How expensive is the war for the Ugandan government?
The government is spending so much on the military and for weapons that little is left for the overall needs of the people, like health and education. The budget for such needs has been cut by 23 percent, primarily to support the war. Theoretically, the government is supposed to be protecting the people in the camps, and yet army personnel have been found to be responsible for many of the human rights abuses that take place in them, including violence against women. The day after Christmas 2005, several people were shot dead by soldiers in a large camp in the Gulu district. It began when a soldier shot dead an 18-year-old youth who was trying to intervene on behalf of a young woman whom the soldier was harassing. The next morning, scores of camp residents went to the army headquarters to demand action against the culprit. But the soldiers there responded by firing into the crowd. Four civilians were killed and 16 injured. Where do peace efforts stand today? The various options tried so
