Responses to KONY2012


1	Compiled by AfricaFocus Bulletin at			http://www.africafocus.org
2	Additional links at		http://concernedafricascholars.org/uganda-lra-central-africa/
3	Author	Author's Background	Title	URL	Date	Format	Brief Description
4	Note: All five articles below include a strong critique of the negative consequences of Invisible Children's advocacy of a military solution.
5	Teju Cole	Nigerian novelist	The White Savior Industrial Complex (added reflections)	http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2012/03/the-white-savior-industrial-complex/254843/	3/21/2012	Article	Teju Cole reflects on responses to KONY2012 and to his widely disseminated critical tweets. "If we are going to interfere in the lives of others, a little due diligence is a minimum requirement."
6	Adam Branch	Scholar and expert on the LRA	Kony Part II: Accountability, not awareness		4/7/2012	Article	Branch analyzes Kony Part II. Stresses that "awareness" without accountability for results of action does more harm than good.
7	Milton Allimadi and Yaa-lengi M. Ngemi	Journalist from Uganda and author from Congo (Kinshasa)	Looking beyond Kony 2012 We can do more to help Uganda and its neighbors	http://www.nydailynews.com/opinion/kony-2012-article-1.1057526	4/7/2012	Article	Calls for attention to abuses by government armies opposing LRA, and for resumption of negotations.
8	Ronald R. Atkinson, Phil Lancaster, Ledio Cakaj & Guilaume Lacaille	Authors of Diagnostic Study of the Lord's Resistance Army	Do no harm: assessing a military approach to the Lord's Resistance Army	http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/17531055.2012.669591	4/5/2012	Journal article (abstract available; article requires payment or institutional subscription)	"Given that unsuccessful military operations against the rebels have typically resulted in lRA retaliations against civilians, the paper urges caution in pursuing such options and awareness of likely civilian consequences. First, do no harm."
9	Nicolas Tillon and Ernest Sugule Kangoyangala	Conciliation Resources and Regional Civil Society Task Force	Beyond KONY12	http://congosiasa.blogspot.com/2012/04/guest-blog-beyond-kony2012_14.html	4/14/2012	Article	Action priorities by civil society groups


1	Compiled by AfricaFocus Bulletin at	http://www.africafocus.org
2	Additional links at	http://concernedafricascholars.org/uganda-lra-central-africa/
3	Author	Author's Background	Title	URL	Date	Format	Brief Description
4	Selected links only. For additional links see	http://www.boingboing.net/2012/03/08/african-voices-respond-to-hype.html
5	Note: inclusion or high recommendation does not necessarily mean full agreement, but that these are worth reading or viewing.
6	Highly Recommended
7	Kennedy Tumutegyereize	Staff, Conciliation Resources	What will it take to end the LRA Conflict?	http://www.c-r.org/sites/www.c-r.org/files/LRA_Kony201203_kennedytumutegyereize.pdf	3/15/2012	Article	Very clear article from experienced organization closely involved with peacemaking in the region.
8	Rosebell Kagumire	Ugandan journalist	My Response to KONY2012	http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KLVY5jBnD-E&feature=youtu.be	3/7/2012	Video	6 minutes. "Eloquent, coherent, & well-informed
9	Angella Bulamu	Ugandan teacher in Northern Uganda	Why give celebrity status to a killer in Kony 2012?	http://www.csmonitor.com/layout/set/print/content/view/print/482097	3/16/2012	Op-ed	Commentary in Christian Science Monitor by teacher in Northern Uganda
10	Al Jazeera	TV network	Kony screening provokes anger in Uganda	http://www.aljazeera.com/news/africa/2012/03/201231432421227462.html	3/14/2012	Video	Ugandans, who suffered at hands of Lord's Resistance Army, react in anger at Kony video causing internet waves.
