Belgian foreign minister, Louis Michel, presented on Wednesday his government’s latest policy paper regarding the role Belgium proposes to play in the restoration of peace in the Great Lakes region. Titled “Construction de la paix dans la region des Grands Lacs: un plan d’action belge” (“Construction of Peace in the Great Lakes region: a Belgian Action Plan”), Michel cited six underlying principles of Belgium’s plan of action: that all actions in the Great Lakes region must be to the direct benefit of the local population; that their African partners must take the lead in all initiatives; that all Congolese who can, want and should contribute to peace, stability and prosperity are to be considered Belgium’s interlocutors; that the Lusaka and Arusha peace agreements are fundamental reference points for all conflict resolution policy; that “vigilance” must be maintained in light of the complexity of the situation and the fragility of the ceasefire; and that the Belgian government shall strive to coordinate its Great Lakes policy with that of the international community, particularly the European Union (EU). Responding to criticism both from rebel factions in the DRC and the opposition CVP Belgian party that resumption of Belgian aid to the DRC was inopportune and threatened to legitimise a non-democratically elected regime that has just been sharply criticised by Amnesty International, Michel noted three positive developments to which his “government wants to react [...] by reinforcing its cooperation with the DRC”: the imminent launch of preliminary meetings leading to the inter-Congolese dialogue; a series of recent economic measures taken by the Kabila government, such as liberalising the official rate of currency exchange, stabilisation of fuel prices, and implementation of measures to control illegal traffic of diamonds; and the deployment of military observers by the UN mission in the DRC (MONUC). Michel concluded by vowing that Belgium would use its position in the presidency of the EU during the next six months to serve as a “catalyst to educate its European partners regarding the necessity to respond to the catastrophic situation in the Great Lakes region.” The complete report can be found, in French, at http://www.diplobel.org/news/rt/keytexts/f/010627plancongo.htm
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