The Lord's Resistance Army has issued what appears to be its first response to the "Kony 2012" movement -- a 19-page statement in which it calls Invisible Children a "front organization" acting as a pawn for the U.S. government.
CNN obtained what is believed to be the LRA's first statement in which it calls the "Kony 2012" campaign and video a "clear act of malevolent deception and manipulation of world mass consciousness."
"Indeed, this is not the first time the Invisible Children has been used to play such dirty role," said the statement signed by Justine Labeja, spokesperson for the LRA. "In Uganda, the Invisible Children has been used to cover up on many occasions for the vile acts of the US supported military regime of Uganda in its dirty war activities that its army has carried out against the civil population in Northern, North Eastern, Eastern and Mid-Western Uganda."
CNN notes that it received the statement -- which at various times references Al Capone, Pope John Paul II, Rambo and Joseph Stalin -- from African journalist Frank Nyakairu:
"CNN obtained the statement, issued Wednesday, through journalist Frank Nyakairu, who passed it on along with the e-mail he received it in," the news outlet states. "He said it was sent to him from LRA representatives in Nairobi, Kenya, who have been quoted in international news media. Nyakairu is respected internationally for his coverage of the LRA."
Though it has yet to be confirmed as authentic, the Daily Mail points out that Grace Natabaalo from the African Center for Media Excellence also tweeted links to the statement, and posted: "I think it is real." The Independent's Africa correspondent Daniel Howden also tweeted a link to the 19-page statement.
On Thursday, Invisible Children released "Kony 2012: Part II - Beyond Famous," a sequel to "Kony 2012."
The new film aims to provide a more in-depth look at Kony's Lord's Resistance Army, which has retreated from Uganda and is now believed to be in either the Central African Republic, the South Sudan, or the Democratic Republic of Congo. "Beyond Famous" offers what it calls a "comprehensive approach" to stopping Kony and also delves deeper into the fact that traditional peace talks by political and religious leaders have not been able to stop the warlord, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity.
The sequel points out the fact that in the U.S., two bipartisan resolutions supporting the efforts to disarm the LRA were introduced and have now been sponsored by 92 members of Congress. And on March 23, the African Union announced the establishment of a Regional Cooperation Initiative to coordinate efforts to end LRA violence in Central Africa.
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Posted: 04/ 8/2012 3:17 pm Updated: 04/ 9/2012 1:37 pm