Political Committee discusses JMC plans

The Political Committee of ministers and officials overseeing implementation of the DRC peace agreement began a two-day meeting on Monday in the Zambian capital, Lusaka, to discuss a plan to disarm and resettle militias drafted by the Joint Military Commission (JMC) on 18 May, Reuters reported. The JMC comprises senior military officials from countries and rebel groups involved in the DRC conflict. The talks began with a hitch, when two delegations arrived, both claiming to represent Jean-Pierre Bemba, leader of the rebel Congolese Liberation Front. Officials are trying to resolve the dispute. The plan is also to be submitted to the UN Security Council delegation due to hold meetings in Lusaka on Tuesday with both the Political Committee and Zambian President Frederick Chiluba, chief mediator in the conflict. Reuters noted that the armed groups targeted by the disarmament plan included the Hutu extremist Interahamwe militia, blamed for the 1994 slaughter of some 800,000 minority Tutsis and moderate Hutus. Others were former Rwandan soldiers, Ugandan and Angolan rebels, and the DRC’s Mayi-Mayi militia. According to Reuters, the draft plan urges the disarmament, repatriation and resettlement of the militias in countries which do not share borders with adversaries of these militias. It also calls for international agencies to screen them for suspects in Rwanda’s genocide, who, if identified, would then be liable to prosecution. The draft plan also seeks the disarmament of thousands of Congolese civilians in illegal possession of weapons. However, Reuters noted that the DRC government had objected, saying this task must be left to a new police force to be formed after the end of an all-party Inter-Congolese dialogue to be facilitated by Botswana’s former president, Ketumile Masire.