Excerpt from a post at Committee to Protect Bloggers Thursday, May 19, 2005:
The CPB is asking bloggers and other concerned people to observe next Thursday, May 26 as a Media Fast for Mojtaba.
Mojtaba Saminejad, a blogger from Iran, has declared a hunger strike. He is being held at Tehran's Gohar Dashat prison, which has a reputation for mistreatment of detainees. He is being held in the general population, the overwhelming majority of which are common criminals.
Mojtaba was arrested for reporting the earlier arrest of three of his fellow Iranian bloggers. (Iran has arrested over 20 bloggers over the last year.) Iranian bloggers who have been released have reported being the victims of torture.
Read full story at Committee to Protect Bloggers: Media fast for Mojtaba.
[via Curt with thanks] Tags: Tehran Iran Mojtaba Blog Bloggers Committee+to+Protect+Bloggers
Friday, May 20, 2005
Wednesday, May 18, 2005
Menya's blog provides analysis of news from Uganda
Menya Kilat at NGOMROM blog in the USA describes the blog as providing an "analysis of news from Uganda and what it means to democracy, peace and development in the country. It should give the trend of events and most likely scenarios going to occur in the country. Also featuring other countries with similar issues."
Just below Menya's profile section is this line:
Firstly, Menya's post dated March 18, 2005 entitled "Peace Related Work":
An excerpt from Online Journal of Peace whose web address is given below may shed light in why peace talks have been failing in Uganda. There is a general underlying effort to 'finish them off' that makes government to aim at capturing rebel leaders during peace talks instead of conducting sincere talks.
1. First of all there is no desire on part of the government to restore peace in northern Uganda.
2. Secondly, there is no clear assessment of the reason for the war.
3. And lastly, the venue for peace talk is not conducive to peace talk.
Below is the excerpt. Read full post
- - -
Secondly, an excerpt from Menya's March 20, 2005 post entitled "The Die Is Cast":
The die has been cast. Museveni is surely running for election. But, more than that, it means that Museveni's plan to become president for life is now being implemented. Think of it: Why would Museveni change a whole constitution in order to benefit another president? The truth is that Museveni and his henchmen are not willing to leave power to another party. They would not change a constitution merely to allow Museveni to run. That would be risky because he could lose the election thereby installing an opponent to a life presidency. And that is not the aim of the demand for a change in the constitution.
This is a serious crisis. Museveni has been ruling Uganda for the last twenty years under dubious code names for democracy and each time Ugandans watch without as much as a simple raising of a hand. Museveni eluded detection by hoodwinking the majority to think in terms of northerners versus him leading Uganda. They say Animal Farm is a classic but that is an understatement. It is actually the bible of achieving power and keeping it.
As we approach the month of April 2005, here are the probable scenarios that will unfold in Uganda:
1. Harassment and intimidation of opponents and non NRM supporters as has already happened to Peggy Ntegyereize of Kampala, will become widespread.
2. People will lose their livelihood, then their homes as has happened in Acholi.
3. Then, there will come a spate of arrests and confinements in various ungazetted locations.
4. Next will come extra judicial killings then a state of emergency will be declared, elections will be postponed and all political parties banned forever.
5. As a result, many people will go underground, form factions and armed units fighting initially independent and uncoordinated guerilla wars.
6. And, finally, when NRM/NRA is sufficiently weakened, the various factions from all corners of Uganda shall unite to form the new Supreme Uganda Army, ushering in a new era of independence, equality and dignity and development for all.
Museveni will be known as the last tyrant Uganda has known.
All these may occur simultaneously or one after the other, but the fourth stage is the point of no return with a complete ban on all political activities except those supporting NRM. So, Ugandans can prepare to live with this increasing tyranny or oppose it with all the force in their power now and avoid traveling through all these six stages. The fate of the country is in your hands. Read full post.
- - -
And finally, an excerpt from Menya's post March 27, 2005 entitled "Prelude to Disintegration":
Everything that is happening in Uganda indicates that the corrupt regime of Museveni is gaining momentum for final disintegration. There is going to be no guns fired. This is simply the peoples power at work. There will be some unscrupulous people who will attempt to hijack it but they will be crushed because the people have had enough suffering in the hands of various opportunists. So, if you are an opportunist, my advice to you at this time is to wait on the side until sanity has returned.
The Museveni empire/rule was built on chaos and misguided tribal sentiments and a horde of dissonant ideas:
- That the north versus south was the issue
- War in Acholi was keeping peace in Buganda and so on.
- That Acholis and Lugbaras were banyanyas and biological substances
- That only the NRA/NRM/Museveni could assure Ugandans of peace
It was divide and rule pure and simple.
The constitution was manipulated and doctored to suit the NRM but even then, it was pure brute force that kept Museveni in power all these years. And Ugandans, in their ways, have been tolerant of Museveni for various reasons, one of which is that they simply wish to get on with their lives. This is always mistaken for support for the existing regime.
Museveni missed many chances of becoming a truly great Ugandan leader in spite of the utter use of the military for his political purposes. People begged him and showed him the way, but he refused. Read full post.
