DRC, M23 peace talks to resume in Kampala

Talks aimed at ending fighting in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) between government troops and the M23 rebels could resume next week. Though the Uganda People’s Defence Forces Spokesperson Col. Paddy Ankunda who advises the facilitator of the dialogue, Uganda’s Defence Minister Dr. Chrispus Kiyonga, could neither confirm nor deny the resumption of the talks this week, a top M23 delegate confirmed the news. René Abandi, the head of M23’s negotiating team told The New Times in an interview yesterday that his seven-man delegation was on its way from DRC to Kampala ahead of the talks on Wednesday. “We hope to arrive in Kampala tomorrow (today) evening for the talks,” Abandi said. He said that his team fully supports UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon’s recommendation on finding a solution to the crisis in the eastern DRC through political dialogue. Unconfirmed reports also indicated yesterday that the DRC government delegation would arrive in Kampala on Tuesday ahead of the talks on Wednesday. Will the talks provide a solution? Dr Fredrick Golooba Mutebi, a researcher and political analyst argues that it is important that the DRC government addresses the core issues of the M23 rebels on guaranteeing the citizenship of Congolese Rwandophones. “Why should there be an option of integrating M23 fighters into the national army and not their leaders? There should be a comprehensive solution to this problem,” he said. UN welcomes talks Mary Robinson, the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for the Great Lakes Region of Africa, has welcomed the talks. In a statement, a copy of which The New Times has obtained, she urged both sides to engage in earnest in their discussions in order to resolve all outstanding issues in the negotiations and to move toward the normalisation of the situation in the eastern DRC. Robinson underscored the importance of political efforts to achieve peace and security for the people of the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo and the region. The talks in Kampala are under the auspices of the Chairperson of the International Conference of the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR), President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni of Uganda.