Kony 2012: Ugandans Criticize Popular Video for Backing US Military Action in Central Africa
April 18, 2012
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13:39Democracy Now! National and Global News Headlines for Wednesday, April 18
15:57Now PlayingKony 2012: Ugandans Criticize Popular Video for Backing US Military Action in Central Africa
YouTube Description
as posted by the channelDemocracyNow.org - We look at the controversial video, "Kony 2012," that targets Joseph Kony and his Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), a group notorious for kidnapping children, forcing boys to become fighters and using girls as sex slaves in Central Africa. Released on March 5, it was viewed more than 100 million times online in just under a week, making it the most viral video in history. We speak with two Ugandans about the impact of the film and how the Kony 2012 campaign calls for U.S. military intervention in Central Africa to fight the LRA. "[Invisible Children] seems to be involved in line with the U.S. administration and the Ugandan regime in advocating and pushing a military solution as the only approach, and disregarding the voices of the Ugandans who come from the war-affected region who have been pushing the resumption of a negotiated solution," says Milton Allimadi, publisher and editor-in-chief of Black Star News. We're also joined by Victor Ochen, a survivor of the LRA war and director of African Youth Initiative Network, based in northern Uganda. Ochen says Invisible Children's PR-savvy focus on Kony has insulted his Ugandan victims. "I speak as a victim, as someone whose brother was taken and has never come back," Ochen says. "When [Kony's Ugandan] victims saw the film, the most infuriating thing was [seeing it] make him famous. Their first question was, 'Why do you want to make him famous?' He is responsible for our suffering ... If you really care about us, if you really understand how we have suffered, you will respect our feelings. You will not put him on t-shirts ... The more the victims get empowered, the more Kony becomes less relevant."
This is an excerpt of a longer report on Kony 2012. To watch the entire segment uninterrupted, visit
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