European MPs meet to harmonise efforts in region

European parliamentarians gathered in Brussels on Wednesday to forge a common policy on resolving crisis in the Great Lakes region. Eleven parliamentarians belonging to various political parties from Belgium, Britain, France and The Netherlands, and two members of the European Parliament, discussed the conclusions and recommendations of a British MP delegation that traveled to the DRC in August. The parliamentarians also identified EU and national initiatives in central Africa, evaluated their coherence, and sought to promote a common European approach to crisis resolution in the region. "The problems of DRC, Rwanda and Burundi are interlinking, the MPs said in a common statement, "and only a regional approach can solve the conflict in any one of these countries". According to the delegation, a common EU position will give better leverage than separate policies, and will prevent the countries of the Great Lakes region from "shopping around" in bilateral negotiations, "sometimes playing one EU state off against another". The MPs urged European governments to prioritise the ongoing humanitarian tragedy in the Great Lakes region as a whole, especially in eastern DRC. "The atrocities of September 11th should not deflect attention from this unfolding catastrophe which, since 1998, has claimed the lives of 2.5 million people," they said, referring to recent terrorist attacks in the US. The parliamentarians sought to harmonise criteria used in aid relations between EU and Great Lakes countries, especially as many of the countries are at war. "The same standards should be used in all bilateral relations, including on internal dialogue, progress towards democratisation, rule of law, freedom of the press, observance of human rights and full compliance with the Lusaka agreement", they added. With regard to the inter-Congolese dialogue, they argued for adequate funding, "provided that the EU can exert the necessary control". They said that adequate funding must also be given to the trust fund for disarmament, demobilisation, repatriation, reinstallation and reinsertion of DRC combatants, and to support the Burundi peace process. Pressure should be placed on Kinshasa to "positively engage" with the inter-Congolese dialogue leading to establishment of a transitional government, and on the Rwandan and Ugandan governments to withdraw all their troops from the DRC. Concerning illegal exploitation of natural resources in DRC, the MPs recommended that national governments of the EU actively develop concrete measures, such as trade monitoring, to counter the plunder. Responding to allegations made against it in a UN report released on Monday, the government of Rwandan Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated on Thursday that "there is no structured involvement whatsoever of its armed forces into commercial activities in the DRC". The participating MPs from Britain included Oona King (Labour), Ann McKetchin (Labour), Sue Dougherty (Liberal Democrats) and Brian Cotter (Liberal Democrats); Jan Hoekema (Social Liberal Party) from the Netherlands; George Dallemagne (PSC, Christian Democrat), Leen Laenens (Green Party), Dirk Van der Maelen (Socialist Party) and Andre Geens (Liberal Party) from Belgium; Jean-Yves Gateaud (Socialist) and Robert del Picchia (RPR, Gaullist) from France; and from the European Parliament, Glenys Kinnock and Max Van den Berg (Socialist Group). The meeting was organised at the invitation of the 'All Party Parliamentary Group on the Great Lakes and Genocide Prevention' of the British Parliament, a cross-party group of national MPs and members of the European Parliament. It was facilitated by the European NGO networks Concertation chretienne pour l'Afrique centrale, and Reseau Europe Congo. For the complete report of the UK All Party Parliamentary Group on the Great Lakes and Genocide Prevention, go to http://www.reliefweb.int/library/documents/2001/uk.drc.26oct.pdf