In September, twenty- thousand people in Sudan went out on the streets and walked barefoot, in silence, to raise awareness about the atrocities committed by the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) in Central Africa. A month later, International Refugee Trust (IRT) organized a replication of the demonstration in Central London.

A petition for the protection of those affected by the rebel LRA in Central Africa and the arrest of its leader Joseph Kony was also being signed. It addresses David Miliband, Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, asking for more support to local governments in the affected region, as well as to raise the LRA issue with the responsible United Nations, European Union and African Union bodies.

The LRA has been carrying out brutal attacks on civilians for over 20 years – inflicting mutilations, killings, rape, and abductions that lead to sex slavery and forced child soldiers, some reportedly being as young as five. Having originated as a resistance group against central government in Uganda, the LRA now operates in southern Sudan, Central African Republic and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Its leader Joseph Kony has been on the International Criminal Court’s most wanted list for crimes against the humanity and war crimes since 2006. The situation was recently worsened by the murder of three aid workers from the Italian NGO Cooperazione Internazionale (COOPI) in Central African Republic. The incident caused the organisation to suspend its activities in the region, thus further worsening the situation of the local population.

Mr. Roeland Van De Geer, the EU Special Representative for the African Great Lakes Region spoke to London Student about the LRA in Central Africa.  
 
You are based in the Great Lakes region in Africa, and therefore have personally seen the damage and terror caused by the LRA. Could you describe the current situation?
Whole villages are destroyed, inhabitants either killed or abducted. An estimated 2000 people have been killed by the LRA over the past year, thousands have been abducted and some 250,000 have been displaced. 

What is the LRA’s political ideology? Does their statement to fight for the Ten Commandments in any way reflect in their actions?
The LRA has no political ideology and its barbaric acts are a complete
denial of all the Ten Commandments stand for.

As the movement has no goals except to survive as a criminal organisation, efforts to convince its rank and file, who are often themselves abducted by the LRA, to surrender unconditionally, should be stepped up.

Why did the 2006 until late 2008 negotiations with the LRA fail?
LRA leader Kony, who is sought by the International Criminal Court in the Hague, finally decided that his movement had nothing to gain from peace and would be better off by continuing to fight. The movement has no political programme, so further negotiations appear to be futile. 

What actions is the international community and local governments taking against the LRA?
Following the failure of the negotiations in Juba in the period 2006 – 2008, the Juba process appears to be no longer viable. As a result, a military campaign against the LRA was started in December 2008 by the joint armed forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda and of southern Sudan, with assistance provided by the United Nations mission in Congo (MONUC) to the Congolese army. The LRA has been weakened considerably by this offensive but is by no means defeated. 

What is being done to protect the locals from the LRA?
MONUC is focusing on civilian protection. Ideally, MONUC should be given additional resources, while also the Congolese army should be better equipped to carry out this task.
 
How much effect can events such as the “Barefoot Walk” in Sudan, and then in central London, have?
The Barefoot Walk contributes to media coverage and inspires both NGOs and others, to continue their work with determination to solve the problem of the LRA. In addition, the Barefoot Walk shows victims that they are not isolated and forgotten, which greatly contributes to their ability to cope with the difficult conditions in which they are forced to live.

This entry was posted on Sunday, November 1st, 2009 at 14:37 and is filed under Politics. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.