IRIN Interview with the UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative Kamel Morjane

In an interview with IRIN in Nairobi on Thursday, the UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative to the DRC, Kamel Morjane, discussed his mission to the country and the current state of play regarding the peace process. QUESTION: The DRC government has decided to allow the UN to deploy in government-held areas? What are the implications of this decision? ANSWER: The deployment of UN troops to government-held areas has preoccupied us for the last two months or so. The government of the Democratic Republic of Congo had some reservations about the deployment of armed UN troops in areas under its control. The government argument was that the UN should only deploy in the territory held by rebels and their allies, to force what they call the aggressors out, citing UN Security Council resolution 1304 [which calls for the withdrawal of Rwanda and Uganda first]. We politely told them that we had no mandate to do so. The refusal to allow a Tunisian unit to be deployed in Kinshasa in July made it clear that the government was not willing to allow the UN troop deployment in its area. Our operations plan, which is not based on any political considerations but logistical ones, is the deployment of four battalions in two locations held by the government and its allies, which are Kananga and Mbandaka, and two locations held by the rebels and their allies. These locations are ideal for our operations because they have airports and ports and other facilities. The breakthrough came on Wednesday night when I got calls from three government ministers that President [Laurent-Desire] Kabila had allowed the deployment of UN forces in government-held areas without conditions. I believe the visit of the Secretary General’s Special Envoy, former Nigerian president General Abubakar, to President Kabila helped. He was well-received by the DRC government and the decision came immediately after his meeting with the president. The government has, in principle, allowed the deployment of a Tunisian unit to provide security at the headquarters, and the deployment of UN troops to Mbandaka and Kananga. All the conditions that were imposed on the UN flights have also been lifted. The practice has been that we could not fly from rebel-held areas, where we have our military observers, to the capital Kinshasa. The aircrafts had to go Brazzaville first. Secondly we had to get written permission for every flight out of Kinshasa. With the new system we only have to notify the authorities about our flights. With the old system of written authorisation it would have been impossible to operate more than 1,000 flights needed for the deployment of 5,500 troops needed for this phase of UN operations. But the current government decision to allow the deployment of UN troops does not mean that the troops are coming tomorrow or next week. The Security Council has to assess the situation and decide on the next steps to be taken. The report of the Secretary-General’s envoy will be a useful input in deciding on the troop deployment. We welcome the government decision but we have to wait for it to be operational. We had frozen all our preparations due the uncertainty that was caused by the government’s reservations which we need to activate. The priority is to have a battalion in Kisangani as soon as we can. Q: Does the DRC government decision to suspend the Lusaka agreement affect the UN troop deployment? A: The mandate of United Nations Observer Mission in Congo (MONUC) is under UN Security Council resolution 1291 which has its basis from the Lusaka agreement. It is up to the Security Council and the signatories to review the new situation and make necessary decisions. Q: Is there any hope of the inter-Congolese dialogue being revived after the rejection of the facilitator [ex-Botswana president Ketumile Masire] by the DRC government? A: There is an urgent need to find a way out, you have a respected and credible former head of state being rejected as a mediator by one major actor in the conflict. For a month and a half now, nothing has been done in the facilitation of the inter-Congolese dialogue. In the next few weeks, I think something will be done to sort out the impasse on the question of the facilitation. Q: What is the attitude of President Kabila’s allies towards the peace process? A: They have been appreciative and supportive and they support the deployment of UN troops as soon as possible. After meeting with Presidents Robert Mugabe [of Zimbabwe], Sam Nujoma [of Namibia] and Angolan officials, I’m convinced that they are for a peaceful resolution of the conflict. The declaration renouncing the Lusaka agreement is another matter. As I said we have to wait and see how the [DRC] government respects its commitment to allow the deployment of troops. Q: What about the rebels and their allies? A: There has not been a particular problem with them, apart from the fighting in Kisangani which was deplorable. Q: What about Rwanda’s decision to withdraw 200 km from all frontline positions? A: Rwanda’s withdrawal is not unilateral, it is in line with the Kampala disengagement plan. What is new is that they want to withdraw 200 km instead of a minimum 15 km agreed upon in Kampala. However, Rwanda’s plan is welcome because it frees a total of 250,000 km which is helpful. But for this disengagement plan to work it needs the support of all parties. Q: How valid is the Kampala disengagement plan? A: It is a clear basis for any disengagement plan, and any ceasefire violations should be judged on the positions declared by the parties in the disengagement plan. Q: Does your work involve overseeing humanitarian activities? A: It is an important aspect of my work in three aspects - humanitarian, human rights, and child protection. However, my work is not designed to replace humanitarian agencies but to supplement their activities politically and materially. We have logistically supported humanitarian agencies in Kisangani where we have aircrafts. We gave support to the [UN] human rights rapporteur Roberto Garreton on his current mission. I do not see a situation where we become a super structure for humanitarian agencies, but we shall play a coordinating role where we can. Q: How can the UN succeed in its mission if there is no use of force especially in the disarmament of armed groups mentioned in the Lusaka agreement? A: I do appreciate the concerns contained in the Lusaka agreement about the disarmament of armed groups, but the United Nations has not yet decided the role it will play. The matter is being discussed by the political committee set up by the signatories of the agreement. There cannot be peace in the region without getting a solution to the problem of armed groups, and there is a need to be innovative in this matter. The current MONUC mandate does not involve the issue of disarmament.