Ugandan army seeks deportation of priest active in peace negotiations

Published: 2004-02-12

KAMPALA, Uganda (CNS) -- Army officials in northern Uganda are pressing the country's president to deport a priest active in peace negotiations. The officials accused Comboni Father Carlos Rodriguez Soto of "spreading false information that is prejudicial to national security." Father Rodriguez, secretary of the Acholi Religious Leaders' Peace Initiative, an interfaith coalition of religious leaders seeking a peaceful solution to the 18-year conflict in northern Uganda, said he was scheduled to meet with parliament's committee on defense Feb. 12 to discuss his status. Father Rodriguez said Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni could decide his fate by mid-February. "I do not know who is accusing me and for what reasons I have been accused," he said. Father Sebhat Ayele, Comboni superior in Lira, told Catholic News Service that Archbishop Christophe Pierre, nuncio to Uganda, was looking into the issue. "We hope that nothing substantial materializes on this," Father Sebhat said. A source at the Acholi headquarters in Gulu told IRIN, a U.N. news agency, that Father Rodriguez "is critical of the government's military approach to the crisis in the North and sometimes exposes things they don't want exposed." "They have been looking for a reason to crack down on him for some time," the source told IRIN. Father Rodriguez earlier accused a soldier of starting a fire that left 10,000 people homeless at a displaced persons camp in Gulu. He also said the army arrested 6,000 residents of the camp and interrupted a priest celebrating Mass.

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