Kagame reaffirms commitment to Lusaka accord

Acting Rwandan President Paul Kagame has reaffirmed his commitment to the Lusaka peace accords, saying a resolution of the conflict is the only way to ensure an end to the killing of more innocent civilians. "My advice to everyone involved in this war is to work for the implementation of the Lusaka agreement. I do not think there is likely to be any serious changes
on the ground. What people did not achieve when there was serious fighting they should not think that they will achieve now," he said in a wide-ranging interview with IRIN on the eve of Friday's commemoration of the sixth anniversary of the 1994 genocide.

Kagame said it would be "costly" for people to think they could now alter the military balance on the ground. "It would be a very wasteful exercise for anybody to think they can take advantage of the ceasefire to change the situation on the ground ... Let's implement the agreement and stop
wasting time," he said. Kagame added that he believed the Banyamulenge Tutsi were in danger because of the "unresolved problems" in the DRC and reiterated his belief that 5,500 UN peace troops and observers would be insufficient. "It is nowhere near enough, but one should say it is a good gesture. But even this gesture has yet to materialise," he said.