Annan "not convinced" of parties' commitment

Annan on Monday said the deployment of UN troops would be to help the parties to the Lusaka ceasefire agreement respect the accord they signed. "Right now, I am not convinced that those who signed the agreement are prepared to respect it," he said at a UN Headquarters press conference. "If the parties concerned are not prepared to do that, then the United Nations must not be blamed," he stated. Annan noted that UN Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations Bernard Miyet had been "given promises" during his recent trip to the region - including to the
DRC, Uganda and Rwanda - but that "some days later the war began." A UN press release quoted Annan as saying that if the Lusaka signatories were "really serious", they could implement the ceasefire even without the presence of observers.