BUNAGANA, Congo (AP) The rebel group starting negotiations with the
Congolese government wants the country's president to resign, according to a
rebel document.
Jean-Marie Runiga, president of the M23 rebels said to be backed by Rwanda,
on Thursday showed The Associated Press a list of demands that he said will
be presented to the Congolese government.
The rebels' demand for Congolese President Joseph Kabila to step down comes
as a leading advocacy group says the president is "unable to effectively
govern the country."
The M23 recently withdrew from Goma, the capital of North Kivu province in
eastern Congo, in order to begin negotiations with Congolese President
Joseph Kabila's government.
But the Congolese government and the rebels have so far disagreed on how the
negotiations should be conducted, who they should include and what issues
should be discussed.
On Monday, the M23 delegation refused to attend the preliminary meetings in
Uganda after the government representative objected to their opening speech,
saying it was "insulting."
The rebels came back to the table Tuesday, but observers are skeptical that
the talks will lead to concrete results and resolve the conflict. The delays
have already increased tensions, threatening to restart the fighting.
Speaking from eastern Congo territory that the rebels control, Jean-Marie
Runiga, the president of the M23, said if given the opportunity, the rebels
could retake the city of Goma in eastern Congo.
"The information that I have is that Kinshasa is reinforcing its positions.
It is bringing troops, weapons and ammunition. If we are attacked, we grant
ourselves the right to defend ourselves and go very far. And this time we
will not retreat," Runiga told the Associated Press from his living room in
the border town of Bunagana.
Since the beginning of the conflict, the M23 rebels have called for the
Kabila government to fully implement the 2009 peace agreement. As the rebels
gained ground in eastern Congo, including the seizure last month of the
provincial capital Goma, their demands have increased to encompass a wide
range of issues in Congo including governance, the economy and social
matters.
The full list of M23's demands, seen by AP, includes the resignation Kabila
and the dissolution of the national assembly. The rebels call for the
creation of a transitional government that would run the country while new
elections are organized, starting with local elections.
The president of M23 says the rebels' political branch should resume its
control of the city of the Goma as a precondition to the negotiations. He
and Gen. Sultani Makenga, the M23 troops commander, are staying in eastern
Congo until the negotiations deal with substantial issues.
"I think our members who are in Kampala represent us. In due time I will be
there, too. I am waiting for things to be organized and when Kabila will be
there, I will go, too," Runiga said.
The rebels' demands come as Congo's president faces growing criticism for
his handling of the crisis in the country's east.
On Thursday, the Enough Project expressed concerns about Kabila's leadership
and said the current talks between the president and M23 were not inclusive
enough to address wider, underlying issues in eastern Congo.
"President Kabila has now lost nearly all confidence among the Congolese
people and is unable to effectively govern the country," the group said in a
policy brief.
"In order to restore political order, a national dialogue process must take
place, in which leaders from across the country actively participate and
decide on a national consensus to move the country forward," said the Enough
Project report. "If he does not successfully build out such a process,
Kabila may not survive politically."
Thé Mulindwas Communication Group
"With Yoweri Museveni and Dr. Kiiza Besigye Uganda is in anarchy"
Kuungana Mulindwa Mawasiliano Kikundi
"Pamoja na Yoweri Museveni na Dk. Kiiza Besigye Uganda ni katika machafuko"
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