LRA leaders not entitled to amnesty - minister

[This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations]

KAMPALA-- Leaders of the Ugandan rebel Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) are no longer entitled to amnesty from prosecution following an amendment of a law that offers clemency to surrendering insurgents, the minister in charge of internal affairs said on Friday.

"The top leadership of the LRA, mainly those who have been indicted by the International Criminal Court (ICC), have been excluded from the new version of the amnesty law that has been passed by parliament," the minister, Ruhakana Rugunda, told IRIN.

Other rebel fighters who gave up their arms would continue to enjoy amnesty, the minister said, adding that the government was still keen on resuming peace talks with the LRA. "Government policy is that a negotiated settlement is still possible, and the government is ready to talk to those other rebels that want to talk. However, the UPDF [Uganda People's Defence Forces] has fought very well, and the war looks to be ending," said Rugunda.

The LRA has waged a two-decade violent campaign against both the government and civilians in northern Uganda. The group is known for its brutality against villagers in the north, where thousands have been killed and close to two million displaced from their homes. The ICC has indicted five top LRA leaders for crimes against humanity, but none of them have been arrested.

Some politicians in the north said chances of a negotiated settlement of the conflict were slim with the amendment of the law to deny amnesty to senior members of the insurgency. "This now will throw the whole peace process off the rails," said Reagan Okumu, a member of parliament from Gulu, the epicentre of the rebellion. "I don't understand what the government wanted to gain out of that amendment when these [leaders] had been already indicted by the ICC. What we needed more was to pursue the local process to find a local solution, but now I wonder what the intention of the government is."

Human rights activist James Otto said that changing the amnesty law had taken northern Uganda "back to square one". He said the amendment had not taken into consideration the concerns of communities in northern Uganda. "The people here have always advocated for an all-inclusive amnesty law and not a selective one. This has been done to the detriment of the children still in [rebel] captivity," he said.