[allAfrica.com] Withdraw the ICC Warrants Or We'll Fight On East African (Nairobi) INTERVIEW 29 May 2007 Posted to the web 29 May 2007 By Zachary Ochieng Nairobi The International Criminal Court warrants issued against four Lord's Resistance Army commanders remain a sticking point in the Juba peace talks between the Ugandan government and the LRA. Martin Ojul, the rebels' chief negotiator, was in Nairobi recently and spoke to ZACHARY OCHIENG about his organisation's stand Early this month, the Government of Uganda and the LRA/M signed an agreement on comprehensive solutions to the northern Uganda conflict. We signed the agreement in the best interest of the LRA. That is why it took us very little time to append our signatures. However, I must emphasise that the agreement only deals with a small part of the root causes of the conflict and its possible solutions. The agreement can only be complete after a protocol on the same is implemented. We are currently preparing for a consultative meeting with all Ugandans so that the views and concerns raised can be given due attention. The meeting will be held under Agenda No. 2, which looks at the main causes of the conflict. It is this meeting that will inform the basis of the protocol. The Ugandan government maintains that the ICC warrants issued against your leaders will not be suspended or withdrawn until you have signed a comprehensive peace agreement, but your boss, Joseph Kony, and his deputy, Vincent Otti, say they will not sign any agreement before the warrants are withdrawn. Why are you participating in the peace talks when a stalemate is already imminent? It is the ICC warrants that will either make or break the talks. While any peace negotiation calls for a spirit of give and take, the Ugandan government is using the ICC warrants to fight the LRA. Our position is that when we move to Agenda No. 3, which deals with accountability and reconciliation, we will go through the traditional justice system known as Matoput, where we will confess any crimes we might have committed, ask for forgiveness, and where possible, make reparations. We also have plenty of evidence of atrocities perpetrated by the Ugandan government, including video recordings, which could land some government officials before the ICC. However, if the warrants are not lifted, we shall definitely go back to war. But Uganda is a signatory to the Rome Statute of the ICC. How do you expect the warrants to be lifted? When Uganda signed the Rome Statute, it never sought the consent of parliament. Even as we speak, no law has been enacted to officially make Uganda a signatory to the Rome Statute. In fact, Uganda almost withdrew from the ICC when a warrant was issued against Thomas Olubanga, the leader of a rebel group in eastern DRC and a friend of President Yoweri Museveni. President Museveni wrote to the ICC to withdraw the warrant for the sake of peace in the DRC. We want him to do the same for us. LRA troops have reportedly been crossing into the Central African Republic for guerilla training, raising speculation that you could be regrouping for war. Is this true? That is not true. The media reports are part of Museveni's propaganda. All our soldiers are at the assembly points in Owiny-Kibul and Ri-Kwangba. Those at Owiny-Kibul are currently crossing the River Nile to link up with the rest at Ri-Kwangba. In fact, both Dr Riak Machar, the chief mediator, and Joaquim Chissano, the UN special envoy to northern Uganda, met with our soldiers at the assembly points during the period we boycotted Juba. We have no soldiers in the Central African Republic. When the talks resumed in Juba last month, you indicated that the LRA delegation needed conflict resolution experts in order to participate effectively. Have you made any progress? So far, the composition of the delegation has not changed. But we hope to get some experts very soon. You had an ally, the Africa Peace Point , which was initially, in principle, mandated to offer the LRA humanitarian assistance and boost your mediation team, but was inexplicably locked out when the talks resumed. What happened? There is no explanation as to why the Africa Peace Point was excluded from the talks. But we have talked to Dr Machar and Mr Chissano, who have agreed in principle that the APP can send a team, which will be stationed at the LRA peace secretariat. We have also talked to the Africa Peace Point officials, and they have expressed willingness to go back to Juba. That is one of the reasons we came to Nairobi. On May 12, you issued a press statement saying the LRA delegation is being denied basic facilities at the Juba Bridge Hotel due to non-payment of bills. What became of the financial pledges by the international community? The pledges were all verbal, and we would like those who made them to put them down in writing. When we demanded a change of venue, they convinced us to go back to Juba, promising that the situation would improve. But that did not happen. We are forced to use dirty bedding and many of us have fallen ill after eating recycled food. We now buy food from outside to avoid getting sick. If the situation does not improve, we may be forced to review our stand on Juba. Currently, the UN owes the hotel $167,000 in unpaid bills. There is just too much bureaucracy at the UN with regard to releasing funds. How soon do you think a comprehensive peace agreement will be achieved? You cannot give a time frame for the peace process. It will depend on the ability of both parties to agree on the issues at hand. Above all, it will depend on the government's willingness to admit its mistakes. With the ICC warrants still hanging over the heads of our commanders, it is hard to tell how long the talks will take. Dr Machar continues to be the chief mediator even though you have expressed misgivings about him. How has he handled the LRA delegation since the talks resumed? Dr Machar is now more flexible. In fact, the agreement on comprehensive solutions was signed in his absence. At least now he is listening to both parties. Besides the ICC warrant, what other hurdles stand in the way of the peace talks? The continued presence of UPDF forces, who attack our soldiers. This provocation obviously threatens the peace process. =============================================================================== Copyright © 2007 East African. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). ===============================================================================