Washington, DC — The security pact signed Tuesday in Pretoria, South Africa by President Joseph Kabila of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Rwandan President Paul Kagame is "a terrific step forward," says U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Africa Walter Kansteiner.
"It is a first step in what will undoubtedly be a long process," Kanstienr said.
The peace agreement commits the DRC to locating and disarming members of the Rwandan 'Interahamwe' Hutu militias and former members of the Rwandan army, the two groups responsible for the 1994 genocide in Rwanda.
For its part, Rwanda has agreed to withdraw its troops from the DRC, as they are convinced by these steps that their security concerns are being addressed. Both nations have agreed to a 90-day implementation schedule. "It is an important step," said Kansteiner, "and a step we want to support. We are eager to facilitate in any way we can."
Kansteiner's comment was made during a briefing of reporters about his recent trip to Angola, Gabon and Nigeria, his second in as many days. But much of the hour-long session focused on Sudan. Kansteiner declared himself "cautiously optimistic" about the peace framework signed ten days ago by Sudanese President Omar el-Bashir and John Garang, leader of the Sudan Peoples Liberation Movement. "We feel like there is some momentum."
Kansteiner called recent reports of resumed attacks by government forces "worrying." A Sudanese rebel spokesman told the BBC Tuesday that government forces using Antonov bombers and helicopter gunships in western Upper Nile have killed more than 1,000 people. And at Waat, about 510 miles south of Khartoum, a Kenyan aid worker employed by World Vision was allegedly abducted along with three of his colleagues following an attack by government-backed militias.
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Nonetheless, at both briefings, Kansteiner said he felt that there has been a decrease in the fighting. While the burden for taking advantage of the new peace momentum in Sudan lies with the warring parties, he said, "U.S. policy is driven by desire to stop the humanitarian suffering. We are going to assist mediators and negotiators in any way we can to bring these two sides together."
As part of this process, Kansteiner said U.S. special envoy John Danforth will be returning to the area in "a couple of weeks," although his itinerary has not been set yet. "I know he wants to go to Kenya and be there while some of the negotiations are taking place," said Kansteiner. "Other stops are still being planned."
Danforth is still officially special envoy to Sudan, and despite an upgrading of the Sudan embassy, he is tasked to monitor the four "tests" he established for judging the Sudan government's resolve for reaching a peace agreement: maintaining the Nuba Mountain ceasefire, ending the targeting of civilians, cooperation with an international commission to investigate slavery and establishing "zones of tranquility" for emergency humanitarian interventions. Danforth is "still testing" said Kansteiner.
Kansteiner confirmed that President Bush plans to attend the January AGOA summit in Mauritius, saying that discussions on security arrangements have begun. A critical discussion for the summit will be: "How do African exporters learn about U.S. markets?"
"It's a huge market and what you sell in Minneapolis is very different from what you sell in Miami," Kansteiner said.
