Jami Makan And Lucas Barasa
7 November 2008
Nairobi — The International Community on Friday moved to end the war in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo by directing regional leaders to help ensure peace returned to the country.
Rwandan President Paul Kagame, DRC's Joseph Kabila and Uganda's Yoweri Museveni were on the spot at the Great Lakes Conference at Windsor Hotel in Nairobi, in which leaders urged an to end hostilities between the neighbouring countries.Rebel leader
UN secretary-general Ban Ki Moon told seven presidents who attended the conference to intervene and urge DRC rebel leader Laurent Nkunda to desist from resuming military offensive, prevent any support that would enable his movement to do so and urge him to pull back to the positions he held in January.
"But it is only at the political level, here in your region, that lasting solutions can be found," he warned.
Host President Kibaki rooted for dialogue and compromise in finding lasting solution to the war in DRC.
President Kibaki singled out President Kagame and President Kabila, calling on them to embrace dialogue in resolving the simmering dispute.
Strong militia
Rwanda has been accused of supporting the Gen Nkunda-led 8000-strong militia that is fighting President Kabila's government, leading to loss of tens of lives and displacement of hundreds of thousands of people.
"I am pleased that the two leaders (Kagame and Kabila) have joined us for these important consultations," President Kibaki said.
Other leaders who attended the high-level meeting chaired by Mr Ban are Tanzania's Jakaya Kikwete, Republic of Congo's Sassou Ngueso, Burundi's Pierre Nkuranzinza and Sudan Vice-President Riek Machar.
Britain, the US, Netherlands, Canada, France, South Africa and Zambia also sent top officials.
Mr Ban sent a strong message to regional heads of state to act swiftly and end the armed conflict currently raging inside the DR Congo.
He called for the strengthening of the Congolese national army and the already-large UN peacekeeping force.
But he insisted that only political agreement can ultimately end the escalating violence in the war-torn country, which is Africa's third largest and one of its wealthiest in terms of mineral resources.
"The capacity of the Congolese national army must be strengthened considerably if it is to do its proper job," he said, adding that "we have asked the Security Council for the reinforcement of MONUC."
MONUC is the name for the 17,000-strong peacekeeping force now on the ground, and it is the largest such force currently deployed anywhere in the world.
Political dialogue
But the UN chief was clear in his insistence that only political dialogue can ultimately bring an end to the suffering and loss of life.
Mr Ki Moon appeared to give a stern warning to countries like Uganda and Rwanda, which have been accused of aiding rebel forces.
"Neither the DRC, nor Rwanda, nor the rest of the central Africa region can afford to be dragged back into the conflict. The international community cannot allow this to occur. That is why we are here today," he said.
Rwanda has been accused of supporting eastern Congo rebels led by General Nkunda whose troops have, during recent weeks, threatened to overtake the major city of Goma.
Meanwhile, Uganda's Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) has also contributed to instability in other parts of DR Congo.
Mr Ban said such armed groups should be dealt with strictly.
"For far too long," he told the heads of state, "peace and security in your region has been threatened by armed groups, domestic and foreign, present on the soil of the Democratic Republic of Congo."
He hailed high-level bilateral talks between DR Congo and Rwanda aimed at ending the violence, and urged Presidents Kagame and Kabila to meet at "their earliest time possible."
Yesterday's meeting was backed by the UN, the European Union and the African Union. British Commonwealth minister Lord Mark Malloch-Brown, Deputy US Secretary of State Jendayi Frazer and former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo, the newly appointed UN special envoy to east Congo, were also present.
According to the UN, more than five million people in the country have died during the past decade as the result of war, hunger, disease and displacement.
There are various rebel groups that have been operating there, including the Forces Democratiques pour la Liberation du Rwanda, the Congres National pour la Defense du Peuple, the armed groups of Ituri and the LRA. These forces, according to the UN, have made it difficult to establish strong institutions like army.
Implementation of agreements reached over last 10 years to end instability in DRC has faltered.
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