The Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) has pleaded to be removed from the U.S. State Department's list of terrorist groups. The LRA argued its removal from the list will help in peace negotiations between it and the Ugandan government. A peace treaty was signed between the two parties last year, though peace negotiations have repeatedly stalled. LRA representatives, however, have been frustrated by an agreement between Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo, which called for Congolese officials to act against militias operating there, including the LRA.
The LRA was added to the U.S. State Department's list of terrorist organizations shortly after the attacks on September 11, 2001 on New York City and Washington D.C. The LRA, who have been embroiled in conflict in northern Uganda for more than two-decades, was formed from several remnant rebel groups remaining after a coup in 1986. They have been accused of abducting thousands of children, forcing girls into sexual slavery and conscripting young boys into military service. A recent report by the United Nations highlights some of the worst atrocities. A young boy testifies that "We were made to drink the blood of the corpses", while a young girl who was abducted at 11, proclaims; "I was made to kill other children if they tried to escape. Then I was forced to have sex with a big man."
The International Criminal Court has issued arrest warrants for several members of the LRA, however, Ugandan leaders say they will not turn them over if peace deals are negotiated. Peace talks have brought relative calm to northern Uganda, resulting in the closure of several refugee camps there. However, the fragile peace could disintegrate if negotiations fail between the LRA, Congolese, and Uganda regarding the presence of LRA rebels in the DRC. LRA spokesmen, though cautioning that they would not hesitate to return to combat operations, remained optimistic about possible peace deals. “We are talking because we have seen there it is also possible to obtain the same thing we were trying tot get through military means through negotiations,” LRA spokesmen, Godfrey Ayoo, said yesterday.