[Source of material with thanks to Menya of NGOMROM blog]
- - -
Update: See May 4,2005 post by Peter Quaranto in Kampala, Uganda: Footnotes from the Underground: Museveni's Third Term: A Test for the Bush Administration?
- - -
Full text of the Queen's Speech
FT.com publishes the full text of the Queen's speech at the state opening of parliament on May 17.
Note, it includes the line: "My Government will use its Presidency of the G8 to secure progress in tackling poverty in Africa and climate change."
- - -
New Links
Just found Peter's blog in Kampala Uganda [see above post re Museveni's Third Term].
Also for sidebar here, Interactive Map of Africa and
afrol news Interactive Map of Africa.
Tags: Uganda Museveni Democracy Sudan DR Congo Africa
Just below Menya's profile section is this line:
"Promote peace and prosperity, equality under the law, accountability without victimization, education and health programs and communication between communities to enable commercial and cultural activities to flourish."Here are three examples of Menya's thinking and writing:
Firstly, Menya's post dated March 18, 2005 entitled "Peace Related Work":
An excerpt from Online Journal of Peace whose web address is given below may shed light in why peace talks have been failing in Uganda. There is a general underlying effort to 'finish them off' that makes government to aim at capturing rebel leaders during peace talks instead of conducting sincere talks.
1. First of all there is no desire on part of the government to restore peace in northern Uganda.
2. Secondly, there is no clear assessment of the reason for the war.
3. And lastly, the venue for peace talk is not conducive to peace talk.
Below is the excerpt. Read full post
- - -
Secondly, an excerpt from Menya's March 20, 2005 post entitled "The Die Is Cast":
The die has been cast. Museveni is surely running for election. But, more than that, it means that Museveni's plan to become president for life is now being implemented. Think of it: Why would Museveni change a whole constitution in order to benefit another president? The truth is that Museveni and his henchmen are not willing to leave power to another party. They would not change a constitution merely to allow Museveni to run. That would be risky because he could lose the election thereby installing an opponent to a life presidency. And that is not the aim of the demand for a change in the constitution.
This is a serious crisis. Museveni has been ruling Uganda for the last twenty years under dubious code names for democracy and each time Ugandans watch without as much as a simple raising of a hand. Museveni eluded detection by hoodwinking the majority to think in terms of northerners versus him leading Uganda. They say Animal Farm is a classic but that is an understatement. It is actually the bible of achieving power and keeping it.
As we approach the month of April 2005, here are the probable scenarios that will unfold in Uganda:
1. Harassment and intimidation of opponents and non NRM supporters as has already happened to Peggy Ntegyereize of Kampala, will become widespread.
2. People will lose their livelihood, then their homes as has happened in Acholi.
3. Then, there will come a spate of arrests and confinements in various ungazetted locations.
4. Next will come extra judicial killings then a state of emergency will be declared, elections will be postponed and all political parties banned forever.
5. As a result, many people will go underground, form factions and armed units fighting initially independent and uncoordinated guerilla wars.
6. And, finally, when NRM/NRA is sufficiently weakened, the various factions from all corners of Uganda shall unite to form the new Supreme Uganda Army, ushering in a new era of independence, equality and dignity and development for all.
Museveni will be known as the last tyrant Uganda has known.
All these may occur simultaneously or one after the other, but the fourth stage is the point of no return with a complete ban on all political activities except those supporting NRM. So, Ugandans can prepare to live with this increasing tyranny or oppose it with all the force in their power now and avoid traveling through all these six stages. The fate of the country is in your hands. Read full post.
- - -
And finally, an excerpt from Menya's post March 27, 2005 entitled "Prelude to Disintegration":
Everything that is happening in Uganda indicates that the corrupt regime of Museveni is gaining momentum for final disintegration. There is going to be no guns fired. This is simply the peoples power at work. There will be some unscrupulous people who will attempt to hijack it but they will be crushed because the people have had enough suffering in the hands of various opportunists. So, if you are an opportunist, my advice to you at this time is to wait on the side until sanity has returned.
The Museveni empire/rule was built on chaos and misguided tribal sentiments and a horde of dissonant ideas:
- That the north versus south was the issue
- War in Acholi was keeping peace in Buganda and so on.
- That Acholis and Lugbaras were banyanyas and biological substances
- That only the NRA/NRM/Museveni could assure Ugandans of peace
It was divide and rule pure and simple.
The constitution was manipulated and doctored to suit the NRM but even then, it was pure brute force that kept Museveni in power all these years. And Ugandans, in their ways, have been tolerant of Museveni for various reasons, one of which is that they simply wish to get on with their lives. This is always mistaken for support for the existing regime.
Museveni missed many chances of becoming a truly great Ugandan leader in spite of the utter use of the military for his political purposes. People begged him and showed him the way, but he refused. Read full post.
[Source of material with thanks to Menya of NGOMROM blog]
- - -
Update: See May 4,2005 post by Peter Quaranto in Kampala, Uganda: Footnotes from the Underground: Museveni's Third Term: A Test for the Bush Administration?
