MPs commend US gov't for fight against Kony

By Henry Sekanjako

MEMBERS of Parliament under the body umbrella Parliamentarians for Global Action (PGA) have commended the US government for its renewed effort to arrest rebel leader Joseph Kony.

The US President Barrack Obama recently ordered the deployment of an additional 150 Special Forces and aircraft to boost the hunt for the Lord’s Resistance Army rebel leader Joseph Kony in the thick jungles of Central Africa.

In joint press statement by PGA members from Uganda, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Central African Republic (CAR) said the initiative by the US will help boost the pursuit of fugitives whose arrest is an avenue to bring justice and redress to the victims and contribute to lasting peace.

“We strongly applaud and support the increase in military assistance from the US government and the regional forces in the pursuit of these fugitives,” said Stephen Tashobya PGA chairperson Uganda chapter

They   argued that reasonable efforts be made during military operations to arrest and subsequently surrender all ICC indictees to the international criminal court for trail.

The Members also noted that  Lord’s resistance army (LRA) had continued to commit gross human rights violations in the Democratic  republic of Congo (DRC) and the central  African Republic (CAR) noting that their arrest may facilitate  the process of peace keeping and stabilization in the region.

“Through the engagement of new special forces in the pursuit of the LRA leadership the US is demonstrating its commitment to end suffering of civilians in the region and to cooperate with the ICC and domestic institutions of states to parties to the Rome statute,” stated Tashobya .

The Parliamentarians for global action (PGA) is a global parliamentary network dedicated to promote human rights and the fight against impunity for international crimes.