----- Original Message ----- 
From: George Okurapa 
To: [log in to unmask] 
Sent: Wednesday, March 17, 2004 6:43 AM
Subject: Dogs eat Barlonyo remains


From NEW VISION, March 17, 2004

      Dogs Eat Barlonyo Remains 
       
      SHAME: (Top) a skull and (above) a rib cage of the dead lying exposed on the ground 
     
      By Ali Mao in Lira 

      THE dead in Barlonyo are not resting in peace. Four commissioners from the Human Rights Commission last Saturday struggled to control their tears on seeing dogs eating decomposing bodies. 

      The commissioners, who were on a spot assessment of internally displaced persons (IDP) camps in the north, arrived at Barlonyo in time to witness a dozen dogs feeding on rotting human limbs. 

      It was a rare chance in the hot afternoon when over 10 dogs were roaming the place as they carried away bones of the victims of the February 21 LRA rebel massacre in Barlonyo in Erute in Lira. Many families fled and the dead were hurriedly buried by the army in shallow graves from where the dogs dug up the bones. 

      Soon after the massacre, controversy erupted about the number of the dead. Pathologists exhumed 143 bodies in a bid to establish the exact number. 

      The Pathologists later wrapped the bodies in polythene bags and placed them in army trenches to await a decent burial promised by the Government. 

      When the UHRC team visited, the hungry canines took off, leaving skeletons littered all over the compound as the commissioners arrived at the scene. 

      Lira deputy RDC Sylvestor Opira yesterday said the inquiry into the massacre had not been completed. 
      "But we have to make sure the remains are kept properly. As soon as the report is released, there will be a decent burial," he said. 

      Erute north MP Charles Angiro Gutomoi said on phone that they asked the army to protect the abandoned camp but they had failed to do so. 

      "When we met President Yoweri Museveni at his camp in Okwang sub-county, he told us he would call the state minister for disaster preparedness over the matter," he said. 

      Disaster preparedness ministers Moses Ali and Christine Amongin could not be reached for comment. 
      Angiro said, "The Government seems to be slow in deciding yet this is its responsibility." 

      "Unless something is done immediately to rebury the remains of the Barlonyo dead in deeper graves, they will find nothing because the dogs are really working on the bodies," UHRC spokesperson Justus Muhanguzi said. 

      The team looked disturbed by the sight of human bones littered in the burnt-out area. 
      Ends

      Published on: Wednesday, 17th March, 2004
     

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