Congo:Renewed call for dialogue

The fourth Extraordinary Summit of Heads of State and Government of the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR), held in Kampala, Uganda, on Monday, reaffirmed the region’s commitment to pursuit of sustainable peace based on home-grown solutions to the recurrent crises in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).The Summit, chaired by President Yoweri Museveni was attended by Presidents Paul Kagame, Joseph Kabila of DRC, President Pierre Nkurunziza of Burundi and President Salva Kiir of South Sudan.It acknowledged steady progress and cooperation of member states.Opening the discussions, ICGLR Executive Secretary, Prof Ntumba Luaba said: “I strongly encourage continued and sustained high-level dialogue at the bilateral and regional level... I welcome the recent progress in strengthening confidence building measures, notably the Joint Verification Mechanism.”At yesterday’s Summit, leaders discussed implementation of the regionally driven mechanisms, which in three months since the first Summit held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, have seen notable advances, including the cessation of hostilities in Eastern DRC. The expanded Joint Verification Mechanism and the Military Assessment team, launched in Goma in September, are operational with all members from the 11 ICGLR member states now on the ground fulfilling their commitment to bringing peace to Eastern DRC.President Museveni, the current ICGLR chair, was, again, tasked with “continuing dialogue with belligerents as well as ensuring support from all member state for the implementation of a neutral force.”By press time, a join communiqué was yet to be issued at the end of the meeting.ICGLR is a regional grouping of 11 countries, whose leaders have met at least four times in a space of three months to try and find lasting solution to the crisis, which broke out in April when elements in the Congolese army mutinied accusing the government of reneging on a March 2009 peace deal under which the former CNDP and PARECO rebels had been integrated in the official army.But the M23 rebellion is just a fraction of DRC’s chronic woes, with the country infested with more than 40 armed groups, including local and foreign militias who have visited untold suffering on the local population.Among these groups is the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) terrorist outfit composed of elements largely blamed for the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in which more than a million people were slaughtered.The Kampala meeting comes just days after UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon hosted a high-level summit on the Congo – on the sidelines of the 67th UN General Assembly – in New York, which rallied support for the region’s DRC peace roadmap, but fell short of cooling tensions caused by the latest conflict.UN experts and Kinshasa have accused Kigali of backing the M23 rebels, but the latter has strongly denied the allegations, and instead blamed the Congolese government of provoking the mutiny and integrating FDLR militants in their ranks.Rwanda has also accused Kinshasa of fuelling anti-Rwanda sentiments, which have led to targeted attacks, torture and killings of Congolese of Rwandan origin.The M23 rebels, who have previously called for talks with the government, last week threatened to expand their territory accusing the latter of failing to protect civilians – which would effectively end a two-month lull in fighting.The group had declared a unilateral ceasefire, citing a request by President Museveni, who was asked by the last ICGLR summit to continue engaging the two warring parties with a view of reaching a political settlement.The regional grouping has clearly stated it prefers a political solution to a military option even as it has taken preliminary steps towards deploying a proposed African neutral force to help return peace to eastern DRC.Meanwhile, President Kagame will today attend Uganda’s 50th Independence Day ceremonies in Kampala.

National

Congo:Renewed call for dialogue