11	Okello Sam	Northern Ugandan civil society leader	The Thing that Happened	http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HFRPYyOH9Tc	3/8/2012	Video	20 minutes; Hope North response to KONY2012
12	Mahmoud Mamdani	Leading Africanist scholar	Mamdani on Kony 2012 Video	http://www.misr.mak.ac.ug/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=188:mamdani-on-kony-2012-video&catid=1:latest-news&Itemid=50	3/12/2012	Print	Very important statement by leading Africanist Mahmood Mamdani
13	Bishop Macleod Ochola	Northern Ugandan religious leader	An interview with Bishop Ochola from the ARLPI in Uganda	http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ew4bp_b4JQI	date of interview unknown; posted 2/2012	Video	18 minutes; in last few minutes talks about personal experience; effective to begin listening at 11:30 mark.
14	Also of interest (in inverse order by date)
15	Victor Ochen	Ugandan war survivor & civil society activist	A War Victim’s Opinion on Invisible Children’s KONY 2012	http://www.africanyouthinitiative.org/war-victims-opinion-on-invisible-childrens-kony-2012/	3/10/2012	Print	Four points from leader of African Youth Initiative Network - Uganda
16	Anywar Ricky Richard	Northern Ugandan civil society leader	A View from Northern Uganda	http://newswatch.nationalgeographic.com/2012/03/09/kony-2012-a-view-from-northern-uganda/	3/9/2012	Print	Comment by former child soldier, now heads rehabilitation NGO
17	TMS Ruge	Ugandan diaspora	A Peace of my mind: Respect my agency 2012!	http://projectdiaspora.org/2012/03/08/respect-my-agency-2012/	3/8/2012	Print	Leading Ugandan blogger comments.
18	Julian Borger, John Vidal, and Rosebell Kagumire	Journalists	Child abductee featured in Kony 2012 defends film's maker against criticism	http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/mar/08/jacob-acaye-child-kony-2012?intcmp=122	3/8/2012	Print	Interviews child soldier who appears in KONY2012 as well as other Ugandan commentators
19	Angelo Izama	Ugandan journalist	#StopKony2012	http://africanarguments.org/2012/03/08/stopkony2012-for-most-ugandans-konys-crimes-are-from-a-bygone-era-by-angelo-izama/	3/8/2012	Print	Summary critique of what the author calls "another bad solution to a more difficult problem."
20	Catholic News Service	News agency	Ugandan bishops tell US leaders military option won't work against rebels	http://www.catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/1003722.htm	9/15/2010	Print	Interview with Catholic & Anglican bishops are leaders of the Acholi Religious Leaders Peace Initiative
21
22	Journeyman Pictures	Interview footage	Meeting Joseph Kony	http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dWiF9hSgyoU	June 2006	Video	Interview with Kony himself. His denials are not plausible, but footage is interesting


1	Compiled by AfricaFocus Bulletin at			http://www.africafocus.org
2	Additional links at		http://concernedafricascholars.org/uganda-lra-central-africa/
3	Author	Author's Background	Title	URL	Date	Format	Brief Description
4	Highly Recommended indicated by yellow highlighting -
5	Note: inclusion or high recommendation does not necessarily mean full agreement, but that these are worth reading or viewing.
6	Military Option(s)
7	Mareike Schomerus, Tim Allen, and Koen Vlassenroot	Scholars who have studied the IRA	Obama Takes on the LRA	http://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/136673/mareike-schomerus-tim-allen-and-koen-vlassenroot/obama-takes-on-the-lra	11/15/2001	Article	Overview and questions by leading experts on the LRA
8	IRIN	UN news service	Fighting Kony with beer, spy planes and YouTube	http://www.irinnews.org/Report/95083/SECURITY-Fighting-Kony-with-beer-spy-planes-and-YouTube	3/15/2012	Article	On-the-ground report from DRC, includes questions about Invisible Children bias
9	Resolve	U.S. NGO	Peace Can Be: President Obama's Chance to End LRA Atrocities in 2012	http://www.theresolve.org/peace-can-be--3	2/21/2012	Policy paper	This paper is far more nuanced than the Invisible Children approach, and contains some positive suggestions. However, in my view it still fails to take seriously enough Northern Ugandan voices demanding a greater emphasis on non-military approaches and the likely counterproductive results of the Ugandan "surge" it recommends.
