DR Congo: MONUSCO going high tech.

New Vision ( Uganda ) reports

UN drones to monitor M23 rebel activities
KINSHASA - The first in a fleet of United Nations drones will begin monitoring rebel activity on the borders of the Democratic Republic of Congo next month, a UN commander said mid-this week.

I am not sure of the Obama administration's position on the drones per say but I am guessing they are not against it.

General Carlos Alberto Dos Santos Cruz, commander with the UN peacekeeping brigade in the country, said the unarmed drone would be airborne by the last week of November.

For the life of me I can't think why this information was made public, we all knew that drones were going to be deployed but I see absolutely no reason to give M23 the time table for deployment.
 
"The initial base to operate the aerial vehicle will be in Goma, and for five months we are going to increase the equipment," he said.

Kagame is not going to like that, one almost gets the feeling that this is a response to the Rwandan military buildup along the DR Congo / Rwanda border, my concern would be that if the UN only have the one drone to deploy Goma might be a very vulnerable place to base it.  

The brigade hopes to have surveillance 24 hours a day by "March or April", he added.

Hopefully the M23 problem will have been resolved by March next year, however there are no shortage of other criminal outfits such as the genocidal Rwandan FDLR and the Ugandan ADF, like M23 I will spill absolutely no tears should they come to a catastrophic end infact I will applaud the Intervention ( African ) Brigade and MONUSCO should they bring about such a result.

The United Nations said in August it had ordered its first surveillance drones from an Italian company to patrol the volatile eastern region, centred around the flashpoint city of Goma.

The drones' target will be the activities of the M23 movement, founded by former Tutsi rebels who were incorporated into the Congolese army under a 2009 peace deal.

"...former Tutsi rebels..." I am guessing they are still Tutsi but there is certainly a question mark over their rebel status, Rwandan insurgents I suspect would be more accurate.  That said it is not helpful to view this as an ethnic fight. The consequences for ethnic Tutsis who are Congolese citizens is often death at the hands of fools who have either been manipulated into stupid racist positions or who are genuine racists. Either way the UN forces need to stamp out this shit and guarantee the security of all eastern DR Congo citizens. 

Complaining the deal was never fully implemented, they mutinied in April 2012, turning their guns on their former comrades.

If the trial is successful in the DR Congo, where the drones will also monitor the borders with Rwanda and Uganda, they could also be used in South Sudan, Ivory Coast and in other UN missions.

The trial will be successful and it is not only inevitable drones will be used else where it is desirable.

The announcement came as the chief of the UN's peacekeeping force in the DR Congo, which has the unprecedented right to use deadly force against rebels groups in the country, said he had been made aware of a "disturbing" increase in manpower among the group.

"We have reports of the recruitment by force of young people in Rwanda," Martin Kobler said, potentially destined to join the rebels currently terrorising the Congolese population.

I suspect that both regular and reservist Rwandan troops have also been added to the M23 ranks. I think that there is a good argument for the UN forces to be given smart weapons to make use of the intelligence that will be gathered by the drones. Identifying and then being able to act against the M23 leadership and other threats in real time would be a huge advantage.

The UN accuses Rwanda of backing the M23 rebels in eastern DR Congo, a charge the country has adamantly denied.

Neighbouring Rwanda was handed American sanctions last week for allegedly backing ethnic-Tutsi Congolese rebels who recruit child soldiers.

Kobler said he also had "irrefutable proof" that M23 rebels were acquiring more military equipment.

I have no doubt Rwanda is arming M23 and the political and military leadership of Rwanda need to be held accountable for the criminal acts they are perpetuating against not only the Congolese but other innocents whom Rwanda has put in harms way.

DR Congo: Heros of the eastern DR Congo

Voice Of America ( at All Africa ) reports

Virunga National Park Offers Economic Boost to Eastern Congo

                                                                              Virunga’s Hydroelectric Team.

The Virunga National Park in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, DRC, announced it has a 10-year plan to re-invigorate the local economy and create tens of thousands of new jobs.

Readers of this blog will be aware of just how impressive the team at Virunga National Park are. Governance in the eastern DR Congo is joke with one exception and that is the management of Virunga National Park it is not only the exception it is also exceptional.

The plan, called "The Virunga Alliance," is a partnership with other groups including the Howard G. Buffett Foundation. It's providing early technical and financial support for the project, including a network of off-grid hydro-electric plants along the banks of the Rutshuru River.

