Resolve

Our senior researcher & conflict analyst, Peter Quaranto, has written an Op/Ed printed in today’s New Vision and Sudan Tribune. The article, titled “The Military Threat to Peace in Northern Uganda,” argues that the current military buildup provides both the LRA and Ugandan government convenient cover to withdraw from the ongoing Juba peace talks. Here is the full text:

For almost three years, I have been part of the growing movement to press Western governments to respond to the crisis in northern Uganda. International neglect, while aid poured into Kampala, has allowed the war to persist for two decades. Today that silence is history; world leaders from Washington to London to Brussels are speaking about the urgency of resolving the conflict. Yet, priority does not guarantee prudence. In fact, many Western officials have begun making reckless military threats that threaten to undermine the ongoing peace process. It leaves activists like myself wondering: have our efforts been counterproductive?

The last month has seen a surge of military rhetoric against the LRA rebels. In early September, the top U.S. official for Africa urged a timeline for the negotiations and said that Washington would support military action to