guardian.co.uk,
Ben Child, Monday 12 March 2012
 |
| 'I don't know anyone who doesn’t hate Joseph Kony' … Angelina Jolie. Photograph: Marc Bryan-Brown/WireImage |
Angelina Jolie has joined those calling for the arrest of Ugandan warlord Joseph Kony,
following a controversial viral web video that has now been viewed by more than
70 million people.
The
30-minute film posted on YouTube by the charity Invisible Children calls for
the leader of the Lord's Resistance Army militia to be arrested and asks for
more intervention by the US government. It has won praise from millions of
viewers but also criticism from human rights activists and Ugandan journalists.
At an event
to mark International Womens' Day in New York, Jolie said she didn't "know
anyone who doesn't hate Kony".
The
Oscar-winning actor, who is a Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations,
added: "I've been to Uganda and Congo and been to the International criminal
court myself … he's the one we all want to see in jail, so I think it's great
that more people are talking about it.
"He's
an extraordinarily horrible human being who, you know … his time has come and
it's lovely to see that young people are raising up as well."
Jolie was
targeted by the people behind Kony 2012 as one of 20 "culturemakers"
they hoped would call for the warlord's arrest. Her image appears towards the
end of the documentary along with other famous figures, such as Bill Gates and
Justin Bieber, who Invisible Children hoped viewers might pressure to condemn
Kony.
The group
raised $5m (£3.2m) in just 48 hours after uploading the film, which makes an
explicit call for contributions. What will happen to those funds is unclear:
financial statements for Invisible Children show that only 32% of the $8.6m it
raised last year went to services in northern Uganda.
It's not
the first time Jolie has spoken out against Kony, who is accused of kidnapping
and enlisting thousands of children into his militia. She told ABC news anchor
Cynthia McFadden in 2010 she would be tempted to "take down" certain
people if she were left alone in a room with them. "Joseph Kony. I
hate him," she said.
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