Rights group urges engagement with western areas

There is general approval in western Uganda for government attempts to tackle the armed rebellion by the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), both through an offensive by the Uganda People's Defence Forces (UPDF) and offering an amnesty to those wishing to surrender, according to a new report published by the Kampala branch of the UK-based organisation African Rights. However, the general population feels vulnerable and neglected, leaving "an undercurrent of dissatisfaction", which will not be easy to eradicate and requires commitment on the part of government and donors, it added. With the Ugandan army campaign against ADF forces in the Ruwenzori Mountains, southwestern Uganda, the Suppression of Terrorism Bill currently before parliament, and the government working with the organisation Give Me A Chance on the demobilisation and rehabilitation of rebels who take advantage of the amnesty, "the ADF now appears to be on the brink of defeat and hopes are high for peace", the group reported. The ADF has been undermined and depleted by the joint impact of the amnesty and military action, according to African Rights. It had also been weakened by the withdrawal of Sudanese government support, in line with a reconciliation agreement with Kampala, humanitarian sources told IRIN. However, there are fears that the group might increasingly resort to urban terrorism, as it did in Jinja, southeastern Uganda, in July, and in the capital, Kampala, on other occasions, according to African Rights. The legacy of the rebellion - land mines killing and maiming innocent civilians, and people's lives still dominated by insecurity and deprivation (whether in "protection camps" for displaced people, or their home areas) - continued to cause suffering, it said. In addition, the ADF had sought to win support for itself by coming out in favour of Obusinga, a western kingdom for the Bakonzo people, which had led to some tension in the area within the Bakonzo and with the Bamba, and the government needed to address this matter as a priority, the group reported. Most people in the west were emphatic in their rejection of the ADF rebellion, but local political and ethnic tensions had both contributed to and been aggravated by the rebellion; underdevelopment and youth unemployment had also "created a sense of desperation in some communities", which created fertile ground for rebel recruitment, it stated. Resorting to violence could not be ruled out in the future in a situation where people felt marginalised and ignored, and there was a perceived "democracy deficit within Ugandan politics", the organisation stated, in a report released to IRIN on Friday, 21 December. Recent reports of fresh and extensive rebel recruitment (in the west and southwest) reinforced concerns that the situation remained volatile, it said. Improved security in the short run in western areas left no room for complacency - especially as the amnesty had not yet been sufficiently publicised or backed up by the government - and should be followed up with "substantial commitments aimed at improving social and economic conditions in the region", according to African Rights. While there were many organisations working on peace issues in northern Uganda, the conflict in the west - primarily a war of brutality against civilians, with no political agenda, and which had displaced some 170,000 people, mostly in Bundibugyo District - had received relatively little attention from the government and donors, it said. Rural areas of western Uganda are remote in terms of access to trade, transport and communications, and the underdevelopment of the region has "intensified both the conflict itself and its social and economic impact", according to its report. African Rights [http://www.unimondo.org/AfricanRights] called, among other things, for enhanced consultation and dialogue in resolving social, political and economic differences in Uganda. In this regard, and given the international emphasis on anti-terrorism initiatives, "the government should resist the temptation to abandon measured and reflective responses to Uganda's complex insurgencies", African Rights stated. Continuing political support for the rebel amnesty should also be encouraged, it said. The organisation also called for more public education on the amnesty, as well adequate support for the Amnesty Commission to follow up on it; adequate shelter and protection for displaced and vulnerable communities; and greater political and resource commitments to western Uganda to address the social and economic damage caused by years of conflict. "The government and donors have largely failed to recognise the extent of the problems in the west, and should devote more time and resources in the future in order to tackle the underlying causes of the conflict, and to ease its consequences," it added.