DATE=6/30/2000
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=RWANDA / UGANDA (L)
NUMBER=2-263958
BYLINE=SCOTT STEARNS
DATELINE=KAMPALA
INTERNET=YES
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: The presidents of Uganda and Rwanda are
scheduled to meet Saturday to discuss repeated
fighting between their armies in the Democratic
Republic of Congo-Kinshasa. VOA's Scott Stearns
reports from the Ugandan capital.
TEXT: It is a meeting between two old friends who are
fighting for control of the Congolese rebellion.
Uganda's president, Yoweri Museveni, and Rwanda's
president, Paul Kagame, were once allies, each helping
the other in the guerrilla wars that brought them to
power. Now they are backing rival rebel groups in
neighboring Congo. That has led to fighting between
their armies for control of the city of Kisangani,
where hundreds of Congolese civilians were killed
recently by the crossfire between the two armies.
Both presidents have agreed to withdraw their forces
from Kisangani in accordance with a United Nations
ceasefire agreement.
Uganda says it has withdrawn five battalions in what
army spokesman Phinehas Katirima called a reduction of
unnecessary force. Major Katirima said Ugandan
soldiers were no longer needed in Kisangani to
protect against attacks from Zimbabwean troops in the
town of Ikela, 300 kilometers away. He said Uganda's
army is adjusting positions inside Congo but will keep
troops there in accordance with a regional peace plan.
Rwanda and Uganda both say they still support that
Lusaka agreement between them and the governments
backing Congolese President Laurent Kabila, mainly
Zimbabwe, Namibia and Angola.
But that plan has run into problems of its own.
President Kabila objects to the fact that the
mediation process is being led by the former president
of Botswana, Quette Masire. The regional accord also
relies on U-N enforcement. Organization of African
Unity diplomats say the kidnapping of U-N peacekeepers
in Sierra Leone is making it harder to get countries
to commit to a Congo force.
Fighting between Uganda and Rwanda has contributed to
concerns about sending international peacekeepers to
Congo. Their involvement has also led to a case
before the International Court of Justice in The
Hague.
Congo is accusing Uganda of acts of armed aggression
in violation of the U-N charter. It says when Ugandan
troops crossed the border in August of 1998, at the
start of the rebellion, they violated Congolese
sovereignty and territorial integrity.
President Kabila's government accuses Rwanda of
massive human rights abuses and of exploiting Congo's
natural resources. Arguing Uganda's case in The Hague
last Wednesday, Attorney General Bart Katureebe called
Congo's claims preposterous. He told the world court
that Uganda has never benefited materially from its
involvement in Congo and has no territorial claim
over any part of the country. Mr. Katureebe said
troops are only in Congo to stop Ugandan rebels from
using that ground to launch cross-border raids.
Uganda says it's occupying positions inside Congo
under a 1997 deal with President Kabila for joint
operations to improve security. That deal came just
after Uganda helped put President Kabila in power and
before it backed this rebellion to unseat him.
Co-defendants Rwanda and Burundi are contesting the
international court's jurisdiction in the case.
Uganda is not. (Signed)
NEB/SS/KL
30-Jun-2000 21:46 PM EDT (01-Jul-2000 0146 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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