ONE WORLD ARTICLE: Uganda government accused of 'the perfect crime'

Uganda government accused of 'the perfect crime'

3rd October 2016, from Daniel Nelson

A documentary accusing President Museveni and the Uganda army of genocide against the Acholi people in the north is being used to lobby for an end to US aid to Uganda.

A Brilliant Genocide argues that Museveni exploited atrocities by a rebel group, the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), as a cover for his own “reign of terror” against the Acholis.
The film’s website carries a petition asking the US President to cut arms supplies and non-humanitarian aid, to ensure Museveni and others face justice, and to use sanctions and diplomacy to force the Uganda government to compensate victims of army violence.

After a film festival screening in London last Friday, Olara Otunnu, a Uganda politician, diplomat and former UN Under-Secretary-General and Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict, insisted that Acholi culture and civilisation faced “existential annihilation.

“We must address how to resuscitate [this culture] gather the pieces – a Marshall Plan is not big enough for Acholiland today,” he said.

The crisis had been written about and been the subject of reports, but all had been “studiously ignored and brushed under the carpet”.

Director Ebony Butler has said that she started making a film about Joseph Kony, the LRA and the use of child soldiers in 2009 but “along our six-year journey we found some completely untold ‘hidden’ stories that we felt were even more important to bring to light …”

Those responsible for these massive human rights abuses were still in office today, she has written, and continue to enjoy “complete impunity for their crimes”.

Why the title? As an interviewee in the film says: “No food, no hydration, sexual violence from the soldiers who were meant to protect them. That’s why this was a ‘brilliant genocide’ – a silent genocide: perfect crime.”

-Daniel Nelson

Up Next:

The Document Int'l Human Rights Film Festival, Glasgow Oct 21
The 36th Cambridge Int'l Film Festival, Cambridge Oct 22 and 23
The Lone Star Film Festival, Dallas Texas (Sundance Square, Forth Worth) November 10 - 13
In December look out for the South Eastern International Film Festival (SIFF)

Sign the Petition here: bit.ly/STOPM7
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Adam Branch on Military Intervention in the Hunt for Joseph Kony & the LRA

This is a short video clip (exclusive sneak peek) from an interview with Adam Branch for our documentary film 'Child Troopers' (www.child troopers.com) at Makerere University (Kampala, Uganda) in April this year, regarding military intervention in the hunt for Joseph Kony and the LRA.

Adam Branch is senior research fellow at the Makerere Institute of Social Research, Uganda, and assistant professor of political science at San Diego State University, USA. He is the author of Displacing Human Rights: War and Intervention in Northern Uganda. (http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/profile/adam-branch.html)


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Child Troopers in Production in New York

Child Troopers director Ebony Butler has taken her human rights documentary project to the United States of America, where she has found a whole new host of supporters and interested parties.

Ebony is currently working from Hollywood Los Angeles with her local crew where she is working on Child Troopers second phase of production. She is also being mentored by some leading industry players. The impressive list of international film and TV professionals she has mustered include Shine Global CEO Mark Fennessy and Australian born, LA based director Rod Hardy. Ebony’s has 5 official mentors who have each signed on as industry specific advisors to the young director for her debut feature documentary film Child Troopers, slated for release in 2012.

As of next week Ebony will leave Los Angeles for New York and Washington DC where she has scheduled in meetings and on camera interviews with some of the world’s leading humanitarian organizations, NGO‘S, political figures and other child soldier and human rights lobby groups. The line up includes: the United Nations, Human Rights Watch,Amnesty International, OXFAM and Resolve (formerly known as Resolve Uganda). There are a number of other key players, analysts and experts in the arena of international and African politics, American foreign policy and geopolitics set to meet with Ebony over the next month to discuss her film and offer unique insights into the conflict in Uganda and beyond.

We will be back with more information about the progress Ebony and her crew are making soon.

Excited times ahead so stay tuned and if you like what we are doing please sign up to our blog and share this with friends or on your favorite social networking site!

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Friends and supporters we thank you for your dedication & ongoing support of our work and we hope you can help us get the word out about Child Troopers and our sister project Bikes 4 Life.

We search tirelessly to find answers and solutions for peace and the protection of our worlds most vulnerable women and children and we always need extra people to help with our cause! SO if you are interested in joining our advocacy, social media, design, PR or fundraising team please shoot us an email or give us a call…  Or if you have a special something that you think would be good for our campaign, and you’d like to share it with us, feel free to email us atinfo@atlanticstarproductions.com and give us the low down!

Remember: PEACE is the New Frontier AND The Truth is Out There!