. Africa News .




.
AFRICA NEWS
Former Ugandan child soldier backs viral video
by Staff Writers
Washington (AFP) March 9, 2012


A former child soldier at the heart of a viral campaign to bring accused Ugandan war criminal Joseph Kony to justice said Friday he backed the video and urged people to watch it.

"It's a hard movie," Jacob Acaye told ABC News about the 30-minute video that has garnered nearly 58 million viewers since Monday.

"It brought back some memories... I still don't know when will it end. The more time is ticking, the more people are dying. The more people are still suffering. The more people (are) being abducted."

The hashtag "#stopkony," about the fugitive head of the Lord's Resistance Army rebel group, has also surged on Twitter.

The White House has praised the campaign, while a string of celebrities have weighed in by tweeting links to the emotional video, "Kony2012," and promoting the initiative by California-based non-profit group Invisible Children.

In the film, Acaye -- appearing as a 13-year-old boy -- said he wants to die even though he's not with the LRA so that he could be reunited with his slain brother. At the age of 11, he was among 41 youths taken from a Ugandan village by Kony.

"No one is taking care of us," he says in the video. "We are not going to school."

Now 21, Acaye is studying to become a lawyer at Uganda's Makerere University, a wish he had described in the video.

At the time the film was shot, "I was like really, really invisible -- like real meaning of invisible children," he said. "We are like the children who are not seen. Children who are not even knowing that they are suffering."

Acaye expressed support for the video, saying it was helping make people aware of Kony and his crimes.

"If they know and they have seen and they could learn that Kony is still being the same in that movie, they can think about what to do," he said. "And they can think about what they can do."

Born in 1988 from the frustrations against the government of Uganda's marginalized Acholi ethnic group, the LRA has since dropped its national political agenda for the narrow objective of pillage and plunder.

Kony, whose movement draws on messianic beliefs and a smattering of Christian motifs, is wanted by the International Criminal Court.

The rebels currently number several hundred, a fraction of their strength at their peak but still include a core of hardened fighters infamous for mutilating civilians and abducting children to act as soldiers and sex-slaves.

Related Links
Africa News - Resources, Health, Food




.
.
Get Our Free Newsletters Via Email
...
Buy Advertising Editorial Enquiries




Uganda warns against misrepresentation of LRA threat
Kampala (AFP) March 9, 2012 - Uganda on Friday warned against misrepresenting the threat posed by rebels there after a Internet campaign to bring indicted war criminal Joseph Kony to justice went viral.

"Uganda welcomes all campaigns which seek to raise awareness and highlight the plight of people affected by the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA)" rebels, the government said in a statement.

"We are grateful for renewed efforts which seek to contribute to the arrest of Joseph Kony and the elimination of the LRA from the Central African Region.

"The Government of Uganda however, would strongly urge that any awareness campaign fully takes into consideration the current realities of the situation."

An Internet-based video campaign to bring Kony to justice has attracted millions of viewers.

The hashtag "#stopkony," about the fugitive head of the rebel group, has surged on Twitter and the 30-minute video has been viewed by over 40 million people in barely three days.

The people behind the campaign however have had to defend themselves against accusations that it oversimplifies the facts.

"Misinterpretations of media content may lead some people to believe that the LRA is currently active in Uganda," said the government in Kampala.

"It must be clarified that at present the LRA is not active in any part of Uganda.

"Successfully expelled by the Ugandan Peoples Defence Forces in mid-2006, the LRA has retreated to dense terrain within bordering countries in the Central African area.

"They are a diminished and weakened group with numbers not exceeding 300." The government statement said "the threat posed by the LRA in our neighboring countries is considerably reduced and we are hopeful that it will be altogether eliminated with the help of US logistical support".

White House spokesman Jay Carney recalled that US President Barack Obama had announced in October he was sending some 100 military advisors to help Uganda and neighboring countries hunt down Kony, as part of a wider response.

The White House has praised the campaign.

A string of celebrities have also weighed, by tweeting links to the emotional video, "Kony2012," and promoting the initiative by California-based non-profit group Invisible Children.



.

. Comment on this article via your Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, Hotmail login.

Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle



AFRICA NEWS
AU troops to replace Ethopian forces in key Somali cities
Addis Ababa (AFP) March 9, 2012
African Union troops are set to replace Ethiopian forces in two Somali cities recently taken from Shebab rebels, the AU Commissioner for the Peace and Security Council said Friday. By the end of April, over 2,500 Djiboutian, Burundian and Ugandan soldiers with the AU Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) are set to move into Beledweyne and Baidoa, where rebels were forced out by Ethiopian forces in re ... read more


AFRICA NEWS
13 million people threatened by food crisis: Oxfam

Japan wants cuisine listed as UNESCO heritage

Shortcuts costly when buying conservation from farmers

Canadian farmers trust regulated dairy industry

AFRICA NEWS
Water Forum to place spotlight on looming crisis

First study to measure value of marine spatial planning

Overfishing leaves swaths of Mediterranean barren

Contamination of La Selva geothermal system in Girona, Spain

AFRICA NEWS
Genetics of endangered African monkey suggest troubles from warming climate

Poland to nix EU's 2050 climate targets: report

Spain wilts in driest winter for 70 years

Warming threatens ice hockey in Canada: study

AFRICA NEWS
ORNL-led team advances science of carbon accounting

Brazil's MPX to appeal court's rejection of power plant

$137B needed for Europe grid upgrades

Panel backs carbon allowance 'set-asides'

AFRICA NEWS
Advanced Biofuels Industry Leaders Urge US Congressional Leaders to Extend Critical Tax Provisions

The Future of Ethanol - Brazilian and US Perspectives

For Lower Gasoline Prices, We Need E100 Engines, Not the Keystone XL Pipeline

Scania Switches to Fossil-Free Fuel in Internal Transport Services

AFRICA NEWS
Meltdown intel emerges ahead of Japan anniversary

Nothing stirs in Japan's nuclear ghost town

One Year after Fukushima

Japan marks anniversary of tsunami tragedy

AFRICA NEWS
Hong Kong begins monitoring fine particle pollution

Singapore top carbon emitter in Asia-Pacific: WWF

In what ways does lead damage the brain?

China says most cities fail to meet new air standard

AFRICA NEWS
China says inflation, factory output slowing

Summit plan clouded by flap over Cuba

Chinese consumers becoming more emotional: study

US Congress approves China subsidy duties


Memory Foam Mattress Review

Newsletters :: SpaceDaily Express :: SpaceWar Express :: TerraDaily Express :: Energy Daily
XML Feeds :: Space News :: Earth News :: War News :: Solar Energy News

.

The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2012 - Space Media Network. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. Privacy Statement