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Source App: [EU threatens aid cut if no Congo ceasefire soon - Netscape]
EU threatens aid cut if no Congo ceasefire soon
KAMPALA, Dec 10 (Reuters) - The European Union threatened on Thursday to scale
down aid to several African nations involved in fighting in the Democratic
Republic of the Congo and called for an immediate ceasefire in the conflict
there.
"The EU calls for an immediate freeze on military operations, an agreement on a ceasefire among all parties involved in the conflict and the opening of a process leading to the withdrawal of all foreign troops," the European Union said in a statement issued in the Ugandan capital Kampala.
It was issued by Austria, current holder of the rotating EU presidency, on the sidelines of a three-day meeting between Uganda and its mainly Western donors.
"If no political solution is actively pursued, the EU might find it increasingly difficult to continue its present level of budgetary assistance to countries involved in the conflict should they persist on the military option," the statement said.
Facing an armed rebellion in eastern Congo, President Laurent Kabila has marshalled military support from Zimbabwe, Namibia and Angola, who fight in the name of the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC).
On the other side, Uganda and Rwanda have deployed troops in support of the rebels who have seized around half of the vast country in a war that started in August.
The EU was critical of Uganda's military involvement, saying that fighting up to 700 km (440 miles) inside Congo hardly justified Uganda's claim to be dealing with legitimate security concerns along its border.
"It has to be stressed that Uganda's military presence within the DRC has a very high cost which would be reduced if a negotiated settlement to the conflict was found immediately," the statement said.
The European Union suspended aid to the then Zaire in 1992 because of its slow progress in democratisation, and has not resumed direct aid since Kabila took power last year, though it has provided aid through non-government organisations.
But it is a major donor to other countries in the region, providing them with hundreds of millions of dollars in aid during the 1990s.
On Wednesday, Norway said it was deeply unhappy with the involvement of Zimbabwe and Namibia in the Congo conflict, arguing that they shared no borders with Congo and their presence simply hurt their domestic budgets.
Norway also criticised Rwanda and Uganda, although it said it could understand some of their security concerns.
Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni on Wednesday defended his involvement in Congo saying that, unlike Europe, Uganda had no regional organisations to help it defend itself against turmoil.