I blogged about this back in August when the hydroelectric plant was commissioned it was a fairly short blog full of photos the single sentence was:

" I have said it before the guys at Virunga are the real heros of the Eastern DR Congo "

Once again they have proved my assertion.

Emmanuel de Merode, director of Virunga National Park, emphasized the importance of providing sustainable development in North Kivu province which has seen over 20 years of armed conflict.

Emmanuel is one of my heros. He would make a bloody good Kiwi, I rate him right up there with Sir Ed, but he is where he is needed, it is funny how good people know where they are needed. Something that is not much known about Emmanuel is that he doesn't need to do this dangerous difficult job.

" Merode was born at Carthage, the second son of Charles Guillaume, Prince de Merode, and of his wife Princess Hedwige de Ligne (sister of Charles-Antoine, Prince de Ligne de La Trémoïlle). His parents belong to two of Belgium's historically most ancient and influential families. Emmanuel de Merode does not use his hereditary title in professional contexts, however he is legally a prince in Belgium's nobility, the title having been conferred upon the family in 1929."

That said, he does it. And he does it bloody well. If only all Belgians had conducted themselves in the manner of Emmanuel how different things might be today.    

"It's an area that has been affected by a very violent civil war, a war that is considered to have caused the death of over five million people. Because of that, the infrastructure and the economy have collapsed [and] ... we are now in a cycle of violence," explained de Merode. He said what's needed is peace, which can only be built once the economy is again developed.

Exactly. But not only peace, the eastern DR Congo needs Virunga National Park and the team who work there. I have no doubt that the people of Virunga National park will be critical when it comes to the recovery and rebuilding of this troubled corner of the world.

"What we're trying to do is draw on Virunga National Park as a resource in order to boost the economy, create jobs, and enable the local community to improve their livelihood," said de Merode.

The national park director said investing in a network of off-grid hydro-electric power plants generates electricity to power rural industry.

"If you look at many of the studies that have been done in extremely poor communities around the world, nearly all of them point towards rural electrification as the highest return on investment if what you are trying to do is alleviate poverty," de Merode explained.

Just imagine the future potential of the eastern DR Congo if the sustainable development dream of the Virunga team was realised. The tourism potential of Virunga National Park alone is huge as we know from history, but this is one of the richest areas in the world from a resource perspective. Leadership is in short supply but, and it is not a big but, it is there. 

The electrification effort began three years ago as a pilot project. It included a power plant at the base of the foothills of the 17,000 foot high snow-capped Ruwenzori Mountains in the northern part of the park.

"That small hydro-plant [is] only half a megawatt, and that's the equivalent of about 40,000 light bulbs. [It's] now responsible ... for the creation of two small industries. One is the creation of a soap factory, and the other is a substance called papaya enzyme. It's an organic substance produced in North Kivu. And both of those products can only be produced if there's electricity. It's only thanks to the national park that there is electricity," said de Merode.

Actually it is not only thanks to the National Park. It is thanks to your people Emmanuel.

Another aspect of the park is that it is home to mountain gorillas, an endangered species with only 820 remaining in the world. De Merode said it has been an overwhelming struggle trying to protect the park and the communities surrounding it. He pointed out that over 130 park rangers have been killed since the beginning of civil war in the D-R-C.

I follow the Virunga blog and three times I have read about rangers who have been killed doing their job.  I don't agree that it is a civil war though. Even more worrying is the huge build up of Rwandan troops on the border between two nations. Once again the forces of destruction are poised at the door of the eastern DR Congo. Emmanuel has a far better idea, maybe just once sanity will prevail. 

The conservationist director emphasized that the future of the park and the gorillas will not be ensured until the fundamental issues of conflict and poverty are addressed.

                                                                        Photo: Virunga National Park

How true. Thank you Emmanuel and your team. The world is a far better place because of the effort you all make. Go read the Virunga blog.  

DR Congo: Rwanda's Kagame orchestrates a human tragedy.

Last week Alex Engwete blogged on the fate of the " Congolese refugees "  returning to the North Kivu province. 

 (Rwandans deported from Tanzania crossing into Rwanda with their cattle on Sunday, September 8, 2013. Photo Alex Engwete).

Thousands of people claiming to be Congolese refugees poured from Rwanda into North-Kivu Province in massive successive waves that started September 28.

The bulk of these "illegal refugees" are squatting at derelict leprosy hospital facilities in the hamlet of Chengerero, in the M23-controlled Rutshuru territory.

