Maputo summit “fails to meet Congolese expectations”

Monday’s summit meeting in the Mozambican capital Maputo between the state actors involved in the DRC conflict, under the mediation of South Africa and Mozambique, “did not live up to the expectations of the Congolese people”, DRC state television reported on Tuesday. The meeting had been expected to discuss the results of initial deliberations since the last Maputo summit on 16 October, “but had been prevailed upon by Uganda and Rwanda to discuss only one issue: the disarmament of the Rwandan Interahamwe militia”, the television reported.

After the first summit, defence ministers of the involved countries met and suggested the adoption of one of four options, the television recalled. These were: total withdrawal of “aggressor troops” and MONUC (UN mission in DRC) deployment along the borders; partial withdrawal of troops and MONUC withdrawal in demarcation zones; the withdrawal of “aggressor troops” with the deployment of a neutral African peacekeeping force along the DRC-Uganda-Rwanda borders; and the creation of mechanisms for disarming armed groups and movements.

Mozambican President Joaquim Chissano had on Monday claimed that the Maputo summit represented a step forward in the peace process after DRC President Laurent-Desire Kabila agreed to give MONUC greater freedom of movement in the country. Chissano said the meeting had created conducive conditions for a session of the political committee overseeing the Lusaka peace process, which was due to meet in the Zambian capital on Wednesday.