- - -
Full text of the Queen's Speech
FT.com publishes the full text of the Queen's speech at the state opening of parliament on May 17.
Note, it includes the line: "My Government will use its Presidency of the G8 to secure progress in tackling poverty in Africa and climate change."
- - -
New Links
Just found Peter's blog in Kampala Uganda [see above post re Museveni's Third Term].
Also for sidebar here, Interactive Map of Africa and
afrol news Interactive Map of Africa.
Tags: Uganda Museveni Democracy Sudan DR Congo Africa
Tuesday, May 17, 2005
The future of public radio in the age of podcasting: Anybody can create their own public radio online
Note Rebecca MacKinnon's post linking to a live webcast from Harvard's Berkman Center today, May 17, 2005.
Jake Shapiro of the Public Radio Exchange will talk about the future of public radio in the age of podcasting, which enables anybody to create their own public radio online.
Tags: Podcasting Radio Audioblogging MacKinnon Shapiro Berkman Harvard
Jake Shapiro of the Public Radio Exchange will talk about the future of public radio in the age of podcasting, which enables anybody to create their own public radio online.
Tags: Podcasting Radio Audioblogging MacKinnon Shapiro Berkman Harvard
Monday, May 16, 2005
Open Source. It'll be a radio show. May 30, 2005
Here is a don't miss, must-do: listen to Open Source's pilot on podcasting and bloggers without borders. Hear phone interviews and discussions with Rebecca and Ethan of Global Voices, and several other bloggers, hosted by smooth (and thankfully not-so-fast) talking American Christopher Lydon at Harvad's Berkman.
See Ethan's follow-up post "On hold with Chris Lydon".
Note also GlobalCoordinate.com Geo-Community. Click on the map to zoom in. You can add your own comments, stories, or photos at any location.
Tags: Uganda Africa Podcast Blog
See Ethan's follow-up post "On hold with Chris Lydon".
Note also GlobalCoordinate.com Geo-Community. Click on the map to zoom in. You can add your own comments, stories, or photos at any location.
Tags: Uganda Africa Podcast Blog
World Vision Camp in Uganda
Yendor took this photo in Uganda and posted it to flickr with the following caption:
"This is the World Vision camp for abducted children.
The stories are real and they are heartbreaking.
I heard the story of a 13 year old boy that had been abducted for 2 years by the rebels.
He was too traumatized to tell us the whole story so the translator told the rest of his story.
There were many tears in the room from the boy, the tranlator and from us as well.
Check out the World Vision website for more on the programs and some stories."
Thanks Yendor and good luck on your travels.
Note World Vision UK where you can sponsor a child.
Tags: Yendor Uganda World Vision Africa
"This is the World Vision camp for abducted children.
The stories are real and they are heartbreaking.
I heard the story of a 13 year old boy that had been abducted for 2 years by the rebels.
He was too traumatized to tell us the whole story so the translator told the rest of his story.
There were many tears in the room from the boy, the tranlator and from us as well.
Check out the World Vision website for more on the programs and some stories."
Thanks Yendor and good luck on your travels.
Note World Vision UK where you can sponsor a child.
Tags: Yendor Uganda World Vision Africa
Yendor posts photos at flickr from Uganda
Right now, I am visiting Yendor's Ugandan photos at flickr where I am composing and emailing this blog entry direct to Uganda Watch.
This neat photo entitled "God Bless" was taken by Yendor in Uganda and uploaded at flickr 30 April 2005.
Yendor's caption says: "Even here there is great faith."
Sorry I cannot find if Yendor has a blog. I have left a message at his flickr contact page.
This post seems like putting a message into a bottle and throwing it out into the English Channel. Who knows how far it will go or who it will reach. Hopefully, it will reach people in Uganda. Maybe even Yendor.
Tags: Yendor Uganda World Vision Africa
This neat photo entitled "God Bless" was taken by Yendor in Uganda and uploaded at flickr 30 April 2005.
Yendor's caption says: "Even here there is great faith."
Sorry I cannot find if Yendor has a blog. I have left a message at his flickr contact page.
This post seems like putting a message into a bottle and throwing it out into the English Channel. Who knows how far it will go or who it will reach. Hopefully, it will reach people in Uganda. Maybe even Yendor.
Tags: Yendor Uganda World Vision Africa
Sudan affirms keenness to boost relations with Uganda
President of the Republic Omer Al-Bashir has affirmed Sudan keenness to consolidate its relations and cooperation with Uganda.
This came when he received at the Guest House here Sunday the visiting Ugandan Minister of Defence, in the presence of the Minister of Defence, Maj. Gen. Bakri Hassan Salih.
President Al-Bashir has appreciated the efforts being exerted by the President of Uganda, Yoweri Museveni, toward prevalence of stability at the region.
In a press statement to SUNA, the Ugandan minister said that he discussed with President Al-Bashir the arrangements to prevent any activity of the Ugandan rebel Lord Resistance Army in south Sudan, means to implement the action plan of the IGAD for boosting peace and stability in Somalia and sending African forces to it.
