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afrol.com, 16 September - The Ugandan representative to the United Nations yesterday evening defended his country's position in the Congo conflict. After obtaining Ugandan help in overthrowing dictator Mobutu, the new Congolese government "had chosen to form an alliance with the very people who posed a threat to Uganda’s security and to turn its back on its internal allies," he stated. Ralph Ochan, the Ugandan representative, expressed concern at the continued instability in the Great Lakes region of Africa. The Government of the Congo Kinshasa (DRC) had done everything possible to block several aspects of the Lusaka Ceasefire Agreement, including the disengagement of forces under UN supervision, he said. The leaders of the region had expressed concern at such obstructions, and there was a serious risk that the region could once again be embroiled in another large-scale war, he warned, appealing to the DRC Government to reconsider its position and choose the path of dialogue with both its internal and external opponents and abandon the path of military confrontation. The conflict had its origins in the massive violation of the human and democratic rights of the peoples during the long reign of dictators in a number of countries. Uganda had worked with progressive forces to help the Congolese people to free themselves from Mobutu Sese Seko. That was why Ugandan troops had been in the Democratic Republic in 1997. When a new regime came to power in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda had signed a protocol of cooperation under which Ugandan and Congolese security forces would cooperate to contain the menace caused by armed groups organized by the remnants of Uganda’s former dictators who were operating from Congolese territory. Within a very short time, however, the Democratic Republic had chosen to form an alliance with the very people who posed a threat to Uganda’s security and to turn its back on its internal allies. A number of African countries had found themselves sucked into the conflict. Those countries soon saw the folly of armed confrontation and chose to end it through negotiations, resulting in the Lusaka Ceasefire Agreement. The UN Security Council on 16 June demanded that Ugandan and Rwandan forces, as well as those of the Congolese opposition and other armed groups, withdraw immediately and completely from the city of Kisangani in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The Council at the same time demanded that Uganda and Rwanda, "which had violated the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, withdraw all their troops from the country's territory without further delay; that each phase of withdrawal completed by their forces be reciprocated by the other parties in conformity with the same timetable; and that all other foreign military presences and activity in Congolese territory be brought to an end in conformity with the Lusaka Ceasefire Agreement." Source: Based on UN
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