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PEACE AND HOPE IN THE GREAT JUBILEE YEAR 2000
A
NEW YEAR MESSAGE OF THE ACHOLI RELIGIOUS LEADERS Acholi
Religious Leaders Peace Initaiative
Dear people of God, our brothers and sisters: Time for new hope "And remember
when we took your covenant saying: shed not the blood ofyour people,
nor turn out your own people from their dwellings. Then this you rat
fled and to this you bear witness" (Baqarah.2:84). Praise be to God, our Father who "puts an end to wars over all the earth" (Psalm 45). As we begin this new millenium, our hearts are frill of hope and gratitude towards Him, for in some recent encouraging events that have taken place in our country Uganda, we have seen His power at work. The year 2000 is the Great Jubilee for all, a year of abundant mercy and reconciliation, in which the old world of hatred and division passes away and God continues to proclaim: "make all things new!" (Revelation 21:5). Despite the current tense situation, we had quickly passed from a situation of despair and sadness to a new one of growing joy and great expectations. This is a indication that it is possible to transform our situation to complete peace. The following are some of the signs of hope:
We take these events as signs of God's love towards his suffering people and a proof that He will never abandon us, particularly during such 2 difficult times. We continue to appeal to our children who have returned from the Sudan to come out. In this respect, we express once again our solidarity with our brothers and sisters in western Uganda particularly to the people living in the districts of Kasese, Bundibugyo and Kabarole who are still in a serious war situation. Let's continue to work together, tirelessly in the process of peace and reconciliation The road to peace and reconciliation is a long one. It can only be traveled with determination. In this journey, we know that we are not alone because God always blesses the efforts of those who work for peace. One of the most painful aspects of the war in our land has been the abduction of thousands of our children, many of whom are still in captivity in the Sudan. We hope and pray that their return from captivity will soon be a reality. Let us continue to console and support their parents and all the children who return from the Sudan. We would like to thank all the people involved in psycho-social rehabilitation and hope that those children who may not go back to school system, would be provided with appropriate vocational training for a better future. However, we feel concern when we see cases of many of these children joining the Local Defence Units (LDU). These children need to recover from past experiences. They should be completely de-militarised. We implore our local authorities to ensure that this does not happen in future. We hope that in this year of jubilee, our people will be able to return to their homes from the camps. Accordingly, we appeal to the international community to help these people re-settle in a dignified way. Sustainable peace requires a well planned, comprehensive and integrated short and long term rehabilitation and development plan. The programme should address the real needs of the population with emphasis on food security and appropriate infrastructures such as transport and communication. We, the religious leaders from Acoli sub-region are committed to our programme for moral rehabilitation and building peace in the community. We are committed to unity as children of the one Almighty God and Creator of all. We therefore, call upon all individuals and organisations animating the community for peace and reconciliation that we should work together in a coordinated and complimentary manner. Peace is a group effort. We appeal to our local leaders from Local Council I upto 3 our District Local Governments to lead us in unity, working for people's interest and the common good. Let us avoid everything that may damage peace Since wars are man-made, they begin from man's hearts. This is why we should all be vigilant and take our active role as peace-makers, defusing in time all ill feelings of violence and revenge that may arise in our hearts, families, villages and towns. Very particularly, we would like to address the disturbing moral issues of night dances, coupled with drunkenness, laziness and defilement of children. These practices are killing our culture and humanity, by initiating our very young children into alcoholism, lost of family values, sexual immorality and transmission of HIV virus that causes AIDS. Such events could also be occasions for physical violence and corruption. We wish to point our clearly that this is not the way to peace. What will happen to our young people, if they grow used to this unnatural behavior? How many of them will even die because of diseases caused by alcoholism and by sexually transmitted infections? As St.Paul said to the first Christians, who were also tempted in their pagan environment by similar abuses: "You were called to be free, but do not let this freedom become an excuse for letting your physical desires control you" (Galatians. 5:13) At the international level, let our country be an instrument of non-violence and peace. It is the only way to make the little peace we have began to enjoy something sustainable. Let us work with this seed of peace that the Lord has given us and spread it to our neighbours, with whom we should work towards good relationship. Exhortation During all these years, we have learnt many things, especially that peace is not just the mere absence of war, but the setting of justice and right relationships among people. This demands a continuous effort and a real conversion of hearts and minds. Let us all work to consolidate peace, the best legacy we can bequeath to our children, born in the last twelve years. Let us take advantage of this appropriate time:
Yours truly,
Signed Signed
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Kacoke Madit, 173
Upper Street, London N1 1RG, UK
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