Ugandan rebel leader demands to meet UN chief

The elusive leader of Uganda's rebel Lords Resistance Army (LRA) Joseph Kony, has asked for a meeting with the UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Jan Egeland when he visits the region next week.

"Our chairman has asked us to tell Egeland that he wants to meet him during his visit over crucial issues concerning the peace talks," Daily Monitor quoted Martin Ojul, head of the LRA peace negotiation team in Juba, as saying on Monday.

Egeland, who has been rallying moral and financial support for the Juba peace process, is traveling to southern Sudanese capital of Juba.

The tentative program so far indicates that Egeland will visit Owiny-Ki-Bul, one of the two designated assembly areas in southern Sudan, after holding separate meetings with both delegations to the peace talks, as well as the mediator, southern Sudan Vice- President Riek Machar.

Ojul said they expected the UN chief to exert more pressure on the International Criminal Court to drop charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity against the top LRA leadership.

"If the UN is fully backing these peace talks, then they should do away with the indictments so that by the time we sign this peace deal, our leaders are free," Ojul said.

The elusive rebel leader, who before the July 14 start of the peace talks hosted some cultural and political leaders at his forested hideout in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has refused to attend the peace talks citing safety reasons.

The UN Security Council has put on hold the passing of a crucial resolution that would have garnered regional military support to disarm the LRA rebels and improve prospects for arresting the indicted LRA commanders.

The resolution, sponsored by the British government, was calling for a regional approach and empowerment of UN forces in DRC and Sudan to disarm the LRA.

The rebel and Ugandan government delegates signed the agreement to extend to a August 26 truce last week, which gave the LRA three weeks to assemble in both points.

Meanwhile, both delegations have not met since last Thursday as the LRA delegation insisted on a two week break to consult its leadership in the bush.

The talks, mediated by southern Sudan authority, are seen as another chance to end the two decade LRA's insurgency that has left tens of thousands of people dead and over 1.4 million homeless in northern Uganda.

Source: Xinhua