|
Uganda Rwanda
The increasing number of Rwandan refugees in Uganda
heightened tensions between Kampala and Kigali throughout
the
1980s. The fact that many of these refugees had supported
Idi
Amin while he was in power provoked official displeasure
and
retribution during Obote's second presidency. In 1982
Obote,
hoping to resolve the refugee problem and prevent
challenges to
his administration, expelled 60,000 ethnic Rwandans,
accusing
them of "antigovernment activities." Many of those evicted
claimed to be Ugandan citizens whose families had lived in
Uganda
since the late 1800s.
Museveni, who was of Ankole descent but had relatives
in
Rwanda, had recruited approximately 1,000 Rwandans into
the NRA
during the early and mid-1980s. Several journalists had
reported
that the Rwandans formed the core of the original NRA, and
government critics complained about "foreign influence"
over the
national army. Rumors of Rwandans serving in the Ugandan
military
forming the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) in the late
1980s
alarmed officials in Kigali who believed that the RPF
posed a
threat to Rwandan president Juvénal Habyarimana. A few
officials
in Kigali alleged that Museveni had promised assistance to
Rwandan insurgents in exchange for their military support
in the
early 1980s, when he was leading a guerrilla army in
western
Uganda.
In 1989 Uganda and Rwanda agreed to resolve their
differences. In February, for example, Uganda agreed to
naturalize a few Rwandans already living in Uganda, while
Rwanda
pledged to consider repatriating others on a case-by-case
basis.
In early May, Museveni and Habyarimana affirmed their
commitment
to resolve the refugee problem with assistance from the
UNHCR.
Despite both governments' optimism that these
discussions
marked the beginning of improved relations, hostilities
between
the two countries soon resumed. On October 1, 1990, the
RPF
invaded Rwanda from bases in Uganda. The initial force,
numbering
a few thousand, grew to approximately 7,000, including
roughly
4,000 deserters from the NRA and a number of Rwandan
refugees.
The RPF issued its Eight-Point Program calling for
economic and
political reforms in Rwanda, similar to those espoused by
Museveni in Uganda.
As the war spread throughout northern Rwanda in late
1990,
relations between the two countries became more strained.
President Habyarimana repeatedly accused Uganda of
providing
military assistance to the RPF and preparing to invade
Rwanda,
charges that Kampala consistently denied. President
Museveni, in
turn, accused Rwandan government troops of conducting "hot
pursuit" operations into Uganda. Repeated efforts to
negotiate an
end to the fighting in Rwanda failed.
Data as of December 1990
|
