Historical and perceptual background
The 17 year long insurgency in Northern Uganda has its roots in the colonial history of Uganda. It centers on the Acholi people of Northern Uganda who have played a significant role in the colonial and post-colonial history of Uganda.

At the heart of the conflict is the North-South Divide that is part of the colonial legacy of Uganda. The North- South Divide in Uganda that pits "Nilotic" against "Bantu" is a relic of discredited racial anthropology of European colonialism in Africa. According to this, certain tribes were classified as "more" or "less" European depending on their physical features, attributes and levels of civilization judged by the colonialists. Africans who had sharp noses, lighter skin color that were "Semitic" were 'more' European than those with big flat noses, dark skin and "Negroid". African societies with monarchies were deemed more civilized than those without; they approximated the monarchies in the colonial countries, i.e., England, Belgium, Portugal and Spain.

In colonial Uganda, this translated into the Acholi (and Northerners in general) being stereotyped as a "martial tribe" fit for the military because of their strong physical, tall, and athletic attributes minus their intellectual attributes! Since there were no centralized monarchies in Northern Uganda compared to Central and Western Uganda, the Acholi (Nilotic) were deemed less civilized than their Bantu counterparts in the South whose intellectual attributes were more regarded. This can be seen from the pattern of colonial educational development that favored the South over Northern Uganda. The best secondary and post secondary educational institutions were all established in the South. Thus more Southerners acquired education ahead of Northerners

The Southerners, notably the Baganda, were deemed fit for clerical and office jobs in the colonial civil service. Accordingly, the socio-economic development patterns such as the introduction of high value cash crops like coffee and tea led to greater and earlier wealth creation through more modern agricultural development in the South of Uganda more than Northern Uganda. The North became a labor reserve from which laborers were recruited to work into the plantations in the South as well as the security services.

The North (Nilotic)- South (Bantu) Divide and the stigmatization of the Acholi
The North-South Divide has an economic and cultural/psychological dimension. The economic dimension has to do with disparities in national investment, educational and infrastructure development, while the cultural/psychological dimension has to do with the stigmatization of Northern Ugandans, notably, the Acholi.
These have been some of the factors fuelling the alienation of the Acholi people in particular and Northerners in general. And it partly explains why, for a long time, the military option was preferred against a peaceful approach to the Northern Uganda conflict. After all, Northerners were 'primitive', 'warrior like' and 'violent' people who did not appreciate peaceful conflict resolution.

Recruitment in the colonial and post-independent security services of Uganda was biased in favor of Northerners. But since the military was a despised profession because (a) one did not require much education to join and (b) the majority of Northerners who joined were already tagged as backward and primitive, it became a self-fulfilling prophecy of least educated Northerners gravitating towards the military thereby re-enforcing the stigma of backward and violent Northerners.

That is how the Acholi in the military became the first victims when the tide changed. When Idi Amin took over power in a bloody coup in 1971, the Acholi and the Langi were the first victims of his massacres because they were the first threat to his rule.

The Northern Uganda conflict vis-à-vis the NRM Government
When the National Resistance Army (NRA) of Yoweri Museveni over threw Uganda National Liberation Army (UNLA) under General Tito Okello Lutwa in 1986, many of the Acholi soldiers fled North to their homes with their guns. Some continued into the Sudan. When a section of the victorious NRA started revenge killings in Acholi land, many of the Acholi ex ­soldiers were reminded of the massacres under Idi Amin, 15 years before. They fled into the bush and formed the first rebellion against the NRA.

But not long after, a majority of them struck a Peace Accord with the NRM government in 1988. However, a few refused to join the government and later joined the Holy Spirit Movement of Alice Lakwena that used a mixture of traditional Acholi religion and elements of Christianity to mobilize young people to fight against the Government. The NRA defeated Alice Lakwena, the Prophetess, and her cousin, Joseph Kony, took over the rump of her force to form the current notorious LRA.

