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Ugandans to Protest UN's Neglect of Kony War

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By Gerald Walulya

Monitor-Kampala

Ugandans in diaspora have organised a demonstration at the UN headquarters in New York to protest USA and UN's failure to take part in the ending of the 18-year insurgency in northern Uganda. The demonstration scheduled for December 18 is organised by the African Trans Atlantic Alliance (ATA), a USA-based organisation that fights for the rights of African refugees and immigrants in America.

Mr Peter Okema, the ATA President told The Monitor on Sunday that the demonstration is aimed at calling for the UN and USA's attention to participate in ending the Lord's Resistance Army rebel war led by Joseph Kony. Okema said whereas the USA and UN acted fast on the Darfur crisis in Sudan, the two institutions have remained adamant to direct their attention to ending the humanitarian crisis in northern Uganda.

"We are organising a protest in front of the UN headquarters to challenge the UN and the US government for their neglect of the suffering in northern Uganda," Okema said in e-mail to The Monitor. Okema accused the UN and USA for pretending that the humanitarian crisis in the north was not as terrible as it actually is. "This kind of selective justice is not acceptable especially when practiced by the UN and the USA that claim to cherish democracy and human rights around the world," Okema said.

The demonstration targets between 500 to 2000 protesters. At the end of the demonstration a formal resolution of the protesters will be submitted to UN Secretary General Kofi Anan copied to all UN member states.

The protest will be followed by an educational rally about the background and actors in the war. There will be both Ugandan and American speakers concerned about the war.

 

 

 

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