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Belgium to Set Up Entebbe Base

New Vision (Kampala)
NEWS
October 20, 2004
Posted to the web October 20, 2004

By Anne Mugisa
Kampala
The Belgian army is to establish a base at Entebbe to provide logistical
support to Benin military peacekeepers in the DR Congo's Ituri region.
Addressing a joint press conference with President Yoweri Museveni after a
meeting over Congo yesterday, the Belgian foreign minister, Karel DeGuth, said
the base would be in place next year.
The UN Security Council recently voted to increase the number of peacekeepers
in Congo to boost MONUC, another UN observer force there.
Museveni, who commended Belgium for supporting the Benin battalion, said Uganda
wanted stability in Ituri and North Kivu because the Allied Democratic Force
(ADF) rebels were still hiding there.
Museveni and DeGuth called for the integration of Congolese rebel armies into
the national army, which they said would promote stability the war-torn
country.
DeGuth said the region should also be more involved in the integration process.
Museveni said Uganda, Zimbabwe and South Africa once integrated their armies.
Museveni said Uganda could train the unified Congolese army if asked to.
"The Congo process needs fast-tracking because we need a state there. We need
an organised authority over the territory and the army is the greatest pillar
before others can come in. A country without an army is dangerous," he said.
On the Interahamwe, Museveni said he did not support the UN approach to solving
the interahamwe problem.
He said the Interahamwe threat could only be solved by force.
He said the disarm, demobilise and resettle approach as contained in the Lusaka
agreement, would do the trick.
He said Rwanda and Uganda no longer had a problem with each other.

   

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