Hundreds of other "returnee families" coming from Rwanda have settled in neighboring hamlet of Kibumba in the neighboring administrative territory of Nyiragongo.

At his weekly presser of Wednesday, October 2, DRC Communications Minister Lambert Mende denounced this strange repatriation of "refugees" without prior notification to the Congolese government and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

New claims have again arisen this week suggesting these " Congolese refugees " are actually those " illegal immigrants " deported from Tanzania and forcibly repatriated to Rwanda it almost seems to batshit crazy to be true but we are of course talking about Rwanda and nothing is too bat shit crazy. Jason Stearns at Congo Siasa blogs.

" For several weeks, there has been a steady movement of Congolese refugees into the Kibumba area north of Goma, the southern edge of M23 territory. According to several UN sources, there may be up to 3,000 such returnees in this area, mostly Congolese Tutsi who fled the country, some as long ago as 1994, and were living in refugee camps in Rwanda.

Another group of around 100-200 families then arrived on 30 September further north, in Jomba. According to some sources, these families may be Rwandans who were expelled from Tanzania weeks ago."

Then we have the following eyewitness account. ( translated by Google )

"According to information we received from the natives, are Rwandan refugees who came from Tanzania and settled in the camp Chengerero leper ," said he, an activist for the rights of Man who went up on Monday. " We were afraid to be identified because the military M23 were all around the camp " and prevented contact with these families has he added , under the guise of anonymity.

Now remember that all this is happening while the Kampala peace talks farce plays out in Uganda between the Congolese government and M23. Should this be confirmed and I have no doubt it will be, then once again we have Rwanda playing a duplicitous game. 

Whilst I have great sympathy for the displaced of Tanzania and think this behaviour on the part of the Tanzanian Government should be met with international condemnation and possible sanctions aimed at the  Tanzanian leadership for what it is clearly a human rights violation I am astounded yet again by the cynicism of the Kagame regime. By doing this Rwanda has provided M23 with a human shield of sorts and at the same time sent innocent people into what will quite probably soon be a war zone. For this Kagame should be held to account at the ICC. 

The people who have been forced to settle in the North Kivu region over the past few weeks should be relocated  to a place of safety quickly. MONUSCO and the International ( African ) Brigade should engage M23 decisively as soon as practically possible and smart weapon technology should be made available to them. 

Rwanda: Kagame just doesn't get it.

New Vision ( Uganda ) Reports

Kagame slams US sanctions over child soldiers

                                                  President Paul Kagame repeated denials of covert support for the M23. 

KIGALI - Rwandan President Paul Kagame on Friday angrily condemned a US decision to impose sanctions against his country for allegedly backing rebels in the Democratic Republic of Congo who recruit child soldiers.

Kagame said the decision would only play into the hands of other rebels made up of remnants of Hutu extremists who carried out the 1994 Rwandan genocide.

Really. That is desperation talk. Stopping his proxies recruiting child soldiers benefits the FDLR how ? I guess under Kagame logic it means that there is a greater pool of children available to be recruited  kidnapped  by the FDLR or some other equally batshit crazy idea.

"It benefits those enemies of our country who seek to destroy what we are trying to build," Kagame said in a speech to parliament.

Calm down  President Kagame the US isn't planning to support the FDLR nor is the UN they remain on the list for eradication by the MONUSCO Intervention ( African ) Brigade.

The United Nations accuses Rwanda of backing the M23 rebels in neighbouring eastern DR Congo, a charge the country has adamantly denied.

On Thursday, Washington said it was invoking the 2008 Child Soldiers Protection Act to end US financial and military assistance to Rwanda.

The Rwandan problem here is two fold the first being that Kagame and company have lied for so long about their support for the vicious murderous bastards that are M23 that they have started to believe that the world has swallowed the fiction that is now their reality. The second problem Rwanda faces is it has been comprehensively outmaneuvered by Uganda an erstwhile supporter of M23. Uganda has managed to downplay its less than spotless record in intervention in the eastern DR Congo and left Rwanda to advance their common foreign policy   agenda. More importantly Uganda correctly read the utter stupidity of the Kagame administration, Kagame is mystified his denials are being ignored that his country has become branded as a rogue state whilst Uganda has supplanted Rwanda as the US principal ally in the Great Lakes Region. 


But Kagame said the sanctions "benefit the people that throw grenades here in Kigali and killed our children", referring to recent attacks in the capital carried out in the run-up to parliamentary elections last month.

