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August 8, 2006
President George W. Bush
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, D.C. 20500
Re: Northern Uganda Peace Talks in Juba, Sudan
Dear Mr. President:
We write to you in solidarity with our brothers and
sisters in Uganda and Sudan to encourage your
Administration to fully support peace negotiations
currently taking place between the government of Uganda
and Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) in Juba, South Sudan.
These negotiations offer a crucial opportunity to end
longstanding violence and massive displacement in the
region, and to prompt healing for people long suffering
the trauma of conflict. The shared heritage of our faith
traditions challenges us to be “repairers of the breach”
(Isaiah 58:12) and to “speak up for those who cannot speak
for themselves” (Proverbs 31:8).
The people of northern Uganda have endured a conflict
between the LRA and the government of Uganda for twenty
years, which has resulted in the loss of thousands of
lives, chronic insecurity, and the marginalization and
impoverishment of northern Ugandans. Over the course of
the conflict, the LRA has committed countless atrocities
and abducted more than 30,000 children, using them as
child soldiers and sexual slaves. There remain an
estimated 1.5 million internally displaced persons in
overcrowded camps throughout the northern region who
suffer from insecurity, limited freedom of movement, poor
access to basic services and few opportunities for income
generation. According to a July 2005 mortality survey,
these conditions result in as many as one thousand deaths
each week.
The government of South Sudan’s leadership in
facilitating these negotiations, and the government of
Uganda’s engagement in them, provides us with hope for a
peaceful end to the war. As our brothers and sisters in
the Uganda Joint Christian Council have asserted, peace
talks provide “...a viable method of bringing the people
of Uganda together to collectively confront and defeat the
forces that have divided them.” For the war-weary people
of northern Uganda, an end to the hostilities is the
beginning of justice and reconciliation.
The United States could play a decisive role in the
success of these negotiations, but this will require
serious and sustained attention. We encourage you to use
all diplomatic means available to hold accountable the
parties engaged in the process. Greater funds should also
be made
available for the safe return of displaced peoples and
reconstruction of northern Uganda. This will provide an
additional incentive to the parties to seek a negotiated
settlement.
We thank you for your support of a just and lasting
peace in the region. Please be assured that our prayers
ever are with you as you engage the challenging demands of
public service.
Sincerely,
Daryl Byler
Executive Director, Mennonite Central Committee Washington
Office
Mhiza Chifamba
Executive Director, Washington Office on Africa
Rev. Richard Cizik
Vice President Governmental Affairs, National Association
of Evangelicals
Rev. William Dyer, M.Afr.
Provincial Superior, North American Province, Missionaries
of Africa
Rev. Séamus P. Finn, OMI
Director, Missionary Oblates Justice, Peace & Integrity of
Creation
Rev. Louis Gasparini, MCCJ
Provincial Superior, North American Province, Comboni
Missionaries
The Most Reverend Frank T. Griswold
Presiding Bishop and Primate, The Episcopal Church
Bishop Mark Hanson
Presiding Bishop, Evangelical Lutheran Church of America
Very Rev. Dominic Izzo, OP
President, Catholic Conference of Major Superiors of Men
Rev. John L. McCullough
Executive Director and CEO, Church World Service
Mary Ellen McNish
General Secretary, American Friends Service Committee
Ruth Messinger
Executive Director, American Jewish World Service
Fr. Michael A. Perry
Africa Coordinator, Franciscans International
Rev. Philip Reed, MAfr.
Executive Director, Africa Faith and Justice Network
Rev. William G. Sinkford
President, Unitarian Universalist Association of
Congregations
Richard E. Stearns
President, World Vision
Joseph Volk
Executive Secretary, Friends Committee on National
Legislation
James E. Winkler
General Secretary, United Methodist Church General Board
of Church and Society
Kathryn Wolford
President, Lutheran World Relief
Cc: Condoleezza Rice, Secretary of State
Randall Tobias, USAID Administrator
Jendayi Frazer, Assistant Secretary of State for Africa
Steven A. Browning, U.S. Ambassador to Uganda
Perezi Kamunanwire, Ugandan Ambassador to the United
States
[more Sudan and Uganda statements
and background]
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