National
Regional leaders in Kampala for Congo talks
KAMPALA - At least six Heads of State from the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region are expected to attend a two-day regional summit in Kampala, Uganda, called to agree on how to address the ongoing crisis in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo.
President Paul Kagame is expected to participate. Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni will host the two-day summit of 11-member International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR).
Sources said Congolese President Joseph Kabila was expected last evening.
While all the 11 ICGLR member states will be represented, Jackson Abigaba, a protocol official at Uganda’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said five Heads of State had confirmed attendance.
Kinshasa has accused Rwanda of arming the M-23 mutiny which has battled regular forces in the eastern DRC since April, sending thousands of refugees across Rwanda and Ugandan borders.
A meeting of regional defence ministers held in Khartoum last week was supposed to hammer out some of the details of the force.
Regional foreign ministers holding preparatory meetings behind closed doors on Monday were discussing at least three types of forces, according to documents available at the venue.
One option would see the region’s states contribute troops and funds, and the African Union has said it is ready to contribute to such a force.
A second option is “an international and regional force incorporated into MONUSCO” and including a beefed up mandate as MONUSCO’s current mandate is limited to the protection of civilians.
The third proposal is an “interim MONUSCO force” but the document did not specify if this would be in addition to the “international and regional force.”
The 11-nation ICGLR comprises Angola, Burundi, Central African Republic, Republic of Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Sudan, Tanzania and Zambia.
The UN published a Group of Experts document accusing Rwanda of backing the M23 Congolese rebels, a report Foreign Affairs and Cooperation Minister, Louise Mushikiwabo described as “categorically false and dangerous rumours.”
Diplomatic sources who spoke to The New Times on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter, said DRC officials at the meeting still consider the UN Stabilising Mission in the Congo (MONUSCO) as a force that can play this role.
MONUSCO with more than 17,000 troops has been unsuccessful in curbing the violence in the region and has done little to protect the Congolese civilian population.
“We are opposing this effort because we want a regional solution to our regional problems, and MONUCO is mainly comprised of forces from countries that can’t understand our conflicts,” said a source.
“We should be able to mobilise troops and funds to have this neutral force in place,” the source said, citing AMISOM that has successfully brought back peace to Somalia where international players failed.
DRC’s Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Defence, Alexander Luba Tembo, told reporters that his country supports formation of a neutral international force but was non committal on whether he supported it to replace MONUSCO.
Most Read News
- Rwanda wants lead UN expert on Congo probed
- Parliament passes top politicians benefits bill
- Kampala summit on Congo should tackle citizenship
- Fire guts Akagera Park
- EAC joint military exercises set for October
- Court postpones ruling in PS graft case
- Regional leaders in Kampala for Congo talks
- President Putin linked with Milan investment
- UN Humanitarian chief visits Rwanda
- President Kagame in Uganda for regional meeting







Comments
As long as Congolese will not love their country and decide to stand, fight and die for it, there will never be peace in thir country. And this is very unfortunate for a country as huge and as rich as DRC!Their problem is that very few Congolese are patriotic. Ver few. History proves it. From its leadership to the very poor citizen, very few actually sit down, analyses and thus act for the good of the country. The RPF, after realising that neither the International Community nor their fellow Rwandans really wanted peace in the country, decided to stand up and fight for the rights of those that had always been marginalised. We all see what came out of it today. A country where everyone can have access to education, health benefits etc without discrimination. Congolese should just stop asking for help from cthe UN and all other countries and be able to say NO to the mess that has been describing such a wondeful country. Plus i don't see why they should always involve foreigners in their politics. Congolese, please think again and stop being the "little boy that is always defensless and expecting the stronger boys to rescue him" after all you have so much more human and natural resources!!So why always relying on others?
Reply | Close
I sometimes wonder whether are our African leaders do realise that its not easy to use looters to protect what they intend to loot. It is a well known fact that the so called Monusco which was supposed to disarm rebels and militias,used to do it during daytime and at night give the arms back to the same on a ransom of valuable resources. The same group which was set up to protect civillians turned around and raped young girls,and its a pity that the so called experts have never even bothered to investigate on these matters.I also doubt the will by UN to solve Congo crisis how dare you set up a committe is composed of people who are totally green of the historical back ground of the region and even dare to name them experts, how can you be an expert on a subject that you don't understand.Fellow Africans Congo resources are Africas God given blessings we ought come together collectivelly and protect them.who knows just as those foreighners gathered in Berlin in 1885 and shared our Africa amongest themselves,I'm sure they've never stopped especially now that black gold have been discovered in most of our continent.History repeats its self. They partitioned Africa in a pattern of division and separating a brother from a brother with there so called artificial borders created by them, don't they didn't know what they were doing. That was there longtime strategy of which we're now wittnessing the repucussions. So dear Africans lets totally denounce there involvement in solving a problem they created knowingly and intetionally. All along the International community has failed because of there unfaithfulness and greed on Africa. Finally there is know crime that ceases to exist until justice is realised I therefore call upon the ICC to deal with earlier crimes by implicating those who violated against Africans by partitioning it without our consent and caused alot of human suffering which left scars to date i.e slavetrade, King Leopold that grabbed the whole Congo and forced the Congolese on forced labour to death etc all these calprits and there likes should brought to book
Reply | Close
Submit your comment