Finding Kony, The Impossible Task

TaylorZeitz22 · Mar 25, 2012

As the world witnessed a massive viral outbreak out a video called "Kony 2012" on YouTube and other social media sights, it seemed pretty convincing at the time. It must be a wonderful cause because of the atrocities that have occurred in Uganda. It is so easy to find yourself falling into the media's ferocious tide, but not many of us actually educate ourselves on the facts.

Joseph Kony has been active in Uganda committing atrocities to children and their families for over twenty six years now. So it makes perfect sense to intervene twenty six years later, right? Absolutely not. Joseph Kony is no longer active in Uganda nor is his militia the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA). Kony has very strong ties to the Democratic Republic of the Congo's government and their president Joseph Kabila. All the evidence shows Kony is being harbored in the Congo by Kabila and his regiment. The Congo is a brutal country with suspicions of genocide and other atrocities being committed to its people. Kony will not be found in Congo because this country has stern regulations about outside countries entering the country.

Now that we know Kony will never be brought to justice, let us turn to the Ugandan people. They are outraged and distraught about this viral breakout of biased propaganda we know as Kony 2012. These people want to forget the wrongdoings of Kony, but we are just giving them a second chance to remember it. The people of this organization known as Invisible Children responsible for Kony 2012 just outraged the people they were trying to help. Isn't that ironic.

Let's turn to the organization itself. It is estimated only 35% of the donations actually go to the cause. The rest of the money goes to funding useless trips back and for to Africa and paying the Invisible Children executives excessive amounts of money for a cause that is poorly operated. Oh yeah, and their co-founder, Jason Russell, has been admitted to a psychiatric ward because of the stress associated with this organization. He was brought to light about the fraud that he is, and he could not handle the criticism. So, being the reasonable man that he is, he reacted like a normal human being would; running around Los Angeles naked. You do not have psychosis, what you have is an obligation to the the people you corrupted with your video an apology for wasting our time and money.

Last and certainly not least, the ignorant population of America (which is the 99%) feels the United States government has an international obligation to intervene in Uganda. Barack Obama reluctantly was forced to acknowledge this conflict and sent a measly one hundred troops. What's the point? The fact of the matter is politics do not care about poor suffering central African countries. Politics is a game of incentives. What is the incentive to run wild in Uganda and try and catch a man who is not even there? There is none. As bad as this conflict is and my hearts truly go out to the children and families, but the United States nor does any other country in the world have any business in Uganda. There no incentive to the "right" thing. It is a shame, but that is how the world works. It is a dog eat dog society.

I am not writing this to be inconsiderate and act heartless. I am showing you the facts and the problem with the Kony 2012 movement that has rattled the world. The world is a messed up place, there are ways to help, but Invisible Children and joining the Kony 2012 bandwagon is not one of these ways.

waltky · Apr 29, 2012

Obama gonna root him out from the jungle hideout where he hidin'...

US special forces help in hunt for warlord Kony
Sunday 29th April, 2012 Deep in the jungle, this small, remote Central African village is farther from the coast than any point on the continent. It's also where three international armies have zeroed in on Joseph Kony, one of the world's most wanted warlords.

Obo was the first place in the Central African Republic that Kony's Lord's Resistance Army attacked in 2008; today, it's one of four forward operating locations where U.S. special forces have paired up with local troops and Ugandan soldiers to seek out Kony, who is believed likely to be hiding out in the rugged terrain northwest of the town. For seven years he has been wanted by the International Criminal Court for war crimes and crimes against humanity after his forces cut a wide and bloody swath across several central African nations with rapes, abductions and killings.

Part of the LRA's success in eluding government forces has been its ability to slip back and forth over the porous borders of the Central African Republic, South Sudan and Congo. But since late last year, U.S. forces have been providing intelligence, looking at patterns of movement, and setting up better communications to link the countries' forces together so that they can better track the guerrilla force. Sent by President Barack Obama at the end of 2011, the 100 U.S. soldiers are split up about 15 to 30 per base, bringing in American technology and experience to assist local forces.

Exact details on specific improvements that the American forces have brought to the table, however, are classified, to avoid giving Kony the ability to take countermeasures. "We don't necessarily go and track into the bush but what we do is we incorporate our experiences with the partner nation's experiences to come up with the right solution to go out and hopefully solve this LRA problem," said Gregory, a 29-year-old captain from Texas, who would only give his first name in accordance with security guidelines.

