Uganda: LRA lawyers to meet ICC officials

(SomaliNet) In what they say is a move to push the International Criminal Court (ICC) to drop charges against their leader which are a sticking point in talks to end the 21-year war, Ugandan Lords Resistance Army (LRA) rebels said their lawyers were to meet ICC officials on Monday.

The LRA rebels, despite rapid progress in the past month at peace talks in Sudan, insist any final deal with Uganda\'s government be conditional on the ICC dropping war crimes\' charges against leader Joseph Kony and two deputies.

Meanwhile, Uganda has rejected guaranteeing immunity to international prosecution until the signing of a final deal, which it wants tied up by March 28 to bring an end to one of Africa\'s longest-running and most brutal wars.

\"We have an appointment to hold a landmark meeting with officials from the ICC registry to whom we\'re going to hand our application for deferral of the indictments,\" rebel chief negotiator David Nyekorach Matsanga said by telephone.

\"Our biggest assets are the five agreements which Kony has reached with the Uganda government. Based on that, we expect the ICC not to continue blocking peace and drop those indictments.\"

The Uganda case poses a serious dilemma for the fledgling court, which could be accused of bowing to politics if it drops the charges and wrecking peace talks if it does not.

The Hague-based ICC has frequently repeated that the warrants remain valid. Last week, prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo said he would not meet the Ugandan rebels himself but they can approach the court\'s judges if they want to challenge his case.

In late February, Uganda and the LRA signed the last in a series of documents paving the way for a final deal to end an insurgency that has killed tens of thousands, displaced nearly 2 million, devastated north Uganda, and spilt into neighbours.

A mediator said last week that Kony - whose group is notorious for hacking off body parts and abducting children for soldiers and sex slaves - was set to emerge from hiding to sign a final deal.

But it was unclear if he would be prepared to leave his hiding place in remote eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) before he receives guarantees on the ICC.

Analysts say Kony, who has not attended any of the negotiations in neighbouring south Sudan, must approve a final deal. No outsiders have seen him for months.-Reuters