ICG makes recommendations for peace

The International Crisis group (ICG) on Friday recommended to the Security Council that it maintain its pressure on Rwanda, Uganda, Zimbabwe and Angola to withdraw completely from the DRC - if necessary through encouraging reassessment of these countries’ qualification to receive military and financial aid, debt relief and trade privileges. It also suggested pressure on Uganda and Rwanda to have the rebel Congolese Liberation front (CLF) and Rassemblement congolais pour la democratie (RCD) they support improve human rights practices, respect freedoms of association and allow political parties and civil society groups meet the inter-Congolese talks facilitation team of Ketumile Masire. In addition, the ICG called for moves to have Kinshasa and its allies “immediately cease support of the ex-FAR [Forces armees rwandaises] and FDD [the Forces pour la defense de la democratie] factions, and to encourage the FDD to join the Burundi peace process.” Alongside this, it said, pressure should be brought to bear on Kinshasa “to immediately cease the repression” of people from the Kivus (eastern DRC) and Equateur (northwest DRC) in the territory it controls. All Lusaka agreement signatories should immediately stop supporting the so-called “negative forces” [Interahamwe, FDD, FNL, Congolese Mayi-Mayi militias, and others] and help the inter-Congolese dialogue by identifying key issues to be negotiated, the ICG report stated. They should also commence planning for a disarmament, demobilisation, resettlement and reintegration (DDRR) process, which it suggested should be undertaken by the UN Mission in the DRC (MONUC) on the instructions of the Security Council. Strict conditions on international assistance to the DRC must be enforced “to overcome the political resistance to an inter-Congolese dialogue” because failure to act now to support the DRC peace process would mean “a resumption of hostilities, a war of succession and further fragmentation of the country into semi-permanent spheres of military influence,” the ICG added. See full report athttp://www.intl-crisis-group.org/projects/project.cfm?subtypeid=5