Rwanda & Congo Kinshasa
Rwanda and Congo agree to enhance peace process

afrol News, 1 November - The Presidents of Rwanda and Congo Kinshasa (DRC) today met in South Africa, concluding on a continuation of the Pretoria peace process. There were however given an extra 90 days to implement the Pretoria agreement, something there was "room to be happier about," according to Rwandan President Paul Kagame.

President Kagame had met with Congolese President Joseph Kabila in the South African capital in negotiations brokered by President Thabo Mbeki. The Pretoria meeting was part of the regular discussions "to review progress with regard to implementation," always under the auspices of President Mbeki. The next meeting was to take place in Pretoria in 30 days.

According to the formal statement by President Mbeki at the end of the meeting, the Presidents were "very happy that progress has been made" to implement the Pretoria agreement between Rwanda and Congo Kinshasa, made three month ago. In particular, said Mr Mbeki, "the Rwanda troops have pulled out, and there is an on-going process of verification to confirm that."

There had also been taken steps by the Kinshasa government "with regard to dealing with the problem of Interahamwe and ex-FAR," troops partly responsible for the 1994 Rwanda genocide, which have operated freely within the Congo ever since. According to the Pretoria deal, the Kinshasa government is to disarm and arrest these rebels. "That work is continuing, but we are very happy that progress is being made in that regard," said Mr Mbeki.

Rwanda President Kagame on the other hand said there was "room to be happier about the implementation of the Pretoria Agreement." He was especially referring to the Rwandan withdrawal - before schedule - and the alleged lack of action in Kinshasa to disarm Interahamwe and ex-FAR troops.

- There are a number of things that must still be done so that we can arrive at the ultimate objective where we fully realise peace in Rwanda, in the Congo and in the Great Lakes region, emphasised Mr Kagame.

- We have pulled out our forces entirely from the Congo, the Rwanda President said. "That was supposed to be reciprocated by the disarmament, demobilisation and repatriation of the Interahamwe and ex-FAR, which has not been achieved yet. But we are told steps are being taken to deal with it. One high-profile case was dealt with. Renzaho, who was a leader of Interahamwe and is connected with the Genocide, was arrested and handed over to the ICTR. That is a good step, but there are many other cases like that of even higher profile people. We are told by the DRC that this is being looked into, and we expect progress."

The three Presidents in general however demonstrated optimism. To allow the Pretoria Agreement to be implemented, it was decided "to extend the period for the implementation of the agreement by an additional 90 days." President Mbeki however emphasised that this did "not mean that we shall drag it out so that it takes that period of time, but we are allowing sufficient time so that everything that needs to be done is done."

There was further an agreement to ask the UN Security Council to strengthen the mandate of the UN peacekeepers in the Congo; MONUC. In particular, MONUC should be enabled to ensure that the Interahamwe and ex-FAR troops "are disarmed and their structures are dismantled." MONUC was known to have a weak mandate "governed by earlier resolutions of the UN Security Council," and in practical terms only function as observers.

Interestingly, none of the Heads of State made any public mention of the recent report by a UN expert panel on the illegal resource exploitation in Congo Kinshasa. Rwanda and the Kinshasa government were among the main targets of allegations by the UN experts, and both governments have heavily protested the report. The South African President, on the other hand, has not moved to defend his fellow Presidents in this matter.
 

Sources: Based on Rwandan and SA govts and afrol archives

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