Acholi Leaders Seek to Explain Hague Trip
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The Monitor (Kampala)
March 29, 2005
Posted to the web March 28, 2005
Moses Odokonyero
Gulu
The LC5 chairman, Col Walter Ochora, has said contrary to what many said, the team that recently travelled to The Hague had no intention of persuading the chief prosecutor to drop war crime charges against the Lord's Resistance Army rebels.
"The prosecutor is independent, we have no power to persuade him to change his position. We did not go to convince him to drop charges on the LRA," Ochora said.
The team wants to meet President Yoweri Museveni to explain their mission.
They want to clarify on what they called inaccurate reporting on the purpose of their trip to the Hague.
"We have sought audience with the President to explain our position on misreporting from some army officers," said Ochora on Sunday.
The team, led by the Acholi traditional Chief Rwot David Onen included Bishops John Baptist Odama, Nelson Onono Onweng, Marcleod Baker Ochola and MPs Jacob Oulanyah and Jane Akwero Odwong.
Ochora said the ICC would try six LRA commanders. He said the "pre-trial judges" at The Hague would pick the suspects.
He said no suspects have been named.
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The ICC has also given literature to educate the people in the region about what it would do. The materials are in Luo and English.
There has been concern from some politicians in the area that the start of investigations into the LRA atrocities may hamper attempts to have a negotiated end to the war.
| Washington,DC 17 March 2005 |
A six-man delegation from northern Uganda is in The Hague this week for consultations with the International Criminal Court, the ICC. The group is asking the court not to issue arrest warrants against leaders of the Lords Resistance Army, the LRA. The rebel group has been active in Uganda’s northern Acholi region for nearly 20 years. It’s known for its brutal attacks on civilians, including mutilation, abduction, rape and torture.
Among the members of the delegation to The Hague are the cultural head of the Acholi ethnic group, Rwot David Onen Acana the Second, and the Roman Catholic Archbishop of the northern diocese of Gulu, John Baptist Odama. They say prosecuting the LRA now could jeopardize negotiations between the government and the rebels.
Dr. Walter okello is the head of the Campaign for Political and Human Rights in Uganda, based in London. He told English to Africa reporter William Eagle that he agrees with the position of the delegation. He also says the ICC should look into allegations of atrocities made against the Ugandan military in the fight against the rebels.
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