Several Mediation and Negotiation Efforts
Several negotiation attempts have been made:
In 1993/4 a peaceful negotiation effort was spearheaded by then Hon. Betty Bigombe, Minister for Northern Pacification. I was privileged to be part of it. We went to the bush and had several face-to-face contacts with the LRA. A ceasefire was nearly brokered. We were one week away from a formal agreement between the Government and LRA only to be scuttled by a one-week ultimatum to the LRA by the Government of Uganda. A golden opportunity was lost.
The Carter Center in Atlanta, GA, has been involved in mediation, in particular with the Sudan Government factor in the conflict
The Acholi Parliamentary Group has undertaken a number of mediation initiatives.
Kacoke Madit, a gathering of Acholi in the Diaspora, has made several efforts to bring peace in Acholi land. Their last convention aborted in 1999 in Nairobi Kenya.

The Acholi Religious Leaders Peace Initiative (ARLPI)
The foregoing then provides the context in which the religious leaders from Acholi land made up of Christian and Muslim leaders came together as partners to work for forgiveness, reconciliation and peace in Northern Uganda, Uganda and the Great Lakes Region of Africa. As people of God, we were bound together by exhortation that "Blessed are the peace makers, for they shall be called Children of God"

ARPLI has therefore been on the forefront of advocating for dialogue and a peace building approach to the conflict in Northern Uganda. We have constantly underscored the need to consider the plight of innocent civilians, abducted children and many others who have continued to suffer because the two sides, namely the Government of Uganda and the LRA, are locked in deadly offensive. Our position has been that "when two elephants fight, it is the grass that suffers."

We have therefore tried to make all sides in the conflict appreciate the fact that violent conflict or war does not have real victors or vanquished; all are losers in one way or another. Besides, military conquest does not necessarily change the human heart to peace. For that is where the real struggle for peace is won, in the human heart.

ARLPI has complemented Government where it has demonstrated goodwill towards peaceful negotiation. We have never condoned atrocities committed by the LRA and have constantly called upon them to stop killing the people. We have also condemned violations of human rights committed by either side, whether Government or the LRA. We have been a voice of the voiceless and a comfort to the afflicted. This is indeed our prophetic role, as the conscience of society in the world.

My Experience in the Peace Process:
By virtue of my call as shepherd of God's people, I have had to stand in the gap for peace. I have personally experienced the pain, suffering and trauma of my people. I have spent most of my time burying and comforting families that have lost their loved ones through gun wounds, land mines, abductions, rape and torture. Like every body else, I also carry my own scar and pain out of this long conflict.

Our first experience of the anguish of Northern Uganda was in 1987 when we lost our daughter, late Joyce Adong Ochola. She took her life after rebels raped her in Gulu. She had just turned 19. Winifred, my wife, and I were not in Uganda at that time. We were already on our way to Uganda from Canada where I had completed my theological studies. The pain of our loss was more acute because of our helplessness, being so far away from home. Like all parents, we grieved at the tragic death of our daughter. We both wished we were together with her in her moment of death.

Ten years later in 1997 my dear wife, Winifred, was blown up by land mines and died instantly, barely three years after I had been consecrated Bishop of Kitgum Diocese. I felt like a tree split from top to bottom by lightning!
I was suddenly robbed of a friend, a partner in ministry, a mother and above all, a comforter to me and those who were suffering all around us.

The tragic death of my daughter and wife was a real challenge to me. I took this challenge to commit my whole life to peace work instead of allowing it to overwhelm me. This has not been easy. But, by God's grace, I have learnt to forgive all those who were responsible for the death of my daughter, my wife and all the people of God in Northern Uganda who have been killed, and continue to be killed needlessly.

Though costly, forgiveness has become the only way for me to walk with God through Christ. I would like to recommend this to all who go through what I have gone through, or worse, that forgiveness empowers us to become a new creation, free from bitterness and revenge. As the saying goes, experience is the best teacher in life. My personal experience shows that only Christ is able to put our broken pieces together and make us whole again. This, to me, is the Way of the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Concluding Remarks: my personal role in the negotiations between the Government and the LRA:

My personal experience and the victory of God's forgiving and healing touch over my life have made me to appreciate my role as a facilitator.
I have been motivated to seek to make friends out of enemies;
I have tried to change the game from confrontation to cooperation
I have sought to encourage listening to one another on both sides so as to turn adversaries to partners
And acknowledge common grounds, build networking relationships and distinguish between the person and his/her behaviour
I have attempted to encourage both sides to aim for mutual satisfaction not victory because it is more rewarding to turn our enemies into friends knowing that the prize is not so much to achieve our position but satisfy our strategic interests.

I hope to continue, with God's help, playing this role until peace is restored to my people.