The U.S. troops also receive reports from local hunters and others that they help analyze together with surveillance information. "It's very easy to blame everything on the LRA but there are other players in the region - there are poachers, there are bandits, and we have to sift that to filter what is LRA," he said. Central African Republic soldiers largely conduct security operations in and around the town, while Ugandan soldiers, who have been in the country since 2010, conduct longer-range patrols looking for Kony and his men.

Since January, they have killed seven LRA fighters in the area and captured one, while rescuing 15 people abducted by the group including five children, said their local commander, Col. Joseph Balikuddembe. There has been no contact with the LRA since March, however, according to Ugandan Army spokesman Col. Felix Kulayigye, who said the LRA now is in survival mode. The LRA is thought to today number only around 150 to 300 die-hard fighters. "They're hiding," he said. "They are not capable of doing."

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waltky · Apr 3, 2013

U.S. puts bounty on Joseph Kony...

US offers up to $5m for leads on Uganda warlord Kony
3 April 2013 - The US has offered a reward of up to $5m (£3.3m) for information leading to the arrest or capture of Ugandan warlord Joseph Kony.

The announcement came as the Ugandan army suspended a search for Kony in the Central African Republic (CAR), blaming "hostility" from its new government. Kony, leader of the Lord's Resistance Army, is wanted by the International Criminal Court for alleged war crimes. He and his fighters are thought to be in the CAR or neighbouring countries. US authorities say the reward is also being offered for information on two other top LRA leaders, Okot Odhiambo, and Dominic Ongwen.

Joseph Kony's LRA has waged war in Uganda and the region for over two decades

The LRA has "tormented and terrorized children" in Uganda and across the region, US Secretary of State John Kerry wrote in the Huffington Post on Wednesday. Mr Kerry said Kony and other LRA leaders "will not be easy to find", adding: "The LRA is broken down into small bands of rebels, scattered throughout dense jungle, hidden by dense canopy, controlling territory through tactics of fear and intimidation."

Decades of war

Earlier, Ugandan troops in the CAR suspended their hunt for Kony and returned to their bases in the country. Rebel forces took power 10 days ago in the CAR and ousted President Francois Bozize, whose government was a supporter of the mission to find Kony. The Ugandan forces are in the CAR under an African Union mandate, assisted by soldiers from other African nations, as well as US special forces. The African Union suspended the CAR's membership after the Seleka rebel group seized power and overran the capital, Bangui. "We have reorganised our forces, collected them in defence, as we await the decision that will follow consultations going on between the African Union and participating countries," Ugandan army spokesman Col Felix Kulaijye told the BBC.

Joseph Kony and the estimated 200-500 fighters of his Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) have waged war in Uganda and the region for more than two decades. He claims the LRA is fighting to install a government in Uganda based on the Biblical Ten Commandments. But his rebels now terrorise large swathes of the Democratic Republic of Congo, South Sudan and the CAR and he is wanted by the International Criminal Court for rape, mutilation and murder of civilians, as well as forcibly recruiting children to serve as soldiers and sex slaves.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-22017853
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waltky · Apr 27, 2013

Kony hidin' out in Sudan...

Group: Sudan army supporting fugitive warlord Kony
27 Apr.`13 The fugitive African warlord Joseph Kony recently found safe haven in territory controlled by Sudan, a watchdog group said Friday, accusing the Sudanese military of offering aid to commanders of the Lord's Resistance Army.

The U.S.-based group Resolve said in a new report that Kony recently directed killings from an enclave protected by the Sudanese military. Until early this year, according to the report, Kony and some of his commanders were operating in Kafia Kingi, a disputed area along the Sudan-South Sudan border where African Union troops tasked with catching Kony don't have access. "The enclave is currently controlled by Sudan, and numerous eyewitness reports indicate that elements of the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) in Kafia Kingi have actively sheltered senior LRA commanders there and provided them with limited material support," the report said. "According to LRA defectors and other sources, LRA leader Joseph Kony himself first traveled to the Kafia Kingi enclave in 2010. He returned to Kafia Kingi in 2011 and was present there throughout parts of 2012."

The leader of the Lord's Resistance Army Joseph Kony answers journalists' questions following a meeting with UN humanitarian chief Jan Egeland at Ri-Kwangba in southern Sudan. A report by the watchdog group Resolve on Friday, April 26, 2013, says the fugitive African warlord Joseph Kony recently found safe haven in territory along the Sudan-South Sudan border, controlled by Sudan and that Kony benefits from Sudanese military support.

