Back to Africa

LJWorld.com weblogs Congressional Briefing

Posted by Joel Mathis March 9, 2005 at 8:47 a.m.

Sen. Sam Brownback calls attention to violence in Africa again in an op-ed cowritten with Richard Stearns, president of the U.S. offices of World Vision, in today's [Washington Times][1].This time the trouble is not in Sudan, but in Uganda. Ending a civil war there, Brownback and Stearns say, "must become a priority.""Since 1987, a band of rebels known as the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) has fought the Ugandan government for power," the pair write. "Led by Joseph Kony, the LRA has become known for its practice of abducting children from civilian villages and forcing them to serve as soldiers and sex slaves within its ranks."Currently, experts estimate that LRA soldiers have kidnapped between 20,000 and more than 30,000 children who now comprise more than 80 percent of their forces. The LRA is recognized by the State Department as a terrorist organization.:They recommend: "The United States should put forward a Security Council resolution condemning the LRA and calling for greater international pressure and a rapid and organized international response to the humanitarian disaster that is facing the 1.6 million internally displaced persons."Other links:Sam Brownback links [(Associated Press) Abortion foes win Senate vote:][2] "Abortion rights forces lost their first test of the new Congress on Tuesday, a skirmish over the rights of violent protesters in bankruptcy court, in a vote that reflected last fall's election results and portended fiercer battles ahead. ... Abortion opponents intend to seek passage of other legislation likely to provide a good barometer of the changes brought by the election. One, backed by Sen. Sam Brownback and more than two dozen other senators, requires abortion providers to notify a woman who is seeking to end her pregnancy 20 weeks after fertilization of any medical evidence that the fetus can feel pain during the procedure."How to contact As always, you can find information to contact members of the Kansas congressional delegation [here.][3] [1]: http://washingtontimes.com/op-ed/20050308-094129-9853r.htm [2]: http://www.sj-r.com/sections/news/stories/49892.asp [3]: http://ljworld.com/extra/where_to_write.html#fed