We respect gov't decision, but those who committed atrocities should account - US

//CORRECTED// The United States government has said it respects Uganda’s announcement of a total amnesty to indicted leaders of the rebel Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), but believes those who committed atrocities should be held accountable for their deeds. "President Museveni announced that he is willing to extend amnesty to the LRA leader Joseph Kony - and potentially the rest of the LRA leadership as well. The United States respects Uganda’s decision on this matter, but we believe those who have committed atrocities in this long-standing insurgency should be held accountable for their deeds," a statement issued by the US embassy in Kampala on Thursday stated. The embassy added that the US government recognised that the initiative of the Government of Southern Sudan (GOSS) to broker peace talks between the LRA and the Ugandan government was based on the hope that these talks would put an end to the insurgency ongoing in northern Uganda for almost two decades. "The impetus for the GOSS initiative is the desire to resolve a conflict that has displaced millions and killed thousands and that threatens to destabilise the Comprehensive Peace Agreement in Sudan," it noted. Museveni on Tuesday pledged to grant Kony total amnesty, disregarding International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrants, if the rebel group "responded positively" to the peace talks due to open in southern Sudan next week. "The Ugandan government will grant total amnesty [to Kony] despite the ICC indictments if he responds positively to the talks with the government in Juba, southern Sudan, and abandons terrorism," Museveni’s office said in a statement. The US embassy statement noted the ICC indictments against five top LRA leaders for war crimes and crimes against humanity last October 2005. "Countries that are signatories to the Rome Statute establishing the ICC are expected to cooperate in arresting ICC-indicted individuals; Uganda is a signatory to the Rome Statute but the United States is not," it said. Museveni’s announcement has been praised by local leaders, including religious leaders in northern Uganda, who said the decision was needed to foster the peace process. On Wednesday, the government said the rebels had two months from May to disarm and denounce the rebellion that has displaced almost two million people, to benefit from the amnesty. "It was agreed with the government of southern Sudan that the defeated LRA terrorists be given the option of a soft landing. This would take the form of peace talks that would lead them to abandoning terrorism and come out of the bush. This option is open for a period of two months starting May," a statement said. The Hague-based ICC last year issued arrest warrants for Kony and four of his top commanders for trial for war crimes and crimes against humanity. vm/mw/eo