ICC prosecutor: Kony will be caught this year
Source: Agencies |
April 8, 2012, Sunday
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THE prosecutor of the International Criminal Court says he has "no doubt" that fugitive African warlord Joseph Kony will be arrested this year because the international spotlight has helped boost the hunt for the Lord's Resistance Army leader.
Luis Moreno-Ocampo said the fact that 100 million people watched the first video about Kony's crimes in just six days showed that "the world today understands that justice has to be done" - and he expressed hope that the world will put a spotlight on other fugitives, including Sudan's president and a Congolese army general to help bring them before the court.
"Twenty years ago, no one was talking about justice," he said. "Now it's a new thing."
Moreno-Ocampo cited three key decisions in the ongoing hunt for Kony - the Ugandan government's renewed commitment of troops, the Central African Republic giving a green light for Ugandan soldiers to operate there, and US President Barack Obama's dispatch of 100 US military advisers to help the Ugandans with logistics, including helicopters and intelligence.
Thousands of people have been killed since the Lord's Resistance Army took up arms in 1986 in northern Uganda. The rebels abducted thousands of children and forced them to become fighters or sex slaves and were notorious for mutilating victims by cutting off their tongues and lips.
The ICC, based in The Hague, Netherlands, issued arrest warrants for Kony and four of his senior commanders in July 2005. Kony is charged with 12 counts of crimes against humanity and 21 of war crimes.
Luis Moreno-Ocampo said the fact that 100 million people watched the first video about Kony's crimes in just six days showed that "the world today understands that justice has to be done" - and he expressed hope that the world will put a spotlight on other fugitives, including Sudan's president and a Congolese army general to help bring them before the court.
"Twenty years ago, no one was talking about justice," he said. "Now it's a new thing."
Moreno-Ocampo cited three key decisions in the ongoing hunt for Kony - the Ugandan government's renewed commitment of troops, the Central African Republic giving a green light for Ugandan soldiers to operate there, and US President Barack Obama's dispatch of 100 US military advisers to help the Ugandans with logistics, including helicopters and intelligence.
Thousands of people have been killed since the Lord's Resistance Army took up arms in 1986 in northern Uganda. The rebels abducted thousands of children and forced them to become fighters or sex slaves and were notorious for mutilating victims by cutting off their tongues and lips.
The ICC, based in The Hague, Netherlands, issued arrest warrants for Kony and four of his senior commanders in July 2005. Kony is charged with 12 counts of crimes against humanity and 21 of war crimes.
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