelyn Akullo, a research officer at Justice and Reconciliation Project explains that the victims are struggling to find ways to deal with the past and move on with life amidst a strong need to reconcile with each other and what happened to them.
She says government should design and implement an inclusive and transparent reparations policy for the victims. Barlonyo, Atiak, Burcoro and Mucwini are some of the other massacre sites where people still wait for compensation.
One-Day Civil Society Dialogue with JLOS on TJ in Uganda, Meeting Summary
On Friday, May 20, 2011, the International Center for Transitional Justice (ICTJ), the Justice and Reconciliation Project (JRP), and the Uganda Victims Foundation (UVF), organized a one-day dialogue between representatives of the Justice, Law and Order Sector (JLOS) and civil society from northern Uganda. The event was held in Lira Town and was attended by 42 representatives, including His Worship Tadeo Asiimwe—Registrar of the War Crimes Division—and Ms. Rachel Odoi-Musoke—of the JLOS Secretariat.
The dialogue provided an opportunity for the two JLOS representatives to share updates and developments on TJ in Uganda, and more specifically the work of the JLOS Transitional Justice Working Group and the War Crimes Division (WCD), soon to be renamed the International Crimes Division (ICD). It also provided space for the various civil society representatives to ask questions and share comments on the processes involved and how these could impact their communities.
This event coincided with national community consultations by JLOS to gain perspectives on truth-seeking, traditional justice and reparations, and followed a consultative meeting organized by ICTJ and JRP on April 21st in Gulu with civil society on an outreach strategy for the WCD.
To download the full meeting summary, click here.
“Mukura compensation report disputed,” New Vision, 22 May 2011
“Mukura compensation report disputed,” New Vision, 22 May 2011
http://www.newvision.co.ug/D/8/13/755418/mukura
By Pascal Kwesiga
FORMER Kumi district Woman MP Agnes Akiror has disputed a report by Justice and reconciliation project, a local non-governmental organisation, on the compensation of the 1989 mukura massacre victims.
Akiror described the report as false, saying it was aimed at maligning her name and President Yoweri Museveni who appointed her to deliver the compensation package.
“There should have been an element of truth telling since they are talking of justice and reconciliation. The report depicts the Government as insensitive to the victims,” she said.
The report, which was launched recently alleged that the second compensation last year was mishandled. It said out of the 47 survivors, six were compensated.
President Museveni gave Akiror sh200m as compensation to the victims during his visit to their families in 2010.
The move was part of efforts to heal the wounds left by the incident.
A total of 69 suspected rebels were suffocated to death in a train wagon by the government forces on July 11, 1989 a Mukura sub-county in Ngora district.
“The President has often apologised to us for the incident. When he gave me the money, he said it could not compensate the lost lives, but would help the victims,” Akiror said.
She produced a statement from Stanbic Bank, Kumi branch containing the list of 43 survivors, relatives and widows of the victims who received sh3m each. They received over sh127.5m.
Other documents show that 25 beneficiaries, who refused to be paid through the bank, appended their thumbprints and signatures after receiving the cash. A total of sh72.5m was spent on this category of beneficiaries.
Akiror said 15 people claimed compensation, saying they were traumatised after seeing the victims suffocating to death. They were given sh8.5m.
Five people, she added, received sh100,000 each after they claimed that they were tortured by soldiers during the incident.
Akiror also produced documents indicating that those who claimed to have been traumatised and tortured had been paid.
She attacked the authors of the report for questioning why the President came up with the initiative after several years.
“Mukura victims poorly compensated- report,” New Vision, 19 May 2011
“Mukura victims poorly compensated- report,” New Vision, 19 May 2011
http://www.newvision.co.ug/D/8/17/755202?highlight&q=In%20Memory%20of%20Mukura%20Victims
By Godfrey Ojore
A report by the justice and reconciliation project on the 1989 Mukura massacre has said compensation of relatives of the victims was poorly handled.
The report pinned former Kumi MP Jaff Akiror for excluding names of relatives who had missed out on the compensation package.
The report, compiled last year, said Akiror only paid six out of the 47 known survivors.
“This contradicts an article published in the media in January which said 88 families had been paid sh209m,” the report read in part.
The report was launched at Mukura Memorial Secondary School, which the Government built in memory of the victims.
“The President instructed the Attorney General to assess the damage and ensure full compensation to the victims and the families of the deceased. What then was Akiror’s role in the process,” the report questioned.
Lead researcher Lino Ongora said they were not happy with Akiror’s involvement because she did not conduct proper verification of the relatives of the deceased, resulting in many of them missing on the paying list.
However, Akiror rejected the report. “Did they show you bank statements indicating that I did not pay the relatives of the deceased? Didn’t they know that as an MP, I had a right to collect the money and distribute it?” she asked.
However, at the launch of the report, two old women, Tereza Amujal and Madelena Adongo who lost their sons, said they were not paid. “I was told the money was over. So I went back,” Adongo who lost her sons, John Olinga and Lawrence Oboi, said.
The Government has constructed a mass grave at the railway station where the incident occurred.
Kumi resident district commissioner Samuel Mpimbaza Hasaka received the report on behalf of the Government.
In 1989 during the insurgency in Teso region, soldiers rounded up people suspected to be rebels and herded them into a train wagon before setting fire beneath it.
About 69 people are said to have died due to suffocation.
He, however, pointed out that the report did not include the achievements done by the Government like erecting the monument, apology of the President to the people of Teso and constructing a secondary school.
“That was a stupid mistake by a few indisciplined army officers. It is regrettable and painful,” Hasaka said.