He stressed the importance of coordination between Khartoum and Kampala to support implementation of the peace agreement which was signed between Sudan government and Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM).
The Ugandan Minister of Defence said that he conveyed a verbal message from President Yoweri Museveni to President Al-Bashir dealing with issues of mutual concern and ways to bolster the relations and coordination between Sudan and Uganda on the issues of mutual concern. - Khartoum, May 15, 2005 (SUNA) via SudanTribune.
Tags: Uganda Sudan Africa
This came when he received at the Guest House here Sunday the visiting Ugandan Minister of Defence, in the presence of the Minister of Defence, Maj. Gen. Bakri Hassan Salih.
President Al-Bashir has appreciated the efforts being exerted by the President of Uganda, Yoweri Museveni, toward prevalence of stability at the region.
In a press statement to SUNA, the Ugandan minister said that he discussed with President Al-Bashir the arrangements to prevent any activity of the Ugandan rebel Lord Resistance Army in south Sudan, means to implement the action plan of the IGAD for boosting peace and stability in Somalia and sending African forces to it.
He stressed the importance of coordination between Khartoum and Kampala to support implementation of the peace agreement which was signed between Sudan government and Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM).
The Ugandan Minister of Defence said that he conveyed a verbal message from President Yoweri Museveni to President Al-Bashir dealing with issues of mutual concern and ways to bolster the relations and coordination between Sudan and Uganda on the issues of mutual concern. - Khartoum, May 15, 2005 (SUNA) via SudanTribune.
Tags: Uganda Sudan Africa
SUDAN: Thousands flee food shortages and Ugandan rebel attacks in the south
IRIN report Kampala, May 16, 2004:
At least 5,000 people in southern Sudan have fled food shortages and attacks by the rebel Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) and sought refuge in northwestern Uganda since January, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said.
"[Some] said they were running away from LRA attacks, while the majority have fled their camp of Nimule in southern Sudan to Arua in Uganda due to food shortages, as relief supplies to the camp stopped some time back," UNHCR spokeswoman Roberta Russo, told IRIN on Saturday.
The refugees, she added, were from Torit, Nimule and Yei. They were being registered at the Ugandan border districts of Adjumani, Arua and Moyo, where UNHCR was feeding them.
Ugandan government officials said most of the new arrivals crossed the border in mid-March after the LRA stepped up attacks against civilians. The government and UNHCR were trying to find land on which they could set up homes and begin farming to supplement relief supplies, one official said.
"The rebels attacked [some of them] with machetes and clubs, looted and set grass-thatched huts ablaze and in one such attack, 12 people were killed," an official from the Ugandan prime minister’s office in the capital, Kampala, told IRIN.
According to the official, who had been to Palorinya, a makeshift reception centre in Arua, some of the recent arrivals had wounds sustained during such attacks. Many had walked for 10 to 15 days to reach the Ugandan border and were in poor health. A number of children had died on the way.
In one recent attack, the LRA ambushed Sudanese civilians in Mangala, 60 km northeast of the southern town of Juba. The rebels were later engaged by Sudanese government forces, the official said.
Before the new influx, there were already 160,000 Sudanese refugees living in various settlements in Uganda.
Government officials said they had hoped that with the 9 January signing of a peace agreement between Khartoum and the southern Sudan People’s Liberation Movement/Army, many of the refugees would prepare to go back home.
The agreement ended more than two decades of war in the south.
UNHCR said a few had actually made voluntary visits to southern Sudan to check on the situation and determine whether it was feasible to return home, but had not yet decided when to go home.
The LRA has fought the Uganda government since 1988, waging a brutal campaign that has displaced more than 1.4 million people. The rebels have particularly targeted children, abducting thousands of young boys and girls for recruitment into their ranks or to be turned into "wives" for LRA commanders.
The LRA, which has bases in northern Uganda and southern Sudan, claims it wants to topple the government in Kampala and replace it with one based on the biblical Ten Commandments.
On 10 May, the UN Security Council condemned the LRA atrocities and called for a peaceful resolution of the conflict.
The Council president for May, Danish Ambassador Ellen Margrethe Løj, told reporters following a briefing by UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Jan Egeland that Council members hoped for a peaceful end to the conflict.
She encouraged the government of Uganda to seek and facilitate such a solution. Members of the Council, she added, condemned atrocities committed by the LRA and called on the rebels to cease all acts of violence and enter into peace negotiations.
The Ugandan army, which is engaged in fighting the LRA inside Sudan, had claimed in recent months that the LRA rebellion had been weakened and that the latest attacks were just a desperate attempt by the group to remain in the limelight. Other sources disagree, saying the rebels are still a force to reckon with.
Religious and local leaders in the region insist the government should hold peace talks with the LRA, but the Ugandan authorities say the military option is the most effective way to defeat the rebels.
Tags: Uganda Sudan Africa
At least 5,000 people in southern Sudan have fled food shortages and attacks by the rebel Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) and sought refuge in northwestern Uganda since January, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said.
"[Some] said they were running away from LRA attacks, while the majority have fled their camp of Nimule in southern Sudan to Arua in Uganda due to food shortages, as relief supplies to the camp stopped some time back," UNHCR spokeswoman Roberta Russo, told IRIN on Saturday.
