Barbara Among
11 May 2008
Kampala — PRESIDENT Yoweri Museveni yesterday discussed the on-going border dispute with his Congolese counterpart Joseph Kabila in the Tanzanian capital Dar-es- Salaam.
The face-to-face meeting between the two leaders, facilitated by Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete, resolved that no action should be taken by either side while the border demarcation exercise is going on.
"They agreed that as the border remarking takes place, the status quo should be maintained along the common border," a joint communiqué said.
According to foreign affairs officials, this means that the Congolese army has to withdraw from the disputed border area in Vurra, West Nile, and go back to its former position.
On May 2, Congolese soldiers and the police occupied a stretch of no-man's land between Uganda and the DRC. They also moved Congo's border post 4kms closer to Uganda.
Security minister Amama Mbabazi called the move "provocative" and a violation of international laws.
In a bid to defuse the tension, local authorities in West Nile convened a meeting with their Congolese counterparts last week, which the Congolese team cancelled at the last minute.
In Dar es Salaam, the two presidents agreed that any future border dispute should be solved at the national level.
"They agreed that in case of any border dispute, the local authorities should refer to their respective governments for guidance."
On Rukwanzi, an island on Lake Albert, which was at the core of another border dispute last year, Museveni and Kabila agreed to immediately implement the joint administration of the island.
A British worker of Heritage Oil was killed there by Congolese soldiers in August 2007. Kinshasa accused the oil boat of having crossed into its waters, a claim the company denied.
Tensions between Uganda and Congo have been growing ever since oil was discovered in the Lake Albert basin, which is shared by both countries.
The Rukwanzi incident led to a September 2007 meeting between Museveni and Kabila in Ngurdoto, also Tanzania, in which both leaders agreed to carry out a joint border demarcation, based on the colonial boundaries.
In what seems a watered-down version of the Ngurdoto Agreement, the two heads of state yesterday decided to "examine the possibility" of elevating their diplomatic representation to ambassadorial level.
Earlier, they had vowed to "normalise and strengthen their bilateral relations by upgrading their diplomatic missions".
Most striking is the chapter on the Lord's Resistance Army.
Whereas in Ngurdoto, the leaders agreed to a time-table for military action against the rebels, with implementation to start in January 2008, yesterday's meeting only called upon the LRA leader to sign the final peace agreement.
"With regard to LRA, they asked Joseph Kony to urgently sign the final peace agreement and adhere to the Juba peace process," the release states.
The presidents further reiterated their pledge to cooperate economically.
They noted with satisfaction the signing of memoranda of understanding between the ministers of energy and minerals of both countries.
They also agreed to approach the European Union and other donors to finance the electricity inter-connection between western Uganda and Congo.
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