Museveni, Congo rebels talk in Kla
Nov 17, 2002
PRESIDENT Yoweri Museveni on Friday met two Congolese rebel faction leaders in an effort to stop the tribal clashes in DR Congo’s Ituri province
By Okello Jabweli and Emmy Allio
PRESIDENT Yoweri Museveni on Friday met two Congolese rebel faction leaders in an effort to stop the tribal clashes in DR Congo’s Ituri province.
Foreign minister James Wapakhabulo yesterday said Museveni’s meeting with RCD-ML’s Mbusa Nyamwisi and Thomas Lubanga of the Union of Patriotic Congolese (UPC) was intended to pave the way for the Ituri Pacification Commission to start work.
Ituri province has recently been the scene of bloody ethnic clashes between mainly the Hema and Lendu.
Lubanga said, “I fully support this agreement because it will end Nyamwisi’s killing regime in Ituri province. Nyamwisi is the real problem in the entire northeastern Congo because he uses his army to escalate the tribal conflict in the region.â€
A communique issued at the end of the meeting, said the two rebel leaders agreed to immediately cease hostilities on all fronts and Mbusa’s group further agreed to cease all military and political activities in Ituri which may affect the pacification process.
RCD-Ml undertook to withdraw all its forces from areas around Bunia to areas beyond Komanda, some 80km southwest of Bunia.
“Why I began my group (UPC) was because of the injustices caused by the bad administration of Wamba dia Wamba, John Tibasima and Mbusa. I am happy that President Museveni has a kind heart and wishes us (the Congolese) to live in peace,†Lubanga said.
The peace commission is part of an implementation of the framework within which Uganda and the DRC signed an accord in Angola in September.
The aim of the commission was to avoid a power vacuum in the region after the withdrawal of Ugandan troops. Both countries fear that such a vacuum could lead to further clashes between the Hema and Lendu.
“In any other place where the two forces of RCD-ML and UPC are in close proximity, they should pull back out of firing range to avoid accidental clashes till a permanent solution is reached,†the communique signed by Wapakhabulo, Nyamwisi and Lubanga stated.
PRESIDENT Yoweri Museveni on Friday met two Congolese rebel faction leaders in an effort to stop the tribal clashes in DR Congo’s Ituri province.
Foreign minister James Wapakhabulo yesterday said Museveni’s meeting with RCD-ML’s Mbusa Nyamwisi and Thomas Lubanga of the Union of Patriotic Congolese (UPC) was intended to pave the way for the Ituri Pacification Commission to start work.
Ituri province has recently been the scene of bloody ethnic clashes between mainly the Hema and Lendu.
Lubanga said, “I fully support this agreement because it will end Nyamwisi’s killing regime in Ituri province. Nyamwisi is the real problem in the entire northeastern Congo because he uses his army to escalate the tribal conflict in the region.â€
A communique issued at the end of the meeting, said the two rebel leaders agreed to immediately cease hostilities on all fronts and Mbusa’s group further agreed to cease all military and political activities in Ituri which may affect the pacification process.
RCD-Ml undertook to withdraw all its forces from areas around Bunia to areas beyond Komanda, some 80km southwest of Bunia.
“Why I began my group (UPC) was because of the injustices caused by the bad administration of Wamba dia Wamba, John Tibasima and Mbusa. I am happy that President Museveni has a kind heart and wishes us (the Congolese) to live in peace,†Lubanga said.
The peace commission is part of an implementation of the framework within which Uganda and the DRC signed an accord in Angola in September.
The aim of the commission was to avoid a power vacuum in the region after the withdrawal of Ugandan troops. Both countries fear that such a vacuum could lead to further clashes between the Hema and Lendu.
“In any other place where the two forces of RCD-ML and UPC are in close proximity, they should pull back out of firing range to avoid accidental clashes till a permanent solution is reached,†the communique signed by Wapakhabulo, Nyamwisi and Lubanga stated.