When it comes to the Activities of the Lord's Resistance Army
the US has not been silent.
The LRA is on the Terrorism list that has been put together by the State
Department. In 2005 Congress sent a Fact-Finding Mission to Northern Uganda to see how the Northern Uganda Crisis Response
Act which was passed by Congress and signed into Law by President Bush in 2003 was being implemented.
The Government of President Museveni has had close relations with the US
since it came into power. On at least two occasions the White House reportedly signed off on Two threatened Ugandan Invasions
of the DRC since 2005.
The LRA and the Museveni Government reached an Agreement on a Peace Accord
last year. Twice the Accord was to be signed. Both Times Joseph Kony did not show up at the Signing Ceremonies.
So what interest does the US have in this situation? There are two reasons
for this. First of all there is a Vibrant Activist Community concerned with the Situations in both Northern Uganda and
the Democratic Republic of the Congo that wants the threats by the LRA to end.
Secondly no matter how poorly it was implemented the fiasco of Operation
Lightning Thunder must not be allowed to lapse. Reprisal Raids by the LRA have occured in both the DRC and in Sudan. And there
were reports in late Feburary that the LRA ambused an Central African Republic Army Patrol as well.
This is a Multi-National threat that needs a International Solution. The
Paper by ENOUGH calls upon the US and other Concerned Actors including the UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations to apprehend
the senior leadership of the LRA.
There is also a call for the International Criminal Court to Investigate
the Recent Actions that have been taken by the LRA. Senior Leaders of the LRA have already been indicted by the ICC already
for Crimes Committed in Northern Uganda since 1986.
There is also a call for the repatriation of those Abducted by the LRA in
the Past and the Protection of those who have been kidnapped recently and currently are in the Ranks of the LRA.
The Last Paragraph of the Paper begins as follows: Abandoning the Mission
to end the LRA now will have disasterous Consequences for the Civilians in Central Africa."
Nothing More Needs to be Said.
