Congo Summit Welcomes Deployment of More UN Observers

A summit to revive the peace process in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) concluded here Thursday, welcoming the further deployment of U.N. military observers in the DRC beginning from February 26.

"The summit called for the full and speedy deployment of military observers and related personnel to the DRC," stated a communique issued after over 10-hour-long talks of the summit.

The communique said the heads of state and the leaders of non- state parties reaffirmed their commitment to the Lusaka peace accord, the Kampala disengagement plan and the Harare sub-plans for the disengagement and redeployment of forces.

They further committed themselves to the accelerated implementation of these important instruments, said the document.

The summit, therefore, called upon the U.N. to quickly finalize the detailed plans to effect the monitoring and verification of the disengagement process, according to the communique.

There are currently only 200 U.N. personnel in the DRC, though U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan has promised to send in a total of 3,000 including 500 observers and 2,500 peacekeepers.

The U.N. said Monday that more peacekeepers could be ready to go to the DRC within the next few weeks.

The summit participants also endorsed former Botswana president Ketumile Masire as the facilitator for political dialogue in the troubled central African nation, a proposal denied categorically by the late Congolese President Laurent Kabila.

The summit also expressed support for the appointment of General Njuki Mwaniki of Kenya as chairman of the Joint Military Commission.

At the invitation of Zambian President Frederick Chiluba, this is the third summit of the signatories to the 1999 Lusaka peace agreement, as a follow-up to their second summit in August last year.

Attending the meeting were DRC President Joseph Kabila, Namibian President Sam Nujoma, Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe and Zambian President Frederick Chiluba.

Also present were delegates from Congolese rebel factions including the Congolese Rally for Democracy (RCD), the Congolese Rally for Democracy-Kisangani (RCD-K) and the Movement of the Liberation of Congo (MLC) as well as representatives of the Organization of African Unity and the United Nations.

However, Rwandan President Paul Kagame, a key player in the DRC peace process, did not attend the summit.

Earlier this week, an aide to Rwandan President Paul Kagame said the Rwandan leader would not attend because he believed that Zambian President Frederick Chiluba was no longer an impartial mediator in the conflict.

DRC's civil war was rekindled in August 1998 when Laurent Kabila's main sponsors, Uganda and Rwanda, turned against him and began supporting anti-government Congolese rebels, while Kabila turned to Angola, Zimbabwe and Namibia for help.

Fighting persists despite the Lusaka peace agreement was signed in 1999 by most the countries and rebel factions. All sides have been accusing the others of violations.






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