10	Philip Lancaster, Guillaume Lacaille, Ledio Cakaj	Researchers on LRA	Diagnostic Study of the LRA	www.tdrp.net/PDFs/LRA_DiagnosticStudy_1.pdf	June 2011	60-page report	Study for International Working Group on the LRA provides substantive discussion on situation, including different views and highlighting missing analysis that is needed.
11	Ledio Cakaj	Researcher on LRA	U.S. Should Not Repeat Ugandan Failures against LRA	http://congosiasa.blogspot.com/2011/10/guest-blog-us-should-not-repeat-ugandan.html	10/22/2011	Blog post	U.S. has adopted Ugandan misguided focus on purely military solution.
12	Philip Lancaster	Researcher on LRA	The LRA and us	http://congosiasa.blogspot.com/2011/08/guest-blog-lords-resistance-army-and-us.html	10/22/2011	Blog post	Shorter comment by one of authors of Diagnostic Study (below)
13	Richard Vokes	Anthropologist focused on Uganda	KONY2012 and a military solution to the LRA Crisis	http://theafricanist.blogspot.co.nz/2012/03/kony-2012-and-military-solution-to-lra.html	3/9/2012	Blog post	Analysis of complications in proposed military solutions
14	IRIN	UN humanitarian news & analysis	Questions over progress against the LRA	http://allafrica.com/stories/201202241437.html	2/24/2012	News summary	Includes different opinions on current military status and strategy


1	Compiled by AfricaFocus Bulletin at			http://www.africafocus.org
2	Additional links at		http://concernedafricascholars.org/uganda-lra-central-africa/
3	Author	Author's Background	Title	URL	Date	Format	Brief Description
4	Highly Recommended indicated by yellow highlighting -
5	Note: inclusion or high recommendation does not necessarily mean full agreement, but that these are worth reading or viewing.
6	Regional Perspectives
7	A high proportion of the commentary on the Lord's Resistance Army has focused on the Ugandan context. Yet the impact of the LRA today is primarily in other countries, in remote regions with much less access to international communications than Uganda. Some commentaries, particularly those analyzing the military realities, include this wider context. But few focus primarily on the situation in the relevant areas of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Central African Republic, or South Sudan. Here are a few that I have been able to locate.
8	Regional Civil Society Task Force	Network in the affected areas	The Voice of Peace	http://www.c-r.org/sites/www.c-r.org/files/VoiceofPeace_201202.pdf	March 2012	8-page newsletter	Indispensable resource
9	Civil society organizations in affected areas	Workshop convened by HRW and the Catholic Diocese of Dungu	Declaration from the Dungu Workshop	http://www.hrw.org/news/2011/11/11/declaration-dungu-workshop	11/11/2012	Print	Stresses that deployment of military forces should stress professional conduct and protection of civilians.
10	Jason Stearns	Expert on the Democratic Republic of the Congo	Thoughts on the Kony2012 Saga	http://congosiasa.blogspot.com/2012/03/thoughts-on-kony2012-saga.html	3/16/2012	Blog post	Short note, exposes simplistic assumptions not only of KONY2012 but of some of the critics.
11	Ida Sawyer	Researcher, Human Rights Watch	From Campaigning to Action on Joseph Kony and the LRA	http://congosiasa.blogspot.com/2012/03/guest-post-from-campaigning-to-action.html	3/14/2012	Blog post	Stresses that effective action is still needed to "stop Kony." The question is what will work.


