What were Ugandan troops doing in DRC to begin with? ....and who said one can pacify a jungle fighters? The last time a country ( USA) tried to pacify a jungle (Vietnam) it failed miserably.
Whoever came out with this notion of I hear "d Ituri Pacification Commission (IPC), is one who does not understand Africa Politics ..and the rule of the jungle!
Let Museveni try to pacify ITURI. !!
Matek
African Church Information Service
February 17, 2003
Posted to the web February 17, 2003
Daniel Benno Msangya
Nairobi
Presidents Yoweri Kaguta Museveni of Uganda and Joseph Kabila of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) have agreed on a complete withdrawal of Ugandan troops from DRC by March 20 this year.
According to a communiqu� issued at the end of two-day talks between Yoweri and Kabila, troop withdrawal would begin February 17 in accordance with an agreement signed in Dar es Salaam, Monday February 11.
The agreement, which is an amendment to last year's Luanda Accord on troop withdrawal from DRC, intends to provide for a new framework for the work of an Ituri Pacification Commission (IPC), expected to start operations on February 25.
Ituri is a district in Orientale Province in north-eastern DRC. The Commission's work is scheduled to be completed in March, the communiqu� said.
Host President Benjamin William Mkapa of Tanzania witnessed the signing of the agreement at the climax of a two-day consultative summit held in Dar es Salaam.
Among the officials present were Uganda's Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Affairs Minister, James Wapakabulo, DRC's Foreign Affairs Minister, Leonard She Okitundu, and Angolan Minister for External Relations, Mr Joao Miranda also signed the agreement as witness. The last two were also signatories to the agreement.
President Museveni promised to continue working together for peace, when asked to comment on his country's commitment towards the agreement. "A child does not grow overnight, nor did a shamba yield fruits the very day it was planted," answered President Museveni adding, "One has to sweat for any sweets they crave for."
His DRC counterpart trod on similar ground, insisting that peace was top priority to his mineral rich country. "The on going looting of resources in the DRC by local and foreign elements is secondary. What we need more than anything else is peace," he said. "Human life is at stake here, you know," he added.
The two leaders held a press conference after their meeting, expressing optimism that the amendment to the Luanda Accord signed in Angola last September 6 would be fruitful.
The consultative meeting was prompted by the deteriorating security and humanitarian situation in Ituri region caused by renewed hostilities between armed factions.
According to the calendar of the Accord, Uganda troops, which President Museveni confirmed to be 2,000, would withdraw from Bunia by March 20, two days after re-establishment of an administrative authority in Ituri.
It was agreed that the IPC preparatory committee be composed of two representatives from DRC, two from Uganda and two from United Nations Mission in DRC (MONUC). Four representatives would come from other stakeholders in Ituri