The refugees, she added, were from Torit, Nimule and Yei. They were being registered at the Ugandan border districts of Adjumani, Arua and Moyo, where UNHCR was feeding them.
Ugandan government officials said most of the new arrivals crossed the border in mid-March after the LRA stepped up attacks against civilians. The government and UNHCR were trying to find land on which they could set up homes and begin farming to supplement relief supplies, one official said.
"The rebels attacked [some of them] with machetes and clubs, looted and set grass-thatched huts ablaze and in one such attack, 12 people were killed," an official from the Ugandan prime minister’s office in the capital, Kampala, told IRIN.
According to the official, who had been to Palorinya, a makeshift reception centre in Arua, some of the recent arrivals had wounds sustained during such attacks. Many had walked for 10 to 15 days to reach the Ugandan border and were in poor health. A number of children had died on the way.
In one recent attack, the LRA ambushed Sudanese civilians in Mangala, 60 km northeast of the southern town of Juba. The rebels were later engaged by Sudanese government forces, the official said.
Before the new influx, there were already 160,000 Sudanese refugees living in various settlements in Uganda.
Government officials said they had hoped that with the 9 January signing of a peace agreement between Khartoum and the southern Sudan People’s Liberation Movement/Army, many of the refugees would prepare to go back home.
The agreement ended more than two decades of war in the south.
UNHCR said a few had actually made voluntary visits to southern Sudan to check on the situation and determine whether it was feasible to return home, but had not yet decided when to go home.
The LRA has fought the Uganda government since 1988, waging a brutal campaign that has displaced more than 1.4 million people. The rebels have particularly targeted children, abducting thousands of young boys and girls for recruitment into their ranks or to be turned into "wives" for LRA commanders.
The LRA, which has bases in northern Uganda and southern Sudan, claims it wants to topple the government in Kampala and replace it with one based on the biblical Ten Commandments.
On 10 May, the UN Security Council condemned the LRA atrocities and called for a peaceful resolution of the conflict.
The Council president for May, Danish Ambassador Ellen Margrethe Løj, told reporters following a briefing by UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Jan Egeland that Council members hoped for a peaceful end to the conflict.
She encouraged the government of Uganda to seek and facilitate such a solution. Members of the Council, she added, condemned atrocities committed by the LRA and called on the rebels to cease all acts of violence and enter into peace negotiations.
The Ugandan army, which is engaged in fighting the LRA inside Sudan, had claimed in recent months that the LRA rebellion had been weakened and that the latest attacks were just a desperate attempt by the group to remain in the limelight. Other sources disagree, saying the rebels are still a force to reckon with.
Religious and local leaders in the region insist the government should hold peace talks with the LRA, but the Ugandan authorities say the military option is the most effective way to defeat the rebels.
Tags: Uganda Sudan Africa
Saturday, May 14, 2005
Looking for bloggers interested in Uganda
The bloggers I know of who visit this blog arrive here through my blogs Sudan Watch and Congo Watch. I started the blogs eight months ago to file news on the humanitarian crises in DRC, northern Uganda and to log reports on the Ugandan rebel group LRA.
Up until recently, the blogs contained no original commentary. They have been used simply as filing cabinets. Blogger has no facility for categories, so instead of posting at Sudan Watch all the news I find on the LRA, I log the extra reports here to search more easily for LRA news and see at a glance how nothing seems to be improving in northern Uganda.
Now that Darfur has the world's attention and help is on its way, it pains me to visit this blog and see - along with what is happening at Congo Watch - that the situations in both countries are still classed as the world's worst/most neglected humanitarian crises. Millions of people are desperately in need of help in northern Uganda and DRC (and the Congo itself - thanks to Louis for pointing out in a comment at a recent Congo Watch post that there are two Congoes).
Thankfully, through Congo Watch, I have met some super nice bloggers who are concerned with what is happening in DRC. Some are Congolese. I am hoping to find some more dedicated bloggers who feel the same way about Uganda. If I recall correctly, over the past several months, I have yet to come into contact with any blogger concerned about northern Uganda. Which is why I am making a concerted effort in this post to find as many as possible.
Please do not be shy in saying hi. If you are interested in what is happening in Uganda, particularly northern Uganda, please make contact in the comments here or at my other blogs or via email. I am always here, happy to hear from anyone. If there is a delay in getting back to you, please do not read anything at all into it, other than I am unable to reply right away due to other pressures. I do my best to reply to all comments as soon as possible.
Last week, I spent some time searching for bloggers in, or specialising in, Uganda. The ones I've found so far, are in the sidebar here but I have not yet had a chance to read them. Once I have gathered a good selection of links, I aim to visit them, read them and publish regular reviews/news round-ups of posts and/or photos/profiles within each blog.
If anyone reading this, comes across news re the crisis or any links that would suit this blog - or puts together a review and/or round-up of one or more blogs out of/specialising in Uganda - please let me know here in the comments or via email and I will publish a copy here unedited with full credit. Thank you.
