[Ugnet] Rwanda 'Shares' Mkapa's Frustration On Congo Peace

RWANDA IS frustrated by the slow pace of implementation of the peace agreements signed between it and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

Rwandan ambassador in Dar es Salaam Gaspard Nyilinkindi told The EastAfrican last week that his country is unhappy that the objectives of the peace deals have not been achieved.

"I can understand President Mkapa's frustration because we are also frustrated by the fact that despite the three agreements signed in Lusaka, Pretoria and Dar es Salaam, very little has been achieved," said Mr Nyilinkindi.

The ambassador was reacting to Tanzanian President Benjamin Mkapa's address to an open session of the African Union Peace and Security Council Summit in Libreville, Gabon on January 10. President Mkapa expressed concern at the escalation of hostilities between Rwanda and the DRC.

Mr Nyilinkindi said one needed to look at the history of peace agreements signed between the two countries, with help from Great Lakes region and the international community, before coming to a conclusion.

"The Dar es Salaam Declaration was not the first such agreement taking into consideration the Lusaka Peace Agreement signed in 1999, followed by the one in Pretoria (2002). The latest was in Dar es Salaam (November 2004) and it is no secret that we have kept our part of the bargain. We have followed the timetable by withdrawing our troops from DRC ahead of schedule. However, the militia in the DRC are still armed and attacking Rwanda," said Mr Nyilinkindi.

But an official from the DRC embassy in Dar es Salaam said Rwanda was "just hiding the truth" because its presence in the DRC was aimed at plundering the country's resources and undermining democracy.

He said Rwanda does not intend to invade DRC, but it has a moral obligation as a state to defend her people under repetitive attacks.

He urged the international community and the African Union (AU) to help the DRC disarm the Interahamwe. It cannot disarm the militia who entered the country in the early 1990s because of its internal problems, he said.

"How many times will Rwanda invade the DRC under the pretext of Interahamwe presence?" the official asked.

Nyilinkindi said the interahamwe and other armed groups were still to be disarmed. "How do you expect people who have been fighting since the days of Mobutu to agree to be disarmed voluntarily? I think the international community should do more to expedite the process," he said.

Rwanda has in the past proposed to the DRC that they re-launch the implementation of Lusaka and Pretoria Agreements through joint verification mechanisms (JVM) and third party verification mechanisms (TPVM), to establish diplomatic relations through exchange of ambassadors, and disarm and dismantle Interahamwe forces in collaboration with DRC.

But the DRC official said Rwanda should not blame his country since all this has already been agreed."Both the Lusaka and Pretoria Agreements talk of joint approach to the problem but now Rwanda wants the DRC to do it alone," he said.

Under this proposal, Rwanda has offered alternative options including jointly appealing to the United Nations to change the mandate to include forcible disarmament of the Interahamwe and mobilising a regional African force to disarm them.

"Unfortunately, the DRC government has rejected all Rwandan offers to co-operate in dealing with the threat of Interahamwe," said Mr Nyilinkindi.

President Mkapa's _expression_ of frustration comes hardly a month after Tanzania threatened to close its border with Burundi if the leaders of that country fail to settle their internal problems.

Mkapa said he was disappointed at the low level of presence, mandate and engagement by the international community despite their renewed commitment to back efforts towards peace in the region.

He proposed that the international community, through the Security Council, enhance the strength of the UN Peacekeeping force in DRC by mandating it to keep belligerents apart and to play a leading role in disarming, demobilising, reintegrating and repatriating hostile and negative forces, including the Interahamwe and other forces that may opt out of the national army.

Mkapa said although the onus of resolving these conflicts rests with the belligerents, neighbouring countries have an important role to play as does the international community.

[Ugnet] Rwanda 'Shares' Mkapa's Frustration On Congo Peace

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