Confidence building measures agreed

Defence ministers of Rwanda and Uganda have signed an agreement designed to build confidence and understanding between their once hostile armies, the Ugandan military spokesman, Maj Shaban Bantariza, told IRIN on Monday.

The memorandum of understanding, signed on Friday in the Ugandan capital, Kampala, by Amama Mbabazi of Uganda and his Rwandan counterpart, Brig-Gen Emmanuel Habyarimana, provides for an exchange of military liaison officers, exchanges of information between military intelligence chiefs of the two nations, and operational procedures for patrols and liaison officers who will monitor national parks in border areas.

"The agreement is an effort to normalise relations and attain lasting peace between the two countries," Bantariza said.

The measures adopted were agreed on during an 11-hour meeting between the two ministers, at the end of which they absolved both countries of harbouring dissidents opposed to their respective governments. Each nation had earlier accused the other of training rebels to overthrow their legitimate governments. Representatives of the two countries had exchanged 23 visits to investigate such accusations, but and found no relevant evidence, Kenya’s Daily Nation newspaper reported.

In talks convened by the British government held in November 2001, the presidents of the two countries - Paul Kagame of Rwanda and Yoweri Museveni of Uganda - vowed to set up mechanisms to improve their relations by ensuring that dissident groups did not destabilise their respective governments. The two men met in London to try to heal the rift between the once tightly knit allies. Museveni told the BBC at the time that a joint commission would review the reasons for the underlying tensions, and that that body would investigate complaints of dissident activity in both countries and recommend corrective measures.