The aim is for us all to get some regular dialogue going and learn about life and politics in a country where the world's most neglected humanitarian crisis is happening. Who knows, we might even learn ways how we as bloggers can be of help. From what I have gathered re Sudan over past year, there is much to learn about neighbouring countries and the different cultures.
Meantime, here's saying a warm hello to Will who I found via the Uganda tags page at Technorati. Will is currently in Kampala, Uganda. Please do visit. I left a comment at one of his posts to say hi.
Also, a warm hello and welcome to any other new visitors here. More later. Until then, I look forward to adding updates and links to share here as and when I come across them.
- - -
New links - for future posts here
Ojo al Texto: Una letan a de horrores: la guerra civil en el norte de Uganda
Peter, Kampala
Menya, USA
Cenicienta, Las chicas del quinto, Spain
Periodistas 21: Las guerras olvidadas: Uganda
Juan Varela, Periodistas 21, Spain - translated by Google
nehanda dreams
Maps courtesy Will's first post March, 24 2005.
Tags: Uganda Sudan DR Congo Africa
Up until recently, the blogs contained no original commentary. They have been used simply as filing cabinets. Blogger has no facility for categories, so instead of posting at Sudan Watch all the news I find on the LRA, I log the extra reports here to search more easily for LRA news and see at a glance how nothing seems to be improving in northern Uganda.
Now that Darfur has the world's attention and help is on its way, it pains me to visit this blog and see - along with what is happening at Congo Watch - that the situations in both countries are still classed as the world's worst/most neglected humanitarian crises. Millions of people are desperately in need of help in northern Uganda and DRC (and the Congo itself - thanks to Louis for pointing out in a comment at a recent Congo Watch post that there are two Congoes).
Thankfully, through Congo Watch, I have met some super nice bloggers who are concerned with what is happening in DRC. Some are Congolese. I am hoping to find some more dedicated bloggers who feel the same way about Uganda. If I recall correctly, over the past several months, I have yet to come into contact with any blogger concerned about northern Uganda. Which is why I am making a concerted effort in this post to find as many as possible.
Please do not be shy in saying hi. If you are interested in what is happening in Uganda, particularly northern Uganda, please make contact in the comments here or at my other blogs or via email. I am always here, happy to hear from anyone. If there is a delay in getting back to you, please do not read anything at all into it, other than I am unable to reply right away due to other pressures. I do my best to reply to all comments as soon as possible.
Last week, I spent some time searching for bloggers in, or specialising in, Uganda. The ones I've found so far, are in the sidebar here but I have not yet had a chance to read them. Once I have gathered a good selection of links, I aim to visit them, read them and publish regular reviews/news round-ups of posts and/or photos/profiles within each blog.
If anyone reading this, comes across news re the crisis or any links that would suit this blog - or puts together a review and/or round-up of one or more blogs out of/specialising in Uganda - please let me know here in the comments or via email and I will publish a copy here unedited with full credit. Thank you.
The aim is for us all to get some regular dialogue going and learn about life and politics in a country where the world's most neglected humanitarian crisis is happening. Who knows, we might even learn ways how we as bloggers can be of help. From what I have gathered re Sudan over past year, there is much to learn about neighbouring countries and the different cultures.
Meantime, here's saying a warm hello to Will who I found via the Uganda tags page at Technorati. Will is currently in Kampala, Uganda. Please do visit. I left a comment at one of his posts to say hi.
Also, a warm hello and welcome to any other new visitors here. More later. Until then, I look forward to adding updates and links to share here as and when I come across them.
- - -
New links - for future posts here
Ojo al Texto: Una letan a de horrores: la guerra civil en el norte de Uganda
Peter, Kampala
Menya, USA
Cenicienta, Las chicas del quinto, Spain
Periodistas 21: Las guerras olvidadas: Uganda
Juan Varela, Periodistas 21, Spain - translated by Google
nehanda dreams
Maps courtesy Will's first post March, 24 2005.
Tags: Uganda Sudan DR Congo Africa
Friday, May 13, 2005
"Corruption Kills" - Photos from Uganda
Thanks to Bill at Jewels in the Jungle blog for his post on German photographer and friends in Uganda and link to US State Department's background notes on Uganda.
See Jewels in the Jungle's beautiful photos of schoolchildren in southeastern Uganda here and here and my favourite here [you can sense their keen concentration] where I left this comment May 12 for Bill, the Jewel's friendly author aka Black River Eagle:
Dear Bill, This is my favourite photo so far. Interesting to see your posts on Uganda but disappointing to see at first glance that you made no mention (as far as I can tell, I need to re-read) of the world's most neglected humanitarian crisis in northern Uganda where horrific things are happening. I have kept a log of reports over the past eight months at Uganda Watch http://ugandawatch.blogspot.com
Why is northern Uganda so forgotten and neglected, Do you know? I've spent some time searching for blogs from Uganda. The ones I have found so far are in the sidebar at Uganda Watch. More to follow. I'd like to find out why it is such a neglected region - is it maybe because of its reputation for corruption?