"They don't care about our children," he said, lashing out at "those murderers who live in the DRC (and) in South Africa" -- a reference to exiled Hutu extremists linked to the 1994 genocide as well as other opponents.

Well it is a fairly safe bet that the FDLR clowns don't give a toss about Rwandan children it might surprise the killers of Kigali to know that the rest of the world cares deeply about Rwandan kids, as indeed the world cares deeply about the kids living in the eastern DR Congo, that is why the World authorised the Intervention ( Africa ) Brigade to kill not only the M23 clowns he sponsors in the Congo who have been happily murdering and raping children in between recruiting kidnapping them to get killed for Kagame's wet dream of political control of the eastern DR Congo but also to deal with the FDLR and the numerous other armed groups. 


The M23 rebel group was founded by former Tutsi rebels who were incorporated into the Congolese army under a 2009 peace deal but who turned their guns on their former comrades in 2012.

Kagame's government, also dominated by Tutsis, is accused of backing the rebels as part of a proxy war against Hutu rebels in the DRC and to seek influence in the country's mineral-rich eastern Kivu region.

Kagame repeated denials of covert support for the M23, and described the sanctions as an "insult".

He is correct in so far it is an insult and a very calculated one. The amount of money involved is relatively insignificant. Jason Stearns at Congo Siasa blogs.

This decision is symbolic, as it will probably only affect around $500,000 in training programs for the Rwandan army, but is nonetheless important. It can probably be interpreted as the first official indication in months––the UN Group of Experts report in July suggested that Rwandan support had declined––that members of the international community feel that Rwandan support to the M23 continues.

"I don't understand why Rwanda is treated... with such injustice," he said. "Rwanda is going to be judged and held accountable for the mistakes made by others."

Rwanda is just starting to realise the extent of their miscalculation but as per usual they continue to lie. 

DR Congo: M23 are losing the plot. More Batshit Crazy.

Congo DRC News reports ( As I have said before this is an M23 affiliated site and not to be taken seriously from a news perspective, this however is pure comedy gold it has been translated from French by Google Translate. )

Congo: M23 Warns the Kinshasa government

                                                                                     A white helicopter

Official Communiqué No. 058/M23/2013

Branch of the Movement of March 23 to the attention of the public as follows:

And the public are interested in this because ?

01. This Tuesday, October 1, 2013, two helicopters painted white colors and marked A flew at very low altitude, our space for more than three hours from the southern town of KIBUMBA through those RUGARI, Bukima, Runyoni, Ntamugenga TONGO to come out;

M23 delusions of sovereignty seem to be holding on.   ".. and marked A " ?

02. This Wednesday, October 2, 2013, another helicopter carrying the same information redid the flies of our space in the same conditions of altitude and time except that, unlike those of the previous day, it flew over the city of Bunagana;

That is a bit of a worry a white helicopter flew over a city as well as flew over some towns. I think that all helicopters in the DR Congo should stop flying and find a less offensive means of going about their business.

03. After checking with the upper echelons of MONUSCO, it turned out that these armed helicopters do not belong to the United Nations Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo, for its part, denies having made such flights in our space at the times indicated;

"...these armed helicopters..."  That must be what the A stands for. Good to see the the UN Mission sharing such information as its forces dispositions with an enemy force such as M23. Shit are M23 really that stupid ?

04. It is therefore a camouflage under the label UN enemies gear to deceive the attention of our Army to ensure coverage of military reconnaissance, including surprise attacks.

Or it could just be the UN getting some some tactical information for the intervention Brigade so they can continue their mission of destroying armed groups murdering innocents in the DR Congo or maybe that " big A " we talked about earlier could stand for Army. FARDC the guys you have been fighting. Their job is also to kill you. 

As a result, management of our Movement warns those responsible for acts of provocation. They are therefore warned that in case of recurrence, clear and unequivocal instruction are those of our army to ensure the immediate destruction and without warning of these deadly weapons.

So you are going to fire on the helicopters because they are white have an A on them and might not belong to the UN.

Made Bunagana, October 2, 2013

The Head of the Department of Communication and Media

Comrade Amani Kabasha

What a bunch of morons.

