This news should be positive for FM
April 7, 1999 22:38 GMT
Kabila "expresses desire for an urgent end" to DR Congo war
Indications are Kenya's President Moi might have achieved an encouraging diplomatic breakthrough in Nairobi session with Kabila
April 7, 1999
<Picture>Reuters has reported that DR Congo's President Kabila, following a two-day visit to Kenya, agreed to the release of a joint statement with Kenyan President Moi that said President Kabila "expressed his desire for an urgent end to the conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and said he was ready for talks with rebels and other stakeholders in the republic." According to the statement, "President Moi offered Nairobi as the venue for the all inclusive talks and further agreed to consult with all parties with a view to inviting the Government of the DRC and all Congolese groups which are stakeholders to attend."
It is believed that this is a significant development for the following reasons:
•President Moi has reportedly been very active behind the scenes in trying to bring an end to the conflict in the DR Congo:
•Mr. Moi was in Windhoek on March 31, meeting with President Nujoma of Namibia, calling for a "prompt withdrawal of uninvited troops in order to create an enabling environment for the Congolese people to reconcile their differences." •At a state banquet, Mr. Nujoma acknowledged that a military solution was not workable. •There is enormous domestic and foreign pressure on President Mugabe of Zimbabwe and President Museveni of Uganda to withdraw from the Congo war. President Moi has been in close contact with both.
•Indications are that Mobutu loyalists active in the DR Congo rebellion have been expressing a yearning to deal with President Kabila as a means for Congolese to regain control of the country's destiny:
•Vice-President Kagame of Rwanda has recently gone out of his way to express Rwandan independence, implying that his forces were in the Congo to stay, justifying even a deep penetration of the Congo to assure border security. •Warfare has broken out in Bas-Congo province in the western front between Angola, Namibia, and Zimbabwe on the one side and UNITA and DR Congo rebels on the other. •The DR Congo is effectively divided, and there is no military capacity on either side to change the division.
There is cause to believe that some kind of rapprochement among Congolese warring parties is a near-term possibility. Such a rapprochement would likely be met by a swift agreement from Uganda to withdraw from the DR Congo. Achieving a similar agreement from Rwanda would be more difficult, but is not totally out of the question. There is a possibility the new arrangement would retain Mr. Kabila as president, and there is a possibility that he might choose to retire and leave power in favor of a new government. NCN has heard strong reports he will stay and equally strong reports that he will leave.
On balance, NCN sees this statement from Nairobi by Messrs. Moi and Kabila as a very positive and encouraging signal. |
