JOHANNESBURG - The Executive Secretary of the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR), Liberata Mulamula, has called upon the DR Congo government to find a solution to the strife in the Eastern part of the country instead of its continued accusations against Rwanda.

Mulamula, who was addressing journalists on the sidelines of the 10th session of the Pan African Parliament in Johannesburg, South-Africa, said that the Great Lakes Region was facing conflicts because countries that make up this region have suffered from longstanding conflicts and therefore lack mechanisms in conflict resolution. She added that the DR Congo was at the epicenter of all conflicts in the region.

Remarking on the  recent outbreaks of war in the Eastern part of the DR Congo, Mulamula said the country had failed to deal with internal issues that led to the rise of dissident General Laurent Nkunda.

"The Nkunda factor is an internal problem for DR Congo but it has heightened tensions between the country and Rwanda. They constantly allege that Rwanda supports Nkunda but nobody, even the UN force in the region –MONUC has come up with evidence to suggest this is true,” Mulamula pointed out.

She continued that accusations of Rwanda’s support to Nkunda do not help anybody in bringing peace to the DR Congo advising the Congolese government to deal with the negative forces of Interahamwe which pose legitimate security concerns for Rwanda.

"There was no Nkunda factor before the Interahamwe issues; it is only when these negative forces are repatriated that peace will prevail in the region,” Mulamula advised.

She also congratulated Angola and Rwanda for creating stable economies and carrying out peaceful and successful elections while some of their neighbours were fighting.

She, however, lamented the various initiatives that have been undertaken to bring about peace in the Great Lakes Region, pointing out that their failure was because of lack of political will among some of the leaders.

Eastern Congo is currently in crisis after heavy fighting between the government forces against troops under the command of dissident General Laurent Nkunda.

The fighting between the two warring sides has displaced over 150,000 people in the region.

Ends