Govt Arming Rwanda Dissidents â€" Winnie

Feb 19, 2003

ALL is not well with neighbouring Rwanda, Mbarara Municipality MP Winnie Byanyima warned yesterday.

By James Odong
ALL is not well with neighbouring Rwanda, Mbarara Municipality MP Winnie Byanyima warned yesterday.

Reading from a prepared statement at a press conference, Byanyima alleged that Uganda was ready to arm about 40,000 Rwandese Interahamwe fighters exiled in neighbouring countries for war against Rwanda.

Byanyima said the Internal Security Organisation (ISO) chief, Brig. Henry Tumukunde, revealed this plan in January at a meeting of LC3 chairpersons and defence secretaries from western Uganda in Ntungamo district.

Tumukunde reportedly said Uganda was ready to respond to any security threats posed by Rwanda.

“If this threat by the ISO chief is fulfilled, we should know that this country will be plunged into a war as Rwandan people will have to defend themselves from genocide.
We shall also have been in breach of international law and our relations with a sister country will be damaged for a long time to come. This should be avoided at all costs,” Byanyima said.

Tumukunde reacted sharply, saying the allegations should be investigated and Byanyima brought to book.

“This is a big loop. If there is any plan to wage war against Rwanda, this cannot be the right forum to design and execute plans. This being a big loop, it is easy to get witnesses to verify the report,” he said.

“It is not about me to comment or pronounce myself on obviously controversial matter. Should there be cause for investigation, a mechanism should be instituted immediately and Winnie be brought to book for making such unfounded statements. I advise her to stop putting efforts and energies that could launch her own country into war with neighbours,” Tumukunde said.

Asked by journalists why it had taken her this long to reveal the plans, Byanyima said she was still interviewing those who attended the meeting to confirm the allegations against Tumukunde.

She said there was more deployment of troops and heavy weapons in western Uganda.
“Recruitment of soldiers is in high gear and I am reliably informed that two new divisions are to be created to fight in the DR. Congo. That is why army spokesman (Maj. Shaban Bantariza) is insisting against the demands of President Kabila that the UPDF will stay in the Congo,” Byanyima said.

She also criticised President Yoweri Museveni’s plan to build two international airports in Ntungamo and Kasese in western Uganda to promote exports.

“These in my opinion are airports to ferry soldiers and weapons. Period. Money for schools, hospitals, water etc is being squandered on projects of destruction,” she said.
She challenged the government to produce evidence that the 23% budget cuts from other ministries to defence had created more security in the north.

“I alert Ugandans that the failure to democratise and build solid and vibrant institutions of democracy is leading us down a path of war and destruction. Political power has been increasingly personalised and premised on military strength rather than consensus and shared decision-making,” she said.

“The immediate challenge before Parliament is to avert war. National and regional security issues have been monopolised by the President and a few commanders,” she added.

Contacted for comment, Bantariza first laughed off Winnie’s assertion before saying, “Even if we wanted to fight anybody, we would not use interahamwe, really. I am not aware of any mad man in the government to arm genocidaires to fight on our behalf.”

He challenged Byanyima to take journalists where the interahamwe were being kept. “She is actually trying to reinstate her earlier position that we are training interahamwe,” he said.

Bantariza said Byanyima had her political differences with the Movement government and was trying to use the army to sort it out.
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