ICC Asks Kony to End Violence
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The Monitor (Kampala)
April 18, 2005
Posted to the web April 18, 2005
Frank Nyakairu
Kampala
The International Criminal Court (ICC) has asked rebel leader Joseph Kony to end the 19-year violence in northern Uganda.
The ICC is investigating Kony and his other senior commanders for alleged war crimes committed during the bloody campaign claiming thousands of lives.
"We urge the Lord's Resistance Army members to respond positively to the appeal to end violence," said a statement issued at the weekend.
The joint statement was by the ICC Prosecutor, Luis Moreno Ocampo and political, civic and religious leaders from Lango, Acholi, Teso and Madi communities.
Ocampo met the 20-man delegation including six MPs, clergy and traditional leaders from northern Uganda.
"In working towards an end to violence, all parties agreed to continue to integrate the dialogue for peace, the ICC and traditional justice and reconciliation processes," the statement said.
Ocampo said the delegation appealed "to the Government of Sudan to continue cooperating with the Government of Uganda, the ICC, international actors and all stakeholders to bring peace to Uganda."
Former minister Betty Bigombe has been mediating peace talks between the LRA and the government since last November.
Some civil society organisations believe the ICC investigation has worked against the peace process and have appealed to the world court not to issue arrest warrants.
President Yoweri Museveni asked the ICC in 2003 to investigate charges of abuse by the LRA. Prosecutors later opened an investigation into any crimes committed in the conflict after July 2002.
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Several top rebels have since surrendered and Museveni has said if Kony accepts an amnesty the case would be shelved.
The LRA has been fighting government forces since 1988, ostensibly to replace Museveni's secular government with one based on the biblical Ten Commandments.
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