Amnesty body not bound by rebel demands

THE chairman of the Amnesty Commission, Justice Peter Onega, has said the commission is not mandated to follow conditions set by returning former combatants but receives those willing to surrender, reports Dawin Dawa. He was addressing 20 ex-rebels who returned from Sudan recently in Arua. The ex-rebels were given certificates of issuance. Onega said the ex-rebels said they had no reasons to fight the Government. They were forgiven of their crimes but were urged to be law-abiding citizens in order to be re-integrated into society. He advised rebels still fighting to surrender in order to be assisted. Amnesty commissioner Alhaji Bruhan Miiro congratulated the ex-rebels for opting for peace, saying the world was interested in peace and not terror. He said by surrendering, they had contributed to peace in the world. Arua district has the largest number of about 100 ex-rebels who have surrendered. Miiro appreciated the efforts of the area Amnesty commissioner, Obitre Gama, for winning the confidence and trust of the former fighters. He also thanked the European Union for their support to the commission. The ex-rebels’ representative, Lt. Abdul Salim, said hundreds of their colleagues of Rescue Two in Sudan were willing to surrender if there was an organised programme for the exercise. He urged the commission to focus on building infrastructure like roads and electrification of West Nile region so as to lure other rebels into surrendering. This was the third batch of rebels surrendering to the commission in Arua.