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Sudan: MPs Back Amnesty for Ugandan Rebel Leader
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The Nation (Nairobi)
7 July 2008
Posted to the web 7 July 2008
Badru Mulumba
Nairobi
They came to condemn the Ugandan rebels and to press their government to engage the rebels in a war.
Instead, lawmakers in Southern Sudan handed recluse warlord Joseph Kony, the hope he critically need.
In a resolution, following two days of debate on the Ugandan insurgency that has filtered into the Sudan, Southern Sudan lawmakers said the International Criminal Court should defer the indictments against the Ugandan rebel group.
The Parliament in Southern Sudan says also backed their government's proposal to give peace talks a chance.
"After exhaustive resolutions the August House resolved to urge the International Criminal Court to defer the indictments brought against some leaders of the LRA," according to a final resolution read by Speaker James Wani Igga. "[We] urge the Government of Southern Sudan through its mediation mechanism to engage the LRA and persuade them to sign the peace agreement documents."
Did not turn up
The Lord's Resistance Army leader Joseph Kony, wanted for alleged war crimes by the ICC, did not turn up to sign a final peace accord, in April, citing fears over the indictments. The surprising resolution followed a motion that sought to condemn the LRA atrocities in the region, and ask the southern Sudan military to attack the rebels. And it followed a presentation by Dr Riek Machar, Vice President of the Government of Southern Sudan, in which he said, despite the rebel attacks, peace talks have spread peace throughout the region, while warning that a war against the LRA could lead to crisis.
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Dr Machar said that after the LRA was moved to the fringes of the Sudan , at the border with Congo, the talks were largely meant to help Uganda achieve peace. Peace talks to end Uganda's 22-year insurgency have been going on, in Juba, since July 2006, and the final peace agreement has been agreed by the two parties, but Kony still refuses to come out and sign the agreement. Recommending that the Ugandan government implements parts of the peace agreement, Dr Machar said the talks are officially over. UN Secretary General's envoy to the peace talks, Joachim Chissano, in a presentation to the UN Security Council, in June, agreed with this position.
Looks like the Government of Sudan's MPs are overwhelmed by the fear of LRA's repeated attack civlian and other softer targets in South Sudan every time when ICC indictment is mentioned. Their resolution to 'give' peaceful resolution a sign through persuation of Kony to sign the Final Peace Agreement on a date not yet revealed, is not back by any leverage on the rebels, while at the same time, there is no assurance to Kony that he and his commanders in ICC indictment list will by not be arrested and taken to The Hague. Equally important is that the chief... [Read Full Text]
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