Hi All,
They are still talking ,latest update looking good
regards
Congo, Uganda study how to implement Libyan-brokered Congo accord
June 1, 1999
Web posted at: 9:13 AM EDT (1313 GMT)
KAMPALA, Uganda (AP) -- Uganda and Congo said Tuesday they will set up a team of experts to figure out how to implement a Libyan-brokered agreement to end the 10-month civil war in neighboring Congo.
Congo's Justice Minister Mwenze Kongolo arrived in Kampala last Friday to press President Yoweri Museveni to withdraw Ugandan troops that are supporting the Congolese rebels.
A joint statement signed by Kongolo and Foreign Minister Amama Mbabazi said the team would also work out ways of deploying an African peacekeeping force in Congo.
Uganda's ambassador to Congo, Kamanda Bataringaya, who took part in the talks, told journalists he was optimistic about a settlement, but he would not speculate on when Ugandan troops might leave Congo.
The statement said eventual peacekeepers should study the situation in the meantime in preparation for deployment.
To the surprise of Ugandan officials, 62 Libyans arrived in the country last week as the vanguard of the proposed peacekeeping force, and some of them took part in the talks, Kongolo said.
"We integrated them in the discussion so that they could get practical experience and information on the ground," Kongolo told a news conference.
Uganda and Rwanda have been backing Congolese rebels attempting to oust Congolese President Laurent Kabila, who is, in turn, backed by Angola, Zimbabwe and Namibia.
Meanwhile on Tuesday, Museveni, Rwandan President Pasteur Bizimungu and Vice President Paul Kagame met in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania with President Benjamin Mkapa to work out a common negotiating position for possible talks with Kabila that would include three rebel factions.
Both Uganda and Rwanda have claimed they have legitimate security interests to protect along their common western borders with Congo where rebels attacking both countries have bases.
Kongolo said Uganda agreed to try to convince Rwanda to accept the Libyan deal. Last Friday Rwanda declared a unilateral cease-fire in Congo.
Kongolo said Congo would talk to its allies as well.
The Congolese team met Museveni on Monday night, but presidential press secretary Hope Kivengere said she did not know how the talks went.
Zambian President Frederick Chiluba, who has been mandated by African heads of state to secure a cease-fire and a negotiated end to the Congolese war, has called for a June 25 meeting of African foreign and defense ministers to prepare ground for a later summit on Congo.
Copyright 1999 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. |
