Betty Bigombe to Receive Geuzen Medal
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The Geuzen Medal for 2010 will be awarded to Arcadia Foundation President and 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.