ENTEBBE, Uganda— Ugandan President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, upon assuming the chairmanship of the Regional Oversight Mechanism (ROM) of the Peace, Security and Cooperation (PSC) Framework for the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Great Lakes Region, strongly cautioned against foreign interference in regional peace efforts.
During the 12th high-level ROM summit held Thursday at State House Entebbe, His Excellency Évariste Ndayishimiye, the President of Burundi, handed over the instruments of power to Museveni, who will now steer the peace mechanism for the next two years.
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Museveni emphasized the collective responsibility of all involved in the peace processes, asserting that external involvement often complicates matters. “Because we know what the problem is, and it can be solved, but we must have the political will, and foreigners should limit their involvement, because foreigners are the ones who carelessly embolden the mistake,” Museveni stated. He added that such external support can lead “mistake makers” to believe that regional concerns about internal groups do not matter as much as foreign backing.
The Peace, Security, and Cooperation Framework, established in 2013 aims to address the root causes of instability in eastern DRC through collective regional responsibility.
Museveni expressed confidence in the region’s capacity to resolve its own challenges. “We now know the problems, and we can solve them. There’s nothing we don’t know about all these countries: Rwanda, Burundi, Eastern Congo, Tanzania, and Kenya. These are our people. In my opinion, these problems are easy to solve. They are not difficult. What is difficult are the three mistakes: philosophy, ideology, and strategy,” he said.
The Ugandan president specifically blamed the conflicts in the Eastern DRC on what he termed “the politics of identity,” which he contended has been fueled by foreigners since the eras of Mobutu Sese Seko and Juvenal Habyarimana. He cited historical instances where foreign support allegedly led to a disregard for regional appeals, hindering peace.
President Ndayishimiye congratulated Museveni on his new role and assured him of continued support during his tenure.
The high-level meeting, chaired by President Museveni, brought together heads of state and government or their representatives from the signatory countries of the PSC Framework. These included Uganda, Angola, Burundi, the Republic of the Congo, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Kenya, Rwanda, South Africa, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, and Zambia. Representatives of the Guarantor Institutions of the PSC Framework and regional partners also participated.
