The international NGO Invisible Children has petitioned the East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) to intervene and stem the continued security threat posed by the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) to regional stability.
EALA Sapeaker (left) Margaret Zziwa takls to petitioners
Jolly Grace Okot, the Regional Ambassador of Invisible Children on Thursday presented the petition to the EALA speaker Margaret Zziwa at the EAC headquarters in Arusha.
In the petition, Invisible Children asked EALA to visit the LRA affected communities in northern Uganda, DRC and CAR and witness atrocities committed by LRA, as well as efforts for recovery and encouraging LRA defections, as well as humanitarian assistance.
According to the petitioners, the LRA remains a security threat in the region; while Kony and his senior commanders are believed to be hiding in Kafia Kingi enclave which is controlled by the Sudanese government.
The petition also urges regional governments to send troops to support ongoing regional anti-LRA operations similar to the operation against the Al-Shaabab in Somalia. Okot also asked EALA to lobby the governments of DR Congo, Sudan and South Sudan to allow for counter LRA operations in their countries.
Okot was accompanied by Michael Mubangizi the Invisible Children’s regional public relations and advocacy officer, former Gulu Municipality MP and district chairperson Norbert Mao as well as Lyandro Komakech from the Refugee Law Project.
Okot petitioned the EALA committee on regional affairs and conflict resolution to critically study and examine the LRA conflict, its survival strategies, identify ways of ending it and recommend to EALA.
With emerging trade in ivory by LRA to fund their activities, Invisible Children called on the regional governments to defend and conserve wildlife, biodiversity, flora and fauna which are now threatened by the LRA.
Mao said EALA has for long been silent on the LRA issue, “These are issues that EALA should be handling, people have been running to the East African Court of Justice on regional issues, not EALA. This petition is a test to you, but we are confident that you will handle it.”
According to a statement by Invisible Children, Speaker Zziwa said that EALA will in its parliamentary session that begins this month (August), debate the continued threat posed by the LRA conflict to regional stability.
Zziwa was accompanied by two other members from the EALA committee on regional affairs and conflict resolution which include Christopher Bazavano (Rwanda) and Shyrose Bhanji (Tanzania). She said that LRA is no longer a Ugandan problem but a regional problem. She also said most of LRA fighters are also victims of the war having been abducted.
“We are going to have our next session in the next two weeks and this (petition) will constitute a very important activity in terms of interrogating the information and challenges that you have expressed to us,” Zziwa said.
By Raymond Baguma, The New Vision
