LRA’s Joseph Kony – now moving to Darfur?

Written on March 13, 2010 by Akhila in human rights, ICC

The LRA - from the Enough Project

While the deadly Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) may have left Uganda for good, the notorious rebel army hasn’t stopped wreaking havoc in the region. Ugandan President Museveni recently said at a press conference in Kampala that Joseph Kony, leader of the LRA, may now be in southern Darfur. Kony has been fleeing ever since he refused to sign a peace deal with Kampala. About a month ago, after he was forced out of the DRC, he fled to the Central African Republic. And now, he’s in Darfur.

Part of the problem, certainly, is the ICC arrest warrant for Kony and other top LRA commanders. Many now believe that one of the reasons Kony hasn’t yet signed a peace treaty with Kampala is because he’s attempting to evade the ICC arrest warrant. Moreover, Kony is refusing to agree to a peace deal because he hopes the ICC will drop his warrant. However, there really is no evidence that the ICC is obstructing peace in the country, despite a strong debate over the issue. Kony has long avoided peace agreements – he is likely simply using the ICC as an excuse to continue doing what he originally intended to do. There is no evidence, really, that Kony wants peace.

Another complication is that the LRA may be receiving assistance and support from Khartoum; the LRA has received such support in the past, and the Sudanese government clearly has a track record of using militia groups to cause chaos and target civilian populations. It’s certainly possible, but there is no concrete evidence as of yet that this is taking place.

Now, it seems that both al-Bashir and Kony, who are both wanted by the ICC, have joined together. What could this mean? Quite simply: further chaos, instability, and perhaps even violence. Darfur doesn’t need any further instability, especially with the upcoming elections and referendum.

The Obama administration needs to devise a strong response to this negative development. The reality is that today in central Africa, all the conflicts are inextricably linked. This recent news is testament to the trend of the regionalization of conflict. Rwanda, Sudan, the DRC, and the CAR are all involved in the regional conflict today. When rebel leaders and perpetrators of mass atrocity in one region are allowed to go free, the problem burgeons into a regional conflict with more and more actors involved. Perpetrators will increasingly begin to band together in the face of common threats, resulting in continued insecurity throughout the region. That’s why institutions like the ICC are so important in stopping these deadly regional conflicts. But the ICC lacks any enforcement power, and so countries like the US have to step in to help the ICC enforce its arrest warrants.

If this increasingly interconnected regional conflict continues to be ignored, peace may not be a possibility for the Great Lakes region.

Pingback: LRA's Joseph Kony - now moving to Darfur? | Justice for all | centralafrican
Ryan S.

Great post Akhila! Having lived in Uganda, I can attest to the regionalization of everything, as you called it. Rwanda has its hand in the Congolese conflict; Uganda in tensions between Eritrea and Ethiopia, and also in Congo; Sudan and Uganda fund each other’s internal rebellions. Making matters worse, the Bush Doctrine amplified Uganda’s military response to the LRA at a time when the people of Northern Uganda simply want an end to the conflict and reconciliation, and view the LRA as the summation of all their kidnapped children. Oh, and China and especially Russia busy themselves with the big business of resource extraction and illegal arms trade. Quite. A. Mess.

Interestingly, Northern Ugandans openly disagree with the ICC arrest warrants and blame the ICC for escalating and perpetuating the conflict — when the initiation of the investigation that led to the indictments and warrants STARTED with President Museveni and the Ugandan parliament. But, as you suggest, removing these arrest warrants won’t offer much in the way of resolution, since Kony is known to pull the one-man equivalent of Iran and North Korea in negotiations.

If I had all the power in the world, I would move forward accordingly:

1. Get the U.S. to ratify and become a member to the Rome Statute (despite, or in part motivated by, the self-implosions of Tea Partiers sure to immediately follow)
2. Get the U.S. to sponsor a provision that would allow member-states or coalitions thereof to send their militaries into sovereign states under temporary contracts
3. Get the U.S. to kill and/or capture Kony at the behest of the Ugandan government

Of course, this is sure to open up a can of worms that would rival Pandora’s Box, but, hey, if I were emperor for a day, right?

http://akhilak.com/blog Akhila

Thanks for your thoughtful comment, Ryan, and for bringing up an older news item I haven’t thought about recently. The regionalization of conflict is definitely a big problem, although it seems that conflict in the area has decreased more recently (is this true or not?). It seems like most of the regional conflict is now in the DRC. We’ll have to see what happens next.

I think your solutions are extremely interesting. I wonder what would actually happen if they were actually implemented. Others have mentioned that getting the U.S. to kill/capture Kony would create a whole host of other problems and not solve the underlying issues, and perhaps even create more conflict. I’ve also heard that actually tracking down their fighters in the bush would be nearly impossible. I don’t think this will ever realistically happen though, as the U.S. is just not invested in Uganda or the DRC as there is nothing political at stake for us there. Sadly, that’s how politics work.