By Vision Reporter
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
He was speaking to Opio Oloya, a New Vision columnist based in Canada, over the weekend.
President Museveni said the UPDF peace-keepers battling al-Shabaab elements in the Somali capital of Mogadishu, were protecting the African Union (AU) flag.
He clarified that UPDF’s response to the al-Shabaab attacks on the African Union troops, does not mean that Uganda is siding with one of the groups in Somalia.
Ugandan and Burundian troops make up the 9,000-strong AU force protecting the embattled Somali government.
“We are not targeting al-Shabaab because we have taken sides. They refused to respect the AU flag and attacked our soldiers,” Museveni said.
He stressed the importance of allowing the parties involved in the Somali peace process if lasting peace is to be achieved.
“Siding with one group against another will be counter-productive in Somalia,” he added. He, however, noted that all the parties must respect the AU flag.
According to a release from State House, Museveni explained that it was possible to pacify the whole country with more troops and resources.
He reported that Uganda was willing to make additional contributions if the AU made requests.
The President pointed out that to make more progress, there was need for air support to boost the mobility of the ground troops.
Museveni dispelled fears that Uganda wants to impose a puppet regime in Somalia.
“We don’t want to impose leadership on the people of Somalia. Our involvement is based on our Pan African principles where we believe that Africans should help each other to overcome problems. Anybody who wants to impose a leadership on the people of Somalia will fail,” he said.
“We must respect the sovereignty of the Somali people and their government. Even when we have a suggestion to make to the interim government, we make it as a suggestion which can be considered or rejected,” the President added.
Museveni observed that earlier attempts to pacify Somalia failed because the parties involved wanted to take sides. “You cannot be a peacemaker and take sides,” he explained.
Museveni said al-Shabaab should discard their fundamentalism and leave the people of Somalia to enjoy their freedom.
The President said he had been informed that some of the shops left closed in the liberated areas of Mogadishu belong to al-Shabaab militants.
He said if the militants want to continue being businessmen, they were free to re-open their businesses.
On fears that adding more troops from other countries would create trouble in Somalia, President Museveni said measures would be taken to ensure good working relations.
Source: New Vision