| Author (Person) | Cronin, David |
|---|---|
| Series Title | European Voice |
| Series Details | Vol.9, No.42, 11.12.03, p17 |
| Publication Date | 11/12/2003 |
| Content Type | News |
|
By David Cronin Date: 11/12/03 FEARS that a Rwanda-style slaughter could occur in Uganda have led the European Commission's Humanitarian Office (ECHO) to put the country at the top of its priority list for 2004. Although the conflict between the Kampala government and the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) has been raging for 17 years, it has escalated since June 2002. At that time, President Yoweri Museveni launched 'Operation Iron Fist', in which 14,000 troops were deployed to crush the Christian fundamentalist LRA. But the latter has responded by resorting to increasingly vicious tactics, including the abduction and torture of young children. "We have to try to prevent a second Rwanda," said a Commission official. "It could be a genocide waiting to happen." Costanza Adinolfi, ECHO's director-general, has spoken of being shocked following a visit to northern Uganda in the summer when she saw children who had body parts hacked off by the rebels. European Voice has learned that this was a factor in her department's decision - to be formally announced in January - that Uganda and Sudan are due to be priority countries for her service next year. The step is being taken as part of ECHO's policy of highlighting 'forgotten crises', which have largely eluded international media attention. Commission sources say their advice is that the situation in Uganda bears similarities to that which preceded the 1994 outrages in Rwanda, when a Hutu militia killed an estimated 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus. Roughly 1.3 million people have been uprooted due to fighting in Uganda. Of these, some 1 million belong to the Acholi people. Their representatives in Europe have requested that the EU should undertake a peacekeeping mission in Uganda similar to the one it conducted in Congo's Ituri province this year. United Nations officials have described the current humanitarian situation in Uganda as the most precarious in the world. The problems have been made worse by the political situation in the region, with allegations that neighbouring Sudan is aiding the LRA. The Commission is expected to allocate around €8 million for Uganda next year; the money will be primarily spent on health care and water, as well as on facilities for the many schools that have effectively become camps for displaced people. In addition, the EU executive may seek to draw from a fund earmarked for the Horn of Africa state from the European Development Fund. One idea being discussed at Council of Ministers' level is of appointing an EU mediator to encourage dialogue between the LRA and Kampala. But experts say that suggestion is fraught with difficulty, not least because it is hard to trace the whereabouts of the LRA's leader Joseph Kony, who deliberately shuns modern technology to avoid being detected. Another €8-10m is due to be managed by ECHO for Sudan. UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan this week expressed his alarm about the deteriorating situation in Sudan's Darfur province. Clashes between the Khartoum government and the main rebel Sudan Liberation Movement intensified in March, uprooting 670,000 civilians. The UN says efforts to provide emergency assistance have been hampered because parties to the conflict have been preventing the aid from getting through to those in need. The European Commission's Humanitarian Office (ECHO) has made Uganda and Sudan the top of its priority list for 2004. The move is being taken as part of ECHO's policy of highlighting 'forgotten crises'. |
|
| Related Links |
|
| Countries / Regions | Africa |
