Byline: Matthew Russell Lee of Inner City Press at UN
www.innercitypress.com/un5lra062008.html
UNITED NATIONS, June 20 -- As the Lord's Resistance Army rampages through the Congo, Southern Sudan and the Central African Republic, the UN's envoy to the LRA-affected areas Joaquim Chissano briefed the Security Council on Friday. Afterwards he told Inner City Press that "the Council was ready to consider any decision taken by the government of Uganda" to suspend the indictment of the LRA's Joseph Kony by the International Criminal Court, and put Kony on trial in Uganda instead. Video here, from Minute 7:55.
Inner City Press asked, why then has Kony not signed the peace agreement? Chissano said that perhaps "Kony needs clarification." Chissano said that recent attacks in Southern Sudan and the Congo are "clearly LRA," and that those in the Central African Republic are "probably" LRA, the "evidence" points that way. Video here, from Minute 3:53. Then Chissano left the stakeout, surrounded by an entourage which did not permit any follow-up questions. Why is there so little talk about the acts of the government of Uganda?
The person who Chissano named as representing Kony, David Matsanga, has said
"We can use the United Nations Security Council resolution and chapter seven to go to the UN Security Council, which the government of Uganda should do as a referral state, to say the UN Security Council, please, the warrants are a threat. Can you remove them from us so that general Joseph Kony and others can come and sign and walk free and assemble and do things? But he has said he is not going to sign an agreement in Juba because he does not feel safe over there."
And see, www.innercitypress.com/un5lra062008.html
