[allAfrica.com] Bemba - UPDF Generals Face Arrest The Monitor (Kampala) NEWS 29 May 2008 Posted to the web 29 May 2008 By Angelo Izama Kampala The arrest in Belgium of Jean-Pierre Bemba, a former Ugandan ally during the Congo wars [1998-2003] is evidence that senior Ugandan military officers who participated in the bloody conflict face a similar fate, some experts have said. Mr Bemba is the most senior figure arrested by the International Criminal Court, which has also issued a warrant for Ugandan rebel leader Joseph Kony of the Lords Resistance Army [LRA]. "I would suggest that Ugandan generals stay put," said Dr Phillip Kasaija, professor of international relations at Makerere's school of Political Science. According to Dr Kasaija, while the ICC needed the cooperation of the Ugandan government in its case against the LRA, it is free to pursue Ugandan generals for their deeds in Congo which requires Congolese and not Ugandan cooperation. Mr Bemba's arrest for crimes allegedly committed in neighbouring Central Africa Republic and not his native DRC lends some credence to the suggestion that the ICC could come after Ugandan army officials. What is more is that the indictments pursue individual criminal liability meaning that specific people and not governments or militaries are put on trial. "The ICC is also free to initiate its own inquiry" Dr Kasaija added contrary to the common perception that only governments can ask the court to intervene. The situation bodes badly for senior military figures like President Yoweri Museveni's brother Gen. Salim Saleh, Maj. Gen. James Kazini and Maj. Gen. Kahinda Otafiire who have already been named in previous United Nations investigations into the events in Congo. Worse, the International Court of Justice, a sister court to the ICC already found Uganda guilty of violating human rights in the DRC. In December 2005, the ICJ ordered Uganda to pay $10 billion to the government of President Joseph Kabila over its five-year occupation of the DRC in the same period that it supported Mr Bemba as an ally. Issuing the ruling the President of the Court Shi Jiuyong said Uganda had "violated its obligations under international human rights law ..by the conduct of its armed forces, which committed acts of killing, torture and other forms of inhumane treatment of the Congolese civilian population". Unconfirmed reports say the Ugandan government which has not commented about the Bemba arrest was concerned and that several high level meetings were being held to review the situation. An editorial in The New Vision on Tuesday called Mr Bemba's arrest selective and argued it was , politically expedient for President Joseph Kabila by ridding the DRC president of his only serious rival. "There is the risk of another signal Mr Bemba's arrest might send to Africa: Don't stop fighting or accept defeat in elections because they'll drag you to The Hague" the editorial said. Indeed many commentators are wary of the far reaching ramifications of the Bemba arrest. The ICC, according to reliable sources, has sealed a warrant for the arrest of Gen Laurent Nkunda of DRC who is now unlikely to travel around for fear of arrest. MP Godi Akbar ( Arua, FDC) said this week the Bemba arrest ended any hope that LRA's Kony will come out of the bush. Others fear that there may well be a backlash against the ICC which has only African cases while its mandate is global. A senior Ugandan diplomat, however, told Daily Monitor that the jurisdiction of the ICC is only limited to crimes committed from 2004 when the worst excesses of the Congo wars had ended. "The ICC would have to find evidence of recent Ugandan involvement within its time jurisdiction if it wants Ugandan generals," the source added. The prospect of Ugandan indictments also depends on whether Mr Joseph Kabila pushes for it.DRC and Uganda have been sparring since the run-up to the elections in 2006 where Mr Kabila and Mr Bemba were main rivals. Uganda's perceived support for Mr Bemba has been cited as the reason behind border skirmishes between the two countries in which so far 10 people have died. While diplomatic sources at Uganda's Ministry of Foreign Affairs tell Daily Monitor that relations with DRC at an official level are on the mend, the anti- Ugandan stance of Congolese politics poses a challenge. "Any warming up of relations between Mr Museveni and Mr Kabila is only temporary and tactical," one diplomat stated. Mr Kabila recently cancelled a license of Tullow Oil, a key partner in Uganda's petroleum programme, worrying energy officials in Kampala about the fate of any joint exploration of oil on their common border. There is also word in diplomatic circles that the DRC president may sack his foreign minister, Mr Mbusa Nyamwisi, a key interlocutor between him and the Ugandan authorities, further severing links. Uganda and Congo also trade accusations of supporting rebels and militia groups against each other. The Bemba arrest can be interpreted as a sign that Mr Kabila is not shy of leveraging the recent horrific human rights history of DRC against his domestic and regional political and military rivals. Human rights organisations have been urging the ICC to prosecute Ugandan and Rwandan military officials for their role in the mayhem. In March 2006 when the ICC issued an arrest warrant for Mr Thomas Lubanga, the leader of the Union of Congolese Patriots (UPC), another Ugandan ally in Eastern DRC, Human Rights Watch (HRW) urged ICC prosecutor to investigate Kampala as well. Mr Lubanga is now on trial at The Hague. "Chief Prosecutor [Moreno] Ocampo should also investigate those who armed and supported militia groups operating in Ituri, including key players in power in Kinshasa, Kampala and Kigali," said Mr Richard Dicker, a director of the international justice programme at HRW. As Mr Bemba was being arrested in Belgium on Saturday, UN peace keepers reportedly dug out more mass graves in the forests of Eastern DRC. " The only protection [ for Ugandan generals] is if they remain in power" Dr Kasaija said adding that being out of power made them vulnerable to arrest like Mr Bemba, as did foreign travel. =============================================================================== Copyright © 2008 The Monitor. 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