EU mission to shore up peace efforts

A high-level delegation of the European Union (EU) began a five-day mission to central Africa and the Great Lakes region on Tuesday to shore up ongoing peace efforts in the region, the Belgian EU Presidency reported. The diplomatic contingent is being led by Belgian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Louis Michel, accompanied by Javier Solana, the senior EU foreign policy representative; Chris Patten, the EU Commissioner for Foreign Relations; and Aldo Ajello, the EU's special representative to the Great Lakes region. "The tour is evidence of the European Union’s strong commitment in support of the peace processes in Lusaka and Arusha, and the solidarity of the Union with the populations in the region who face such hardship," the Belgian EU Presidency stated. "The mission is also a logical expression of one of the priorities of the Belgian Presidency, which seeks to map out a European policy for the Great Lakes region, entrusted to it in the framework of the common position on the prevention, management and settlement of conflicts in Africa, adopted in May," it added. The mission began in Kinshasa, capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), where the delegation was scheduled to meet with President Joseph Kabila, inter-Congolese dialogue facilitator Ketumile Masire, and representatives of civil society and political opposition parties. The EU delegation would then travel to the southern town of Kamina, where the UN mission in the DRC is in the process of demobilising more than 3,000 Rwandan Interahamwe militiamen and former government soliders, known as the ex-FAR. On Thursday, the EU mission will be in Angola to meet with President Jose Eduardo dos Santos and Minister for Foreign Affairs Juan de Miranda. Friday, they will be in Zimbabwe to meet with President Robert Mugabe and Minister for Foreign Affairs Stan Mudenge, followed by a visit to Burundi for discussions with President Pierre Buyoya and Vice-President Domitien Ndayizeye. Saturday will be spent first in Rwanda, for meetings with President Paul Kagame and Minister for Foreign Affairs Andre Bumaya, followed by a possible meeting with the Rwandan-backed Congolese armed opposition movement Rassemblement congolais pour la democratie (RCD-Goma). The mission will then conclude in Uganda with a meeting with President Yoweri Museveni and Minster for Foreign Affairs James Wapakhabulo. Among its major contributions in support of the peace processes in the DRC and Burundi, the EU cited its "substantial financial support" to facilitate the inter-Congolese dialogue; its decision on 19 Nov. to help fund the deployment of a special protection unit in Burundi; and its commitment to lending financial support to the transitional government institutions of Burundi. The Belgian EU Presidency also confirmed that on 20 and 21 Dec., Brussels would be hosting a donor information meeting in cooperation with the World Bank, focusing on the present situation in the DRC and the establishment of a regional fund for the disarmament, demobilisation, repatriation, reinstallation and reinsertion of combatants.