Time's up for the LRA
October 30, 2008 Pennsylvania, USA - Peace is always preferred to war and should be pursued aggressively because it saves lives and allows development to thrive. There was renewed hope that the people of Northern Uganda might finally enjoy a peaceful living and rebuild their shattered sense of normalcy.
Getting the Lord’s Resistance Army to sit down with National Resistance Movement (NRM) government was an achievement in itself. For the first time, the two protagonists had the opportunity to narrow their gapping differences and find a way to settle for a peaceful end to a clearly ugly war. The LRA has been the most egregious offender of every known law of the war. It has abducted thousands of children from their homes and exposed them to the cruelty that has taken away their sense of innocence. Some of these children have been forced to kill their own in cold blood and become sex slaves. It was not surprising, therefore, that the ICC finally issued arrest warrants for the leading figures within the LRA for perpetrating crimes of such magnitude against the very people they want to liberate. With dwindling options, the LRA has chosen to stall for time.
The return of peace to Southern Sudan changed the ground equation for the LRA. The Islamists in the Northern Sudan could not continue to publicly support the LRA’s war of attrition because that would present a direct violation of the peace spirit. Moreover, their bases around Juba suddenly came under direct jurisdiction of the SPLA – which is not known to be friendly with those opposed to their ardent supporter – Museveni. While there is no evidence to support this assertion, there is ample circumstantial evidence that the Sudanese intelligence continues to handle the LRA leadership; hoping that it can be reactivated should the CPA falter and war resumes. In the meantime, the rational advice they could give their LRA clients was to continue talking and extract as many concessions from the NRM as feasible.
Somehow, the South Sudan vice president, Riek Machar, found the idea of bringing the LRA to the negotiation table irresistible and has expanded political capital and personal prestige on making sure that he achieves this. Does Dr. Machar know that Joseph Kony is using him to extend the shelf life of his terrorist group? This author is inclined to believe that Riek must surely be aware of this reality. What is equally true is that he feels he has invested so much in the outcome that he finds it absolutely necessary to continue the charade. What is even more worrying is that Riek can actually thwart any attempt to pursue military action against the LRA in order to give his pet project a chance to succeed. While he hopes that Mr. Kony will suddenly change his heart and embrace peace, the LRA is becoming a security nightmare in the state of Western Equatoria.
Refugees from the D.R. Congo are pouring into WES to escape the LRA’s campaign of terror and this has the potentials to overwhelm the already struggling people of that state.
Eliminating the LRA and bringing Kony to justice is more paramount today than ever.
Peace talks only give the LRA a breathing room to recruit, train, arm, and plot for future mayhem. This past month, the Commander in Chief of the SPLA, Salva Kiir indicated that his patience is wearing thin and that a military option is the next card in the deck. If the LRA is serious about peace, it should have signed the final document and come out of the jungle. The government of Uganda has made some generous concessions considering that it is under no obligation to even negotiate with a known terrorist group. What then is the motivation behind LRA’s intransigence? Pure and simple, the LRA never intended to reach a deal.
It is time for the SPLA and UPDF to put together a Special Forces brigade to go after the LRA’s rear bases in D.R. Congo. Their task can be made easier if they are able to seek the help of United States in getting maps of the Park in Congo to aid in surgical strike that would not only lead to the capture of Kony but also neutralize the LRA for good. D.R. Congo is not stable enough at this time to be part of this operation. However, the UN Peacekeeping force there can provide valuable intelligence. If peace cannot be ascertain through dialogue, it can always be assured through sheer use of forceful leverages. There is time for talks and time for taking concrete steps to get rid of this cancer. Waiting for the LRA to continue to exist in its dormant state is not good for long term security of the region. If the LRA is defeated now, the South and Uganda will not have to worry about Sudanese intelligence reconstituting a client in the future.
*Mariar Wuoi is a columnist for The New Sudan Vision and a graduate of Penn State University with B.S. Geosciences, Geographic Information Systems, and minors in Energy and Environmental Economics.