In a series of makeshift camps near a Sudanese army barracks, Kony "continued to direct LRA attacks against civilians in neighboring countries and issue new orders for LRA fighters." The Ugandan military with support from U.S. military advisers is the driving force behind the hunt for Kony. Ugandan army spokesman Col. Felix Kulayigye said the report vindicates Uganda's contention that the LRA is a beneficiary of Sudanese support. Ugandan army officials said late last year they believed Kony was hiding in Sudan-controlled territory, although now they believe he has moved elsewhere. "We always knew Kony was hiding in Kafia Kingi," he said. "The way forward is that no country should be hiding a wanted criminal."

Kony watchdog groups are concerned that Kony can retreat to Kafia Kingi whenever his pursuers get close. Resolve said it has satellite imagery of the now-abandoned camp where Kony was reportedly seen in late 2012. The warlord is no longer believed to be hiding there, the report noted, saying he may have crossed to Central African Republic. Sudan has consistently denied charges it supports Kony, a warlord wanted by the International Criminal Court for war crimes and crimes against humanity. Sudan's army spokesman Sawarmy Khaled denied reports on Friday that his country has provided shelter or refuge to Kony. "The report is baseless and rejected. The Sudanese army has no renegade leaders. It is a united army and has no place for individual acts," he told the official state news agency SUNA. "The Sudanese army has no interest in adopting or sheltering rebels from other countries."

The United States government is evaluating the report that the LRA is operating in the Kafia Kingi region, said State Department spokesman Patrick Ventrell Friday. "The U.S. and the international community as a whole would take very seriously any credible evidence of support or safe haven being provided to the LRA," said Ventrell, citing a December statement at the U.N. expressing concern about the LRA's possible presence in Kafia Kingi. "We continue to discuss our concerns about the whereabouts of Joseph Kony with all governments in the region, including with the government of Sudan, and we have encouraged Sudan to cooperate with regional efforts to counter the LRA," Ventrell added. "We're in a position now where two of the top five commanders are gone, the number of people killed by the LRA has gone down by 66 percent, and defections continue. So our pressure on the LRA continues."

More http://news.yahoo.com/group-sudan-army-supporting-fugitive-warlord-kony-110043174.html
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waltky · Jan 22, 2016

Former Lord's Resistance Army leader faces war crimes charges...

War crimes court hears Ugandan rebels atrocities
Sat, Jan 23, 2016 - War crimes prosecutors on Thursday lifted the veil on a campaign of terror by the notorious Lords Resistance Army (LRA) in northern Uganda, telling how children were beaten and bullied to become soldiers, with some burnt alive.

Former LRA commander Dominic Ongwen faces 70 charges including war crimes and crimes against humanity at the International Criminal Court, where prosecutors described years of brutality, rape and cruelty, even acts of cannibalism. For well over a decade until his arrest in January last year, Dominic Ongwen was one of the most senior commanders in the LRA, prosecutor Benjamin Gumpert told the Hague-based court. A former child soldier turned rebel commander, Ongwen was the tip of the spear of the movement, Gumpert said. He is the first commander of the LRA to appear before the court, which has also issued an arrest warrant for the groups fugitive chief Joseph Kony, who has evaded an international manhunt for years.

Gruesome images of the bodies of LRA victims, burned out huts and the abandoned corpses of children were shown to the three-judge panel on the opening day of the hearing. Witnesses said Ongwen, who is about 40, ordered his hostages at least on one occasion to kill, cook and eat civilians, Gumpert said. Prosecutors are seeking to convince the judges that the evidence is solid enough to put him in the dock. The judges are to rule on whether the case can proceed at a later date. They allege that from 2002 to 2005, Ongwen bears significant responsibility for terrifying attacks in northern Uganda.

Dressed in a grey suit, lilac shirt and grey tie, Ongwen, who turned himself in to US special forces in January last year, listened intently to the prosecutor. However, in a brief address to the court, he insisted reading out the charges was a waste of time. Ongwen, whose surname means White Ant in his native Acholi language, was one of Konys deputies. The LRA is accused of slaughtering more than 100,000 people and abducting 60,000 children in its bloody rebellion against Kampala that began in 1986.

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