The report recommends government to bring to book the perpetrators of this horrendous act and finalise policy on reparation to provide clear guidelines for the victims of the past atrocities.
In 1989 during insurgency in Teso region, soldiers rounded up people suspected to be rebels and herded them into a train wagon before setting fire beneath it.
About 69 people are said to have died due to suffocation in the wagon.
Outreach Consultative Meeting with Civil Society for the First War Crimes Cases before the War Crimes Division, Meeting Summary
On April 21, JRP and ICTJ held a one-day consultative meeting organized by the International Center for Transitional Justice (ICTJ) and the Justice and Reconciliation Project (JRP) on outreach for the first war crimes cases before Uganda’s War Crimes Division (WCD).
The objectives of the meeting were to:
- Assess civil society’s expectations and realistic understanding for potential outcomes of the work of the WCD;
- Increase civil society’s engagement in all stages of legal proceedings before the WCD;
- Provide input for the draft outreach strategy and briefing information on TJ by JLOS.
To access the full summary, click here.
“LRA survivors want marshal plan for region,” Daily Monitor, 28 April 2011
“LRA survivors want marshal plan for region,” Daily Monitor, 28 April 2011
http://www.monitor.co.ug/News/National/-/688334/1152202/-/c262ngz/-/index.html
By James Eriku
Amuru
April 20 is usually an important day in the lives of former displaced persons living in Atiak Sub-county in Amuru district. And for the Acholi sub-region, the day was set apart to commemorate the gruesome massacre of over 200 civilians by the Lords Resistance Army rebels in 1996, although other similar cases were committed in Lokodi, Lukome, Mucwini and Barlonyo.
The Rev. Johnson Gakumba, the chairman of the Acholi Religious Leaders Peace Initiative and the bishop of the Northern Uganda Diocese, while presiding over the occasion last Wednesday, prayed that such atrocities are not repeated in the region.
Meaningful reparation
The bishop also urged the government to develop meaningful reparation programmes for those who died during the war, adding that the government should also initiate other efforts to improve the lives of survivors. He said reparation could be such an important component of the Juba peace talks, in particularly agenda three, where reconciliation and accountability issues sound pertinent.
Mr Jacob Nokrach, a survivor and the chairman of the Atiak Massacre Survivors Association, said government has abandoned them to NGOs. Justice and reconciliation project, an NGO in the region, is currently supporting the survivors with counselling and guidance. “Many people can now talk freely about the incident more than 10 years ago, which is a positive gesture towards the rehabilitation efforts in the region,” Mr Nokrach said.
Improving livelihood
Mr Nokrach said the commemoration of the day is important to the lives of the survivors and relatives of those who were killed in the attack. The survivors’ chairman said a Marshal Plan should be drawn by the government as the Acholi people emerged from the rubbles of the camps, saying a reparation of Shs5 million per survivor and those killed would go a long way in improving the livelihoods of the affected people.
Ms Irene Oyet, another survivor from Ayugi village, sarcastically said the only thing the attack left her with were the mutilated bodies of her siblings on their compound three hours after the rebels had left. Ms Pasca Aromorach, 18, said she grew up as an orphan after her parents were killed in the attack. She said she was left to raise seven of her siblings amid biting poverty.
Enhancing Grassroots Involvement in Transitional Justice Debates
This report, “Enhancing Grassroots Involvement in Transitional Justice Debates: A Report on Consultations held with victims and civil society organizations in West Nile, Acholi, Lango and Teso Sub-regions in Northern Uganda,” is the product of consultations by JRP and the Institute for Justice and Reconciliation (IJR).
Between November 2010 and February 2011, the Justice and Reconciliation Project (JRP) in collaboration with the Institute for Justice and Reconciliation (IJR) organized a series of consultations with victims of the conflict in northern Uganda. These consultations were entitled “Enhancing grassroots involvement in transitional justice debates” and covered the themes of truth telling, traditional justice, reparations and gender justice.
The consultations were aimed at complementing the countrywide consultations by the Justice, Law and Order Sector (JLOS) on truth seeking and traditional justice. The key findings presented in the report are a synthesis of the victims’ voices on what their views are on truth seeking, traditional justice, reparations and gender justice.
This report is aimed at informing JLOS and other relevant stakeholders working on issues pertaining to victims in northern Uganda about the needs of these victims, as expressed by the individuals themselves.
To access the full report, click here.
“LRA victims to sue over compensation,” Daily Monitor, 7 March 2011
“LRA victims to sue over compensation,” Daily Monitor, 7 March 2011
http://www.monitor.co.ug/News/National/-/688334/1120350/-/c4222wz/-/index.html
By Cissy Makumbi
Gulu
Victims of the Lord’s Resistance Army and West Nile Bank Front rebellions have threatened to drag the government to international courts for failing to compensate them for losses they incurred as a result of the wars.
The victims said the government failed to protect their properties and lives of their loved ones during the wars that resulted in destitution and increased number of orphans.
The chairperson of the group, Mr Sam Buti, during a memory sharing meeting organised by Justice Peace and Reconciliation Project held in Gulu on Friday, said many of their members have become amputees and can no longer engage actively in productive activities, which therefore calls for their compensation. “Bomb blast victims in Kampala have been compensated swiftly, why not us who have equally been permanently maimed due to government’s reluctance? ” Mr Buti asked.
The Presidential Adviser for northern Uganda, Mr Richard Todwong, said the government will compensate all those who lost their property and asked them for patience. He revealed that the government is already supporting many war victims including paying for their medical bills in hospitals. Over 6,000 maimed and mutilated war victims have already registered under the organization, many of them with no lips, ears and noses.