The LRA are carrying out horrific violence both within Uganda and over the border in southern Sudan. In the Congo the rebels believe they can gain strength from their victims by cooking and eating them. It seems to me there is too much belief in hocus pocus and magic charms and stuff in Africa.
Libyan leader Col Gaddafi recently labelled the violence by rebels in Sudan as primitive and senseless which I agree with. It will all end in a political solution anyway so why not work on the solution now instead of fighting, maiming and killing and creating so much suffering and trouble.
Hope you get a chance to visit some of the blogs in Uganda and do a blog round up so I can post it at Uganda Watch with links to you. Bye for now. Kind regards from Ingrid at http://sudanwatch.blogspot.com
- - -
"Corruption Kills" sign along the road marking crossing of the equator
Photo: "Sign along the road" photo taken by Holly Ladd 2004-05-11 using Olympus Camedia C5050.
Photographer's note: This sign was at a marked crossing of the equator that we passed on the way to Rakai.
Courtesy Trekearth.
Tags: Uganda Sudan Jewels in the Jungle Africa
See Jewels in the Jungle's beautiful photos of schoolchildren in southeastern Uganda here and here and my favourite here [you can sense their keen concentration] where I left this comment May 12 for Bill, the Jewel's friendly author aka Black River Eagle:
Dear Bill, This is my favourite photo so far. Interesting to see your posts on Uganda but disappointing to see at first glance that you made no mention (as far as I can tell, I need to re-read) of the world's most neglected humanitarian crisis in northern Uganda where horrific things are happening. I have kept a log of reports over the past eight months at Uganda Watch http://ugandawatch.blogspot.com
Why is northern Uganda so forgotten and neglected, Do you know? I've spent some time searching for blogs from Uganda. The ones I have found so far are in the sidebar at Uganda Watch. More to follow. I'd like to find out why it is such a neglected region - is it maybe because of its reputation for corruption?
The LRA are carrying out horrific violence both within Uganda and over the border in southern Sudan. In the Congo the rebels believe they can gain strength from their victims by cooking and eating them. It seems to me there is too much belief in hocus pocus and magic charms and stuff in Africa.
Libyan leader Col Gaddafi recently labelled the violence by rebels in Sudan as primitive and senseless which I agree with. It will all end in a political solution anyway so why not work on the solution now instead of fighting, maiming and killing and creating so much suffering and trouble.
Hope you get a chance to visit some of the blogs in Uganda and do a blog round up so I can post it at Uganda Watch with links to you. Bye for now. Kind regards from Ingrid at http://sudanwatch.blogspot.com
- - -
"Corruption Kills" sign along the road marking crossing of the equator
Photo: "Sign along the road" photo taken by Holly Ladd 2004-05-11 using Olympus Camedia C5050.
Photographer's note: This sign was at a marked crossing of the equator that we passed on the way to Rakai.
Courtesy Trekearth.
Tags: Uganda Sudan Jewels in the Jungle Africa
Oxfam slams U.N. for failing to act on Uganda war
Note links within post at two and two makes five blog May 11 entitled "LRA continues to haunt Uganda, UN does nothing" -
Oxfam slams U.N. for failing to act on Uganda war
KAMPALA, May 11 (Reuters) - The United Nations has failed again to act decisively to end war in northern Uganda, despite being briefed on "intolerable" humanitarian conditions in the troubled region, British aid agency Oxfam said on Wednesday.
Violence has increased in the north since government negotiations with rebels stalled in February. Aid agencies working in Uganda have long called on the Security Council to put pressure on both sides to restart the talks.
On Tuesday, U.N. aid chief Jan Egeland briefed council members on the conflict, which pits government troops against rebels from the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) and has forced 1.6 million people from their homes.
Emma Naylor, Oxfam's country manager in Uganda, said she was disappointed that after the meeting the Security Council -- which has never issued a resolution on the north -- agreed only to encourage both sides "informally" to return to talks.
"Nearly two decades of horrific human suffering have passed, and the security situation is getting worse, not better. Atrocities against civilians are increasing, as well as abductions of children in Uganda and Southern Sudan," she said in a statement.
"Yet the Security Council have once again failed to take any concrete steps in support of a peace process. We would have at least expected a presidential statement urging both sides to restart peace talks and setting out what future measures the council will take."
Oxfam has called on the U.N. to ensure the protection of civilians and to urge Uganda's government and rebels to call a new ceasefire and recommit to fresh peace talks.
Fighting intensified after landmark talks -- including the first face-to-face meeting between government and rebels for a decade -- stalled in February with the surrender of the LRA's top negotiator.
Uganda's military says it killed 84 LRA fighters last month alone, and the rebels have stepped up attacks on refugee camps, shooting and hacking their victims to death.
Ugandan commentators say the government would prefer a military victory over the rebels, but its helicopter gunships have been unable to stamp out small groups of fighters moving swiftly on foot through thick forests and rolling grasslands.
Joseph Kony, the LRA's self-styled prophet leader, is believed to be hiding in lawless southern Sudan with some of the thousands of children kidnapped by his cult-like group to serve as fighters and "wives".
