5 August 2007
editorial
Kampala — By any standards, the attack by Congolese gunmen on an oil barge in Lake Albert on Friday, in which a British geologist was killed, is unacceptable.
The silence of the Congolese Government about the incident only makes matters worse.
Though Congo's defence minister says he does not believe the attackers were soldiers of the Congolese army FARDC, facts on the ground indicate otherwise.
First, the attack took place at the same point where, a week earlier, four UPDF soldiers were arrested - and are still being held - by Congolese armed forces for allegedly crossing into their waters.
Secondly, the barge, which is like a floating island, was already approached earlier on Friday by armed Congolese who introduced themselves as FARDC and accused them of operating on their territory.
Thirdly, sources within the Congolese army, as well as fishermen, have confirmed the loss of one FARDC soldier, and the injuring of another one, during the fire-fight.
It is not in doubt that the barge was operating in Ugandan waters; 2.1km from the international border to be exact.
Heritage uses sophisticated GPS equipment, showing them constantly where they are. Because of the nature of their work, seismic studies, they need to know constantly where they are.
Even when there is a dispute over the border line or the oil, there are mechanisms in place to sort out such differences. There is the Great Lakes Conference and the Tripartite Plus, comprising countries of the Great Lakes region, where issues of regional security are discussed.
There is the Uganda-Congo Joint Verification Mechanism, which meets regularly to handle security matters between both countries.
And there are bilateral contacts on the political level. Even recently, security minister Amama Mbabazi was in Kinshasa, where President Kabila promised to send a delegation to meet with Ugandan oil experts.
Congo needs to explain what this shoot-out was about. The Congolese authorities need to investigate the incident, apprehend the culprits and bring them to book if they want to show they are committed to good neigbourliness.
As Congo's defence minister Chikez Diemu said: "If we find that it was (the Congolese army), those responsible will be punished."
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