Museveni Urges Tshisekedi to Talk to M23 Rebels

President Museveni has urged his Congolese counterpart, Felix Tshisekedi to hold talks with M23 rebels, Chimp Corps report.

Tshisekedi has since dismissed calls for political talks with M23 rebels, whom he describes as “terrorists.”

He recently said the M23 should gather in gazetted cantonment area or face the wrath of the Congolese military.

However, the government troops have failed to defeat the rebel movement reportedly backed by Rwanda.

President Museveni on Monday said the M23 movement is a political problem which can be solved by discussion because the rebels are not asking for big demands to end the conflict.

He said some of their demands are simply; “To go back to their homes which they run away from and to be integrated in the army.”

Museveni added: “So, we are encouraging Tshisekedi (President of DRC) to agree with them (the M23 rebels) and if they do not want to discuss, then we can treat them as a negative force.”

“Many of the rebels are willing to contribute to the national security instead of becoming refugees.”

Museveni was today meeting with the Chairperson of the African Union (AU) Commission Mr. Moussa Faki Mahamat at State House Entebbe on Monday, July 24 over the insecurity in Eastern Congo and Sudan.

“We have 480,000 Congolese as refugees here in Uganda and 1.2 million South Sudanese,” said Museveni.

“Those people who are running from their village don’t want to run away; they want to stay but they run away because they have no alternative. So, if you give them the ability to defend their village, they will defend it and you don’t have to fear them,” Museveni advised.

On his part, Moussa called on Museveni to discuss ways of finding lasting solutions to the instability on the continent including DRC and Sudan.

“A few weeks ago, I convened a summit in Luanda, Angola about Eastern Congo conflicts. The insecurity has taken a long time and we need a solution. We need to know the root cause of the problem for an appropriate action to be taken,” Moussa said.

Imperialism 

Museveni said the problems of Africa are all connected to Western imperialism and their interests which Uganda rejected.

President Museveni said the problems in DR Congo started in the 1960’s perpetuated by imperialists overthrowing the legitimacy and sovereignty of the people of the country after the election of Patrice Lumumba who was later killed.

“From that time, Congo has never stabilised. They have never had a national political party; they have never had a national army,” the President said, adding that although the Eastern Congo has since become a place for all the terrorists, all hope is not lost, and the problem will be solved.

“In my view, we are working bilaterally with the DR Congo government to deal with these issues, including that of the ADF. It is really possible to solve these problems and we are already doing that,” he said.

DR Congo has been facing a serious security crisis for decades, leading to the deaths of millions of people.

In Sudan, government forces have been battling the Rapid Support Forces since mid-April, displacing thousands of people to neighbouring countries.

Sudan 

He said the insecurity in the Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo and Sudan can be solved once leaders agree to reject sectarian politics and embrace politics based on the common interests of the people.

“When we got independence in 1962, we were in crisis,” Museveni noted, referring to political parties at that time that were based on either tribal or religious grounds and could not unite the people of Uganda.

“During that time around 1965 we started a student movement to reject all this nonsense. We said we don’t want sectarianism but people’s interest,” the President noted, adding that they were able to organise a national force that defeated Idi Amin in 1979 and another war in 1981-1986.

“And that’s how we came in and created some stability here,” he stressed.

About the Sudan problem, Museveni said it is majorly about politics of identity and he has advised them on three things; to stop fighting, Plan for elections and offer amnesty to those willing to work for peace.

Mr. Moussa expressed gratitude to President Museveni for all the advice and guidance in his tenure as the chairperson of the commission for the last 6 years.