His movement, which Egeland said was possibly the world's most brutal, has never spelled out a clear list of demands.
"Week by week the security situation is getting worse and hundreds of thousands of people cannot even sleep safely in their own homes," Naylor said.
"But the Security Council has never done more than offering a few words of sympathy. We are wondering just how bad it has to get before they will actually take action."
[Via two and two makes five - with thanks]
Tags: Uganda UN Oxfam Africa
NPR has some great reporting from northern Uganda;Also, Reuters' report by Daniel Wallis, copied here for future reference:
Joseph has some great recent posts about the war, the IDPs, and the relationship with Sudan;
Also on Joseph's site are some pictures of ServLife's work in the region.
Oxfam slams U.N. for failing to act on Uganda war
KAMPALA, May 11 (Reuters) - The United Nations has failed again to act decisively to end war in northern Uganda, despite being briefed on "intolerable" humanitarian conditions in the troubled region, British aid agency Oxfam said on Wednesday.
Violence has increased in the north since government negotiations with rebels stalled in February. Aid agencies working in Uganda have long called on the Security Council to put pressure on both sides to restart the talks.
On Tuesday, U.N. aid chief Jan Egeland briefed council members on the conflict, which pits government troops against rebels from the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) and has forced 1.6 million people from their homes.
Emma Naylor, Oxfam's country manager in Uganda, said she was disappointed that after the meeting the Security Council -- which has never issued a resolution on the north -- agreed only to encourage both sides "informally" to return to talks.
"Nearly two decades of horrific human suffering have passed, and the security situation is getting worse, not better. Atrocities against civilians are increasing, as well as abductions of children in Uganda and Southern Sudan," she said in a statement.
"Yet the Security Council have once again failed to take any concrete steps in support of a peace process. We would have at least expected a presidential statement urging both sides to restart peace talks and setting out what future measures the council will take."
Oxfam has called on the U.N. to ensure the protection of civilians and to urge Uganda's government and rebels to call a new ceasefire and recommit to fresh peace talks.
Fighting intensified after landmark talks -- including the first face-to-face meeting between government and rebels for a decade -- stalled in February with the surrender of the LRA's top negotiator.
Uganda's military says it killed 84 LRA fighters last month alone, and the rebels have stepped up attacks on refugee camps, shooting and hacking their victims to death.
Ugandan commentators say the government would prefer a military victory over the rebels, but its helicopter gunships have been unable to stamp out small groups of fighters moving swiftly on foot through thick forests and rolling grasslands.
Joseph Kony, the LRA's self-styled prophet leader, is believed to be hiding in lawless southern Sudan with some of the thousands of children kidnapped by his cult-like group to serve as fighters and "wives".
His movement, which Egeland said was possibly the world's most brutal, has never spelled out a clear list of demands.
"Week by week the security situation is getting worse and hundreds of thousands of people cannot even sleep safely in their own homes," Naylor said.
"But the Security Council has never done more than offering a few words of sympathy. We are wondering just how bad it has to get before they will actually take action."
[Via two and two makes five - with thanks]
Tags: Uganda UN Oxfam Africa
Thursday, May 12, 2005
U.S. Insists Joseph Kony's Rebels Terrorists?
Note, because I have not been able to cross check the facts in this post, I have put a question mark over the title of a report, copied here below, from New Vision AllAfrica April 29, 2005 by Alfred Wasike in Kampala [via Winds of Change with thanks]. Here is the report:
THE Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) has again been blacklisted by the US Department of State as one of the most dangerous international terrorist organisations.
This year's congressionally mandated report called "Country Reports on Terrorism 2004" replaces the former "patterns of Global Terrorism" report. It warns that the battle against international terrorism remains formidable despite improved domestic security measures, military campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan and deepening international counter terrorism cooperation.
The report says the new National Counter terrorism Centre (NCTC) prepared the terrorist statistics.
The 2004 Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act created the NCTC and designated it the primary authoritative organisation for global terrorism analysis, including regular reporting.
As in previous years, the State Department's terrorism report contains country reports and regional information, lists and descriptions of foreign terrorist organisations and other terrorist groups.
It also contains accounts of state sponsors of terrorism and global terrorist networks and counter terrorism training and interdiction programmes.
http://allafrica.com/stories/200504290662.html
THE Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) has again been blacklisted by the US Department of State as one of the most dangerous international terrorist organisations.
This year's congressionally mandated report called "Country Reports on Terrorism 2004" replaces the former "patterns of Global Terrorism" report. It warns that the battle against international terrorism remains formidable despite improved domestic security measures, military campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan and deepening international counter terrorism cooperation.
The report says the new National Counter terrorism Centre (NCTC) prepared the terrorist statistics.
The 2004 Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act created the NCTC and designated it the primary authoritative organisation for global terrorism analysis, including regular reporting.
As in previous years, the State Department's terrorism report contains country reports and regional information, lists and descriptions of foreign terrorist organisations and other terrorist groups.
It also contains accounts of state sponsors of terrorism and global terrorist networks and counter terrorism training and interdiction programmes.
http://allafrica.com/stories/200504290662.html
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