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Congo-Kinshasa: Peace Conference Opens in Violence-Torn East
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The Nation (Nairobi)
8 January 2008
Posted to the web 7 January 2008
Juakali Kambale
Goma
A conference aimed at ending war in eastern Congo between government forces and rebel groups opened Sunday in Goma.
Chaired by Father Apollinaire Malumalu, the president of the Congo's Independent Electoral Commission, the conference aims at restoring peace and security in the two provinces of North Kivu and South Kivu.
The two regions have endured lengthy wars, rebellions and political disturbances caused by various armed groups, mostly the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda, a rebel group fighting the Rwandese government and an ethnic Tutsi rebellion led by Laurent Nkunda, a renegade general of the Congo army.
Around 600 people are expected to attend the conference which is supposed to bring together the people living in the two provinces to address some key points which disturb peace and security in this area close to the Rwanda and Burundi borders.
At this stage, the Tutsi led rebels' demands are not clearly defined.
Currently, Nkunda's troops are located less than 50 kilometres from the conference venue.
Since 1996, the two provinces of North Kivu and South Kivu have lived in a permanent situation of wars and rebellion, supported by the neighbouring Rwanda.
Some Tutsi ethnic communities living in the Congo claim they have been denied citizenship.
Their claim was addressed during peace negotiations in Sun City, South Africa, after two atrocious wars in October 1996 and August 1998.
Since then, all Tutsi people who can justify having lived in the Congo before 30th June 1960, when the country got its independence from Belgium, are Congolese citizens.
The key problem currently is why a new Tutsi led rebellion has erupted in the area and is again supported by Rwanda.
The response should emerge from this conference on peace, security and development. The event is unprecedented in the modest city of Goma. The choice of Goma to host the conference is in itself symbolic.
During the conference which ends on January 14, the city of Goma will play the role of the country's capital city.
Twenty ministers out of 40 will be attending the conference.
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All the MPs, both at the national and provincial levels, from the two provinces, are also present. Local traditional chiefs and the Civil Society representatives have also been invited to participate in the conference.
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