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Betty Bigombe will be awarded the Geuzen Medal for 2010
The
Geuzen Medal for 2010 will be awarded to the Ugandan peace seeker Betty
Bigombe. She is world renowned as one of the main negotiators in the
conflict between the government of Uganda and the Lord’s Resistance
Army (LRA) rebels in the north of the country. The award ceremony will
take place in Vlaardingen in the Netherlands on 13 March 2010.
The constant and unresolved conflict between the LRA, a
self-proclaimed Christian guerilla group, and the Ugandan government
goes back to 1987. Betty Bigombe is best known for her work as chief
mediator in the northern Uganda conflict. Betty Bigombe has been at the
forefront of the peace negotiations. She is one of the few individuals
that have negotiated with the LRA leadership personally. She has
tirelessly played the role of peace advocate and advisor to the warring
factions, and been a voice to international community for the people of
Northern Uganda in a conflict that has lasted over 20 years, caused
death to thousands of people, seen over 80,000 children abducted and
turned into child soldiers and displaced about 1.7 million people. She
is still a valued advisor for the Sudanese government that nowadays
holds the Ugandan peace talks.
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