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IRIN Interview with RCD-Goma leader Emile Ilunga

Emile Ilunga the President of the Rwandan backed Rassemblement Congolais pour la democratie (RCD- Goma). IRIN
QUESTION: Do you see any prospects for peace after the stalled Lusaka summit this week? ANSWER: I was encouraged by the presence of all the heads of states of countries with troops in our country, representatives from the OAU, the United Nations and European countries to discuss the implementation of the Lusaka agreement. The positive outcome of the meeting was that there was clarification of who stands for what. As it turned out everybody was for peace apart from [DRC President Laurent-Desire] Kabila who openly opposed the two important elements of the agreement which are the inter-Congolese dialogue and the deployment of the UN troops. But one man - Kabila - cannot hold the peace process to ransom. I’m sure the region, Africa and the international community will not allow him to mess up. Q: What options do you have if President Kabila refuses to change his position? A. We shall continue to respect the Lusaka peace agreement because we believe it is the only way to resolve the crisis in Congo and the whole region. The RCD will consult all the stakeholders to see how Kabila can be prevented from burying the agreement which he has killed. [Zambian] President [Frederick] Chiluba insinuated a possibility of sanctions against Kabila’s government if they it doesn’t see sense and abide by the agreement. I think this should be applied if the present status quo is maintained. Some people were talking about a possibility of expelling Kabila’s government from the SADC [Southern Africa Development Community], which is another measure that can be taken against Kabila. Our Rwandan allies have made a proposal to withdraw 200 km from all frontline positions so that the United Nations can deploy its monitors, which was welcomed by everybody in Lusaka. If Kabila takes advantage of that offer and deploys troops we shall respond appropriately. Q: Is there a possibility of your movement uniting with Ernest Wamba dia Wamba’s RCD-ML and Jean-Pierre Bemba’s MLC to form one rebel movement? A: More than ever before there is a possibility of us uniting into one movement. One reason why we should unite is to work together in the implementation of the Lusaka agreement, another important reason of course is to create a unified force against Kabila if he continues to be an obstacle. The contradictions that exist between the three movements are secondary not primary. We have a common objective of restoring democracy and freedom in our country, that have not existed for a long time. The problem is that one of the movements led by Wamba dia Wamba has leadership problems, but these can be resolved if they join the mainstream liberation movement. They used to be part of us and they are welcome back. To begin with, this Saturday we are sending a delegation composed of senior officials from our movement to Gbadolite [in Equateur province] to express solidarity with the MLC [Mouvement de liberation du Congo] in the ongoing fighting against Kabila’s aggression. We had started unity talks under the Kabale [in Uganda] framework, which was interrupted by the fighting in Kisangani between our allies. I think we can re-start the talks aimed at forming one front. Q: There have been reports of infighting within the RCD-Goma. Do you expect more splits? A: The RCD is a very young movement which started two years ago, it is therefore normal to have contradictions. Secondly we had people from different political backgrounds which included Mobutists, people who had worked with Kabila, others from the diaspora, which caused contradictions but we have managed to harmonise them under a common vision. Contradictions that are positive should not be mistaken for infighting because they promote healthy debate in an armed and political movement like ours. The main problem was when Wamba dia Wamba, the-then president of RCD, left us. After his departure we developed ideological contradictions, with one group saying we should stick to Lusaka and one section of our people who had worked with Mobutu calling for a deal with Kabila. The pro-Lusaka wing, which includes me, took the day. Among those who wanted to strike a deal with Kabila , some have left, some have joined Kabila, and others are on the way out. Yes, contradictions are always there in any movement but what matters is the way the are resolved. Q: Is the RCD going ahead with dismantling the internally displaced people’s (IDP) camps? A: It is true there have been some problems between our movement and some NGO and humanitarian agencies regarding the existence of the camps. Our movement has an objective of providing security to all the people in the liberated zones, and we have involved the people by training local defence units which have been quite effective. There are some attacks by negative forces in areas such as Sake, which we have checked together with our allies and the people themselves, but the NGOs keep on saying there is insecurity directly or indirectly encouraging people to flee their homes and gather into camps. The NGOs and some humanitarian agencies are trying to create insecurity and use the camps as a fundraising gimmick...Since 1994, camps have become an industry for NGOs and this has led to the scenario where the population is totally dependent on relief. Kivu is a fertile area, people can grow their food and NGOs can supplement them in the villages without gathering them into camps. Humanitarian agencies and NGOs, which do not adhere to the new rules which are aimed at reducing the number of camps, will be politely asked to leave areas under our control. Q: Does the security situation in Kivu permit the ongoing repatriation of Congolese Tutsis from Rwanda? A: We are optimistic that nothing will happen to these returning Congolese, because it was the population in North Kivu that asked us to facilitate the return of their brothers and sisters from exile in Rwanda. During our visits, the population would ask us to stop preaching about reconciliation until we brought back their fellow Congolese. The inter-ethnic conflicts in North Kivu were exported by [ex-Rwandan president Juvenal] Habyarimana’s people who came with the 1994 Rwandan genocide ideology and tried to impart it in our people. In any case, we have put in place sufficient security measures to make sure that the Interahamwe [militia] and other negative forces do not attack the returnees.

This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions

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