1	Compiled by AfricaFocus Bulletin at			http://www.africafocus.org
2	Additional links at		http://concernedafricascholars.org/uganda-lra-central-africa/
3	Author	Author's Background	Title	URL	Date	Format	Brief Description
4	Highly Recommended indicated by yellow highlighting -
5	Note: inclusion or high recommendation does not necessarily mean full agreement, but that these are worth reading or viewing.
6	Overviews
7	Alex de Waal	Leading scholar no Sudan and conflict in the region	Kony - What's to Be Done?	http://allafrica.com/stories/201203151055.html	3/15/2012	Bog post	Answers the question what is the alternative to KONY2012 approach
8	Sara Weschler	Works with NGO in Northern Uganda	A Letter From Uganda on #Kony2012	http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/a_letter_from_uganda_on_kony2012_20120315/	3/14/2012	Article	Explaining to a novice audience the context of Kony and the LRA in Ugandan history.
9	Ethan Zuckerman	Digital media; Global Voices	Unpacking Kony	http://www.ethanzuckerman.com/blog/2012/03/08/unpacking-kony-2012/	3/8/2012	Blog post	Good summary both of video & the critique
10	Jamilah King	News editor, Colorlines	Kony 2012’s Success Shows There’s Big Money Attached to White Saviors	http://colorlines.com/archives/2012/03/kony_2012_white_saviors.html	3/14/2012	Blog post	Nuanced commentary on impact of video, positive & negative.
11	Teju Cole	Nigerian novelist	Teju Cole's critique - in 7 Tweets - of Invisible Children	http://www.ethanzuckerman.com/blog/2012/03/08/teju-cole-on-american-sentimentality-towards-africa/	3/8/2012	Tweets	Critique by Nigerian novelist of the film as manifestion of "White Savior Industrial Complex." Activists who are genuinely concerned must take this seriously.
12	Alexis Arieff and Lauren Ploch	Congressional Research Service	The Lord's Resistance Army: The U.S. Response	fpc.state.gov/documents/organization/178226.pdf	11/21/2011	Report	Very detailed and analytical report on U.S. government response
13	Milton Alliamadi	Editor, Black Star News	KONY2012 Vs. Evangelist JASON RUSSELL2012	http://www.blackstarnews.com/news/135/ARTICLE/8013/2012-03-10.html	3/10/2012	Editorial	Applauds attention to Uganda, but warns about failure to indict Ugandan government & Jason Russell's hidden agendas.
14	Michael Wilkerson	Freelance journalist writing in Foreign Policy blog	Joseph Kony is not in Uganda (and other complicating things)	http://blog.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2012/03/07/guest_post_joseph_kony_is_not_in_uganda_and_other_complicated_things	3/7/2012	Blog post	Another good summary of video and critique
15	Simon Allison	South African free-lance journalist	Déjà Vu - Kony 2012's Debt to Live Aid and George Clooney	http://dailymaverick.co.za/opinionista/2012-03-12-dj-vu-kony-2012s-debt-to-live-aid-and-george-clooney	3/12/2012	Article	Puts KONY 2012 in context of previous campaigns - Live Aid & Darfur
16	Elliot Ross	journalist	The Invisible Christians of #Kony2012	http://africasacountry.com/2012/03/13/the-invisible-christians-of-kony2012/	3/13/2012	Blog post	Sums up investigative reporting on the background and hidden agenda of KONY2012 filmmaker.
17	Grant Oyston	Canadian student	Visible Children: KONY 2012, viewed critically	http://visiblechildren.tumblr.com/	ongoing	website	compilation of critiques of KONY 2012 video
18	Dinaw Mengestu	Ethiopian-American journalist and novelist	Not A Click Away: Joseph Kony in the Real World	http://www.warscapes.com/reportage/not-click-away-joseph-kony-real-world	3/12/2012	Print	The idea behind a name such as “Invisible Children” is on par with the sentiments of the first colonists who claimed to have discovered the New World and Africa: We didn’t know about it, therefore it didn’t exist.