Uganda, DRC reach truce on Rukwanzi
UGANDA and the DR Congo have demilitarised the contested Rukwanzi Island in southern Lake Albert. The declaration was contained a ministerial report released after the 5th Joint Permanent Commission meeting in Kampala last week.<br>
By Alfred Wasike
UGANDA and the DR Congo have demilitarised the contested Rukwanzi Island in southern Lake Albert. The declaration was contained a ministerial report released after the 5th Joint Permanent Commission meeting in Kampala last week.
The Congolese foreign affairs minister, Mbusa Nyamwisi, reported that they had an administrator and 10 Police officers on the island, while Sam Kutesa, the Ugandan foreign minister, announced that it had placed a co-administrator and 30 Police officers, as agreed in the agreement.
The recent discovery of oil under Lake Albert exacerbated the territorial dispute over the island, with an area of 12 sqkm and home to about 3,000 people, mostly fishermen.
Troops from Uganda and the DR Congo exchanged gunfire near the island in August, leaving several people dead, including a British contractor, Carl Nefdt, who worked for Heritage Oil.
The demilitarisation follows a decision reached between presidents Yoweri Kaguta Museveni and Joseph Kabila during their Ngurdoto-Tanzania summit in September.
The ministers agreed to establish a joint Verification and Security Committee on Demilitarisation. They also set up joint monitoring teams based in Kasenyi in the DR Congo and in Ntoroko in Uganda.
They tasked the administration and the Police to protect persons and property and maintain law and order.
The report said people, who committed capital offences, would be transferred to the jurisdictions of their respective countries.
“Those who commit minor offences will be examined by the local co-administration, with the objective of reconciliation without necessarily going through the legal system,†the ministerial document said.
In order to avoid bloody incidents, the countries agreed on conducting joint patrols on Lake Albert using appropriate means of communication.
“Local border authorities must ensure wide sensitisation of their populations in order to rebuild an atmosphere of confidence.
“The ministers of internal affairs are charged with implementing the above-mentioned provisions, while the ministries of foreign affairs will facilitate contacts between the two sides,†said the report.
On the LRA and other rebel forces in their eastern region, the Congolese said the action plan to fight the rebels had been formulated in consultation with MONUC and would be presented to the meeting of defence ministers in Beni next month.
“The two delegations commended the arrest and transfer of LRA leaders and elements by DR Congo to Uganda. The two parties emphasised the need to ensure that the implementation of the provisions of the Ngurdoto Agreement to combat, neutralise and dismantle these respective forces,†the report said.
On re-marking the common border, the ministers noted that the two countries organised visits of their experts to Europe to collect data.
The ministers decided that the meeting of the Joint Committee for Border Re-marking takes place in Bunia on January 16, 2008 and the actual re-marking commences in early February.
UGANDA and the DR Congo have demilitarised the contested Rukwanzi Island in southern Lake Albert. The declaration was contained a ministerial report released after the 5th Joint Permanent Commission meeting in Kampala last week.
The Congolese foreign affairs minister, Mbusa Nyamwisi, reported that they had an administrator and 10 Police officers on the island, while Sam Kutesa, the Ugandan foreign minister, announced that it had placed a co-administrator and 30 Police officers, as agreed in the agreement.
The recent discovery of oil under Lake Albert exacerbated the territorial dispute over the island, with an area of 12 sqkm and home to about 3,000 people, mostly fishermen.
Troops from Uganda and the DR Congo exchanged gunfire near the island in August, leaving several people dead, including a British contractor, Carl Nefdt, who worked for Heritage Oil.
The demilitarisation follows a decision reached between presidents Yoweri Kaguta Museveni and Joseph Kabila during their Ngurdoto-Tanzania summit in September.
The ministers agreed to establish a joint Verification and Security Committee on Demilitarisation. They also set up joint monitoring teams based in Kasenyi in the DR Congo and in Ntoroko in Uganda.
They tasked the administration and the Police to protect persons and property and maintain law and order.
The report said people, who committed capital offences, would be transferred to the jurisdictions of their respective countries.
“Those who commit minor offences will be examined by the local co-administration, with the objective of reconciliation without necessarily going through the legal system,†the ministerial document said.
In order to avoid bloody incidents, the countries agreed on conducting joint patrols on Lake Albert using appropriate means of communication.
“Local border authorities must ensure wide sensitisation of their populations in order to rebuild an atmosphere of confidence.
“The ministers of internal affairs are charged with implementing the above-mentioned provisions, while the ministries of foreign affairs will facilitate contacts between the two sides,†said the report.
On the LRA and other rebel forces in their eastern region, the Congolese said the action plan to fight the rebels had been formulated in consultation with MONUC and would be presented to the meeting of defence ministers in Beni next month.
“The two delegations commended the arrest and transfer of LRA leaders and elements by DR Congo to Uganda. The two parties emphasised the need to ensure that the implementation of the provisions of the Ngurdoto Agreement to combat, neutralise and dismantle these respective forces,†the report said.
On re-marking the common border, the ministers noted that the two countries organised visits of their experts to Europe to collect data.
The ministers decided that the meeting of the Joint Committee for Border Re-marking takes place in Bunia on January 16, 2008 and the actual re-marking commences in early February.