New congo danger

THE EUROPEAN Union has passed a resolution that will stop aid and debt relief to countries violating the sovereignty and territorial integrity of neighbouring countries. The 33-point resolution passed by the European Parliament on October 26 also talks of sanctions such as withholding visas and freezing assets. The resolution did not mention Uganda or Rwanda by name but it is widely believed that they are the countries most at risk from the new policy. Uganda must address this danger squarely. If the European parliament has decided, fairly or unfairly, to clamp down on Ugandan and Rwandan involvement in the Congo, then the bureaucrats and diplomats of the EU will have to tow the line, whether they personally agree or disagree. The situation is probably more complex than the European MPs realise. The main reason that Uganda is in the Congo is that our territorial integrity was being violated by the ADF rebels who were being sponsored by Kinshasa and the Sudan. Their bases and supply routes were all in eastern Congo. Unfortunately war can be a quicksand and Uganda has found itself more deeply involved in the Congo than it originally wished to be. The European MPs should not forget this. Nevertheless the decision of the European parliament puts Uganda on notice. The UPDF cannot stay in Congo indefinitely. A way out must be found, however complex the situation and however difficult Kabila may be. The Lusaka Accord is still recognised by all parties except Kabila as the solution to the conflict. The Accord would protect Uganda and Rwanda's territorial integrity as well as Congo's. But for Uganda the political danger in waiting for full implementation of the Lusaka Accord may now start to exceed the danger of commencing a strategic withdrawal. Ends