Urge Congress to Disarm the Child-Killing LRA!
Read Time:3 Minute, 54 Second
Perhaps because of the lack of interior media coverage, and perhaps because the news does not involve Wall Street thieves, teabaggers, or Britney’s cooter, the media have until recently ignored a horrific kidnapping and massacre by the Lord’s Resistance Army in Uganda.
Between December 14 and 17 of this past year, the rebel group killed at least 321 people and abducted more than 250 others – including many children – in a string of attacks across northeastern Congo. Time video of child hunted by LRA
The LRA claims to be a Christian organization attempting to set up a government based on the Ten Commandments, but is actually a bizarre amalgamation of mysticism, witchcraft, Islam, and traditional Acholi religion. The horrific acts perpetrated by the LRA put it far outside almost any sane religion. According to Global Security:
The LRA has abducted large numbers of civilians for training as guerrillas; most victims were children and young adults. The LRA abducted young girls as sex and labor slaves. Other children, mainly girls, were reported to have been sold, traded, or given as gifts by the LRA to arms dealers in Sudan. While some later escaped or were rescued, the whereabouts of many children remain unknown.
In particular, the LRA abducted numerous children and, at clandestine bases, terrorized them into virtual slavery as guards, concubines, and soldiers. In addition to being beaten, raped, and forced to march until exhausted, abducted children were forced to participate in the killing of other children who had attempted to escape. Amnesty International reported that without child abductions, the LRA would have few combatants. More than 6,000 children were abducted during 1998, although many of those abducted later escaped or were released. Most human rights NGOs place the number of abducted children still held captive by the LRA at around 3,000, although estimates vary substantially.
In 2005 the LRA fought a two-decade long insurgency in northern Uganda before crossing into the Congo. In 2008, Uganda led a multi-national force to attack the LRA’S jungle bases. The remaining rebels are in splinter groups, lurking along the borders of Uganda, Sudan, and the Congo and are continuing to wreak havoc. The “Mokombo Massacre” is one of the worst killing sprees ever perpetrated by the Lord’s Resistance Army.
The LRA is not going to just go away. It needs to be fought until eradicated.
Human Rights Watch reports:
Descriptions of the attacks from survivors are haunting.
In the most recent attacks, LRA combatants entered each village posing as Ugandan and Congolese soldiers. According to witnesses, they first asked community members for the locations of nearby schools, to locate children. They then attacked populated areas such as markets and churches-ruthlessly killing, looting and abducting.
Trails of bodies were still being discovered by locals days after the attacks, write the report’s authors:
“Most of those killed were tied up before the LRA hacked them to death with machetes or crushed their skills with axes, clubs or heavy sticks. Those who were abducted but walked too slowly, refused or were unable to carry the heavy loads, or who tried to escape were also killed.”
Many of the children captured by the LRA were forced to kill other children who had disobeyed the LRA’s rules. In numerous cases documented by Human Rights Watch, children were ordered to surround the victim in a circle and take turns beating the child on the head with a large wooden stick until the child died.
A Congolese traditional chief who lost his son in the attack told researchers,
“We have been forgotten. It’s as if we don’t exist. The government says the LRA are no longer a problem, but I know that’s not true. I beg of you, please talk to others about what has happened to us.”
The LRA Disarmament and Northern Uganda Recovery Act
is a bipartisan bill sponsored by Russ Feingold seeking to set aside funds to help fight the insurgents. It was famously held up until recently by Sen. Tom Coburn, until a sit in outside his office caused him to relent.
After disagreements among members of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs threatened to delay the bill’s consideration for months, more than 5,000 people signed a petition to Committee leaders. As a result, it was added last-minute to the agenda of the Committee meeting (April 27th), where it was approved unanimously. Now it is on to a vote in the full House of Representatives, which we expect in the next two weeks.
If we act quickly, we have one last chance to convince Members of Congress to speak out and make sure the bill passes. Please make your voice heard!
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The UN is reporting that 100 people have been massacred in the Congo, just as I am reading your article here. One of the things I desperately want to see happening is the education/empowerment of women. If more women were involved in what happens to them, these things would be lessened over time. Before my accident, I had accepted a position with Amnesty International and it was to go to some of these war torn places and help women get themselves out of poverty. Sadly my recupe time was too long and the position had to go to someone else. I see this as a huge factor. If women were empowered to be all they could be and work alongside the men I swear things would improve. Petition signed and forwarded.
As Krell stated, the IMF also bears responsibility.
It’s been my observation too that we seem to hold “cold war” grudges. Whichever proxy opposed us, we harbor a vindictive attitude towards them.
The horror of children’s suffering. And can you imagine the terror of families facing children with guns?
The December massacre was finally picked up by the press in late MARCH. The governments have been downplaying the LRA’s influence, trying to say they are no longer a threat. The united efforts of a strike against them was almost successful before. If they had a little help it could have succeeded. Military brass has no problem spending trillions in Iraq, but a little peacekeeping to save some kids? Not important unless there is something in it for us.
The vote comes up very soon (this week). Thank you for sending letters!
The colonial rule in Africa has a lot to answer for – ‘except it can’t as the colonial rulers were our ancestors so it isn’t our fault’ is the common refrain.
True enough. It isn’t my fault that British colonial rule screwed up so many African countries but, can we sleep at night given what has happened, and is happening since?
Yep. Like a baby.
That’s the problem. Africa is another world – and, in fairness, corruption since colonial rule has caused most of the problems – Idi Amin, Robert Mugabe et al.
So how do we help? Regime change?….oh dear….I think we’ve been there before eh?
I’ve no idea what can be done. I wish I did know.
In the meantime, as we wring our hands and pontificate, innocents are massacred.
Welcome to humanity.
During the Cold War era, any new country had to chose a side. Most of the Northern regions chose the Soviets and the Southern regions went to the US.
Like some other regions of the world, they were proxy pawns to be used and abused. In addition, you have destabilization caused by IMF policies and companies protecting wide areas of resources for profit by harassment,fines,even killing.
From the shame of the “Blood Diamond” evil and how it supported UNITA as exposed by the Fowler Report,Second Congo War,Darfur….the list goes on and on….one starts to wonder, as Holte mentioned, if it is a chaos that will only be the concern of the West when it stops.
Sub-Saharan Africa has been an after thought, a fleeting headline, a ship that passes in the night, for years. The western countries, especially those who did most of the pillaging, are permanently looking the other way. I have this theory that when the tribes, cults and sects have fought each other to a standstill, the kindly West will move back in.
I’m not surprised that the MSM didn’t pick it up. Hell, it took them 10 years to figure out there was a genocide going on in Sudan, which they finally covered, for about a week.
I will also sign the petition and send this directly to my congressman. I am also going to repost this tomorrow. It is important.
There go those good Christians again. I didn’t know about this horrid practice. Thanks for the heads up and I will of course sign the petition.
Sent to my congressman.
Africa is almost an afterthought, it seems. The colonial governments pretty much packed up in the middle of the night and left in the cover of darkness, leaving the feuding remains of Divide and Rule and empty national treasuries.
Heartbreaking.