DR Congo: Flying a ( false ? ) flag in Kampala

Voice of America reports

DRC Hopeful Peace Talks with Rebels Ends Next Week

DRC Foreign Minister Raymond Tshibanda (L) and M23 Spokesman Rene Abandi discuss the situation, at DRC peace talks in Kampala, Uganda, Sept. 17. (VOA/A. Hall)

An official of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) says peace talks between the government and the M23 rebel group in neighboring Uganda’s capital, Kampala could be concluded next week.

Information Minister Lambert Mende also expressed hope that the conclusion of the talks could pave way for peace, stability and the protection of lives and property in the restive parts of the North Kivu province.

“We are coming to an end because the facilitator the Uganda Minister for Defense [Crispus Kiyonga] has delivered a keynote on which we are going to give our remarks very soon and probably we can finish everything maybe next week,” said Mende. “I think a lot of things that we have said and the facilitator has taken into account, so I think we are approaching a solution.”

I some how doubt it very much.

Talks between the Congolese government and the rebels resumed after heads of state in Africa’s Great Lakes region demanded a resumption of the negotiations.

The African leaders, who recently met in Kampala to find ways of ending the conflict, demanded the talks begin within three days and end within 14 days.    

Some observers say the ongoing talks have flouted the regional leaders’ directive to end within the two-week window. But, Mende disagreed.

“It didn’t work [and] we didn’t end the talks within two weeks. But, if we end next week it won’t destroy the work and it will not be a bad thing,” he said.

I suspect that finishing next week or in 6 weeks will make no difference. There is absolutely no point in these talks. 

Some of the victims of the M23 rebel insurgency in the restive North Kivu provinces are hopeful that a solution could be reached at the peace talks to ensure peace in the area.

The DRC and the United Nations have accused Uganda and Rwanda of supporting armed groups that often fight the Congolese national army. But both Uganda and Rwanda have denied the accusation.

To be fair Uganda seems to have at best an indifferent attitude to the fate of the M23 rebels. 
 
“You know that this rebellion is not a Congolese one,” said Mende. “It was masterminded by Rwanda. So, if Rwanda wants to cooperate with its own commitment, we think that we shall end this sickness of our region.”

Rwanda I am sure is reinforcing M23 in anyway it can. If Rwanda was to stand down the troops it has massing on the Congolese border and disown M23 then maybe we could take the peace talks seriously but that is not going to happen.
         
Mend says the government in Kinshasa is pleased with the peacekeeping wok by the United Nations intervention brigade in the country.

I don't doubt it and the International Brigade ( Africa Brigade ) will have more work to do before this situation reaches its conclusion.
 
“We are satisfied by the effort that is being made by these international forces for one or two months now. We think that a good job will be done as soon as this M23 had decided to disarm, itself we shall see the situation of the FDLR [Hutu rebel group] who are destroying our country and threatening their country and other national armed groups,” said Mende. “We shall disarm all of them and we hope that the job will be done.”

I just can't see M23 disarming, that said the FDLR need bring to heel fast. The effective elimination of the FDLR ( These are the scum behind the Rwandan genocide ) is as high as a priority as M23. Removing them removes the Rwandan justification for interfering in the DR Congo.

Uganda: Museveni hits Europe

New Vision ( Uganda ) reports

Netherlands hails Uganda on regional peace

                                                 President Museveni meeting King of Netherland Welen Alexander in Hague


President Yoweri Museveni has called on Western countries not to focus on residual troubled spots when planning for Africa saying most of the continent is peaceful and secure with no war or the threat of potential war.

That is great news. However ...... 

Rwanda has responded to regional criticism about its military deployment along the frontier with the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo saying its territory had been repeatedly hit by cross-border shelling.

“Rwanda did not deploy along the border for the sake of it. During a 10-day period our country was shelled 34 times,” Rwanda’s ambassador to South Africa, Vincent Karega, told BDlive on Monday 

That of course the shelling was instigated at Kigali's command to their proxy M23 seems to have been forgotten. 

" We are also concerned by reports of shelling across the Rwandan border, including credible UN reports that the M23 has fired into Rwandan territory. We call on the M23 to immediately end the hostilities, lay down their arms, and disband, in accordance with UN Security Council resolutions."

“There are some problems in Eastern Congo, Somalia and parts of North Africa but almost 70percent of Africa is peaceful with no possibility of war. When planning for companies to invest in Africa, don’t focus on troubled areas because those are residual,” he said.

And let's not forget Tanzania and Malawi. 

However, the former Tanzania’s Prime Minister Edward Lowassa who is now the chairman of his country’s Parliamentary committee on defense, security and foreign affairs was last week quoted by he local media as saying that Tanzania was ready to go to war if need be.

