LRA sacrifices others so as to sacrifice nothing

By Steve Paterno

October 12, 2006 — The Ugandan, Lord’s Resistance Army will go down in history as one of the most brutal terrorists force that ever existed as no peace and reconciliation will be able to erase their past. And even if they ought to disappear today, this assertion will remain to be true. The group is notoriously known for its brand of brutalities. For two decades, the group is being fighting aimlessly, not that they are only incapable of aiming their guns and machetes to their real targets, the Ugandan People Defense Force (UPDF), but that they also lack political objectives and will to justify their fighting. With their guns cocked, they aim them at civilians indiscriminately and with their somewhat blunt machetes, they wield them to cut off captured civilians, while politically, they say they what to replace the existing Ugandan government with the one ruled by the biblical Ten Commandments.

Given the LRA brutal activities, no one human being with sane mind and moral conscious ever sympathized with the LRA, until the fragile Juba Peace Talks, which is aimed to stop the LRA terrorism took shape in the summer of this year. The Juba Peace Talks is a good aimed intention by the Government of the South Sudan (GOSS), which went out of its way risking some of its members like Vice President Riak Machar to be listed among individuals who supports and harbors terrorism—to realize peace in areas terrorized by the LRA, mainly Northern Uganda, Southern Sudan, and parts of Congo.

When the Juba Peace Talks initiatives started taking shape, people began to forgive the LRA for their brutalities and others went as far as giving some political credence to the LRA cause. At the negotiation in Juba, the idea of trying to rule Uganda with the biblical Ten Commandments is dropped altogether. The last time the idea was mentioned was somewhere in a jungle near or in Congo. And it was Kony who mentioned it when pressed by a journalist. There is no mention of LRA brutality as of late. Peace and reconciliation is the talking points in every circle.

But to the disappointment of everyone, the LRA leaders backtrack the entire process of peace and reconciliation by threatening that they will not sign any peace deal until the indictment of their leaders is dropped. Perhaps the LRA is needed to be reminded on how far the process have already gotten. Joseph Kony who led the brutal LRA aimlessly was asked in the eve of the Juba Peace Talks that why was the LRA fighting, and he unwittingly answered, “I am fighting for peace.” Frankly, he is saying that he is leading this brutal organization so as to ultimately achieve peace, and he has a good point here. Thousands have already sacrificed in this fighting in one form or another. Some already died as a result of direct or indict fights, others got rapped or have parts of their bodies chopped off, and thousands are displaced or forced to live where their lives are threatened including being conscripted into the LRA brutal force. Not to mention the damages and lost of properties.

Now, it is time for Joseph Kony and his top indicted lieutenants to pay the ultimate sacrifice for peace by giving themselves up for International Criminal Court (ICC) but not by trying to dodge the sacrifice for peace that others have already offered enormously. It is safe to say the sacrifice that Kony and his lieutenants will pay by offering themselves up to the ICC is the least they can afford in comparisons to the sacrifices that others have already offered. That is not even to factor their war criminal records in the comparison.

Normally, the international courts do not offer the harshest punishment in its sentencing, as other countries like those in Africa often do. Not only that, Kony and lieutenants will enjoy safe and clean prison cells, full meal service, and cared for medically once they have given themselves up. Rumors already had it that Kony is sick to the point that he is coughing blood. However, under the custody of the court, that will be taken care of faster than the blood could come out of Kony’s mouth or nose. And Kony should not worry on where the cost for such medical care will come from because there are working people out there sacrificing for that.

Kony and the lieutenants should come out for the sake of sacrificing for the peace and reconciliation. It is insincerity for one to claim leadership and when it comes time to offer that leadership in form of a sacrifice, one will back out as those of Kony are doing. It is not the African way, and worse, it is cowardice to let others sacrifice for one self while both are presented with the same opportunities to sacrifice. Perhaps Kony should be reminded here that his son or sons have died in this war and in African culture, the father will offer to die in the place of the son, so is Kony ready? Kony and the lieutenants should not act cowardly by trying to remain behind the line when it is their turn to come upfront. Just come out and face it, Mr. Kony, your sons have already done it and when are you! Where is the honor in this cowardice act??

* The author is a Sudanese residing in the U.S.A., and he can be reached at [email protected]