UPC asks govt to act peace builder in DR Congo crisis
Congolese refugees walk to a refugee camp in Kiwanja following tensions in their country. PHOTO BY afp
What you need to know:
The opposition party says govt needs not take sides during its intervention.
Kampala
Opposition party UPC yesterday called on the government to intervene and restore peace in the Democratic Republic of Congo, but also warned against taking a partisan position.
The party urges the Kampala establishment to intervene as “a peace builder” but not protagonists in the conflict as they did in the 90s.
“UPC as a Pan-African party, we note with deep concern what is happening in the DR Congo,” Mr Okello Lucima, the party’s spokesperson, said at a weekly news conference.
Mr Lucima said Uganda, which has already committed to regional diplomatic efforts to resolve the ongoing conflict, must still draw from past mistakes when the Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) was sucked into war with DRC and other countries.
Uganda was accused of committing atrocities and plundering Congo’s natural resources that resulted in legal battles between the two countries at the Hague-based International Court of Justice. Uganda was fined to pay $10billion as compensation to DR Congo.
Several Ugandan army officers and politicians were personally held responsible buta locally-constituted commission of inquiry exonerated them of any wrong doing.
Information and National Guidance Minister Mary Karooro Okurut welcomed the counsel from UPC, saying it was in line with government’s approach of finding a long lasting solution to the troubles in the Great Lakes region. “NRM has always believed and practiced dialogue to resolve conflict. When called in by both parties, government will willingly step in,” Ms Okurut said.
Separately, UPC faulted government for the inter-tribal conflict among Bamba, Basongora and Bakonjo tribes in the Rwenzori sub-region. The party said creation of districts along tribal lines and the proliferation of chiefdoms at the prompting of government are the main reason why there is tension in the area.
“No country can achieve a meaningful social and economic process without a sense of common belonging among its citizens. Today, Uganda is highly fragmented and polarised, particularly along ethnic and religious lines due to Museveni’s systematic divide and rule policies,” Mr Lucima said.
“We must end the creation of districts, administrative and electoral constituencies based on ethnic, culture or religion particulars,” he said.