Nigeria maybe ? 

In the last 18 months, Islamist militants have terrorised the north-east of the country and killed hundreds of people.

Abia state used to be known as the kidnapping capital of Nigeria - families of politicians and businessmen were targeted on what seemed like an industrial scale.

How about the Central African Republic ? 

In Central African Republic we have seen new displacement this week in the northwest of the country, sparked by new fighting there.

Heavy clashes were reported between Saturday and Tuesday between unidentified armed groups in and around the towns of Bossembele and Bossangoa, 150 kilometers and 300 kilometers northwest of the capital Bangui respectively. As of now fighting appears to have subsided in the area, but the situation remains very tense.

Then there is North Africa 

Yes. If unchecked, violence could intensify, at least in North African countries. Hardline Islamist ideology has gathered steam chiefly among poor young men left adrift amid youth unemployment and lack of development. Deepening conflict could also affect oil markets if installations in Algeria or Libya – both major hydrocarbons producers – come under threat.

The President, who is on a three-day working visit in Holland, was meeting the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Frans Timmemans at his residency at the Crown Plaza Hotel in Hague.

Timmemans was accompanied by the Director Sub-Saharan Africa Micheal Stibbe and the desk officer for Uganda Ms. Eva Van Woersem. The meeting was also attended by Uganda’s ambassador to the Benelux countries and the European Union Mirjam Blaak and that of the Netherlands to Uganda Alphons Hennekens.

He said what has been lacking in Africa is visionary leadership that could easily identify strategic bottlenecks that have been keeping Africa back.

Yes. Somewhat ironic though.

“There are various bottlenecks including the wrong attitude towards the private sector that led to the nationalization of private assets and the lack of infrastructure such as electricity generation. But these have been identified and the private sector is now emancipated,” he said, adding that they are now addressing the issue of markets and trade through regional integration.

Well it is fairly hard to gain a revenue stream from privately owned business the only real option is corruption. If they are part of the public sector you can raid their revenues and as a bonus sell the rotting hulks off in a privatisation drive.  

                                                                             Well yes

“There is more progress and Africa is becoming more vibrant. I speak English but am getting more business from the Chinese than from my English speaking friends. Europe needs to support their companies to invest in Africa,” he said.

I am guessing he does not speak Dutch.

On the conflict in Eastern DRC, President Museveni said they are trying to make sure that Eastern Congo does not become a haven for terrorists and called on political leaders and development partners to support President Kabila to concentrate on developing an ideology and building state institutions.

Maybe he would like to remind Rwanda of that.

“The idea is not to improve our CVs as having been president. The idea is the mission. If your country is sick what diagnosis do you have for it,” he said.

In Museveni's case that mission has so far taken him 27 years. The Irony Museveni on presidential terms. 

“The problem of Africa in general and Uganda in particular is not the people but leaders who want to overstay in power.” He promised Uganda a new constitution that would empower the people and limit the powers and the time a president can serve.

The new constitution came into effect in 1995. Under this constitution, elections for members of parliament and the president should be held every five years and a president can only serve for two terms each of five years.

Minister Timmermans said his government highly appreciates President Museveni’s vision and efforts in Africa and in the Great Lakes region to bring peace and stability and pledged their support to more peace keeping initiatives. He said there is need for a change of attitude in the western world to have more enthusiasm to know what is happening in Africa.

“Government highly appreciates your vision and efforts in Africa and the Great Lakes region to bring peace and stability. Change of attitude is necessary so that people here can be more enthusiastic about what is happening in Africa,” he said.

Yes... there is of course one slight huge problem. 

In the mid-to-late 1990s, Museveni was lauded by the West as part of a new generation of African leaders. His presidency has been marred, however, by invading and occupying Congo during the Second Congo War (the war in the Democratic Republic of Congo which has resulted in an estimated 5.4 million deaths since 1998) and other conflicts in the Great Lakes region. Recent developments, including the abolition of presidential term limits before the 2006 elections and the harassment of democratic opposition, have attracted concern from domestic and foreign commentators.

For all that there seems to have been an improvement in Ugandas attitude towards regional security issues.

The two leaders discussed various local and regional issues including the situation in DRC and Somalia.

The meeting was also attended by Uganda’s members of parliament Monica Amoding for Youth and Kyewalabye Majegere Waira.

I am not convinced but.....