KENYA SOCIALIST
DEMOCRATIC ALLIANCE (KSDA)
Wednesday 3rd July 2003
CONGO PEACE DEAL HANGING ON THE BALANCE
As President Robert Mugabe continues to hang precariously on to power
in Zimbabwe, a major catastrophe is looming in Liberia where President Charles
Taylor is on the brink of being overthrown by a rag tag rebel army that has
reached the outskirts of the capital city Monrovia. In the Democratic Republic
of Congo (DCR), a peace deal that was signed between rebel forces and the
government continues to be threatened by sporadic bouts of violence as rebel
forces that were left out of the deal try to capture territory.
The worst case of violence in the DCR has been witnessed in Ituri area located
in the Oriental Province where persistent violence has forced the deployment
of the French-led Interim Emergency Multinational Force (IEMF) to the administrative
center of Bunia to restore peace in order to facilitate supply of humanitarian
relief. Last week, the French troops exchanged gunfire with militias from
the ethnic Lendu fighters who had refused to surrender their weapons after
they were given a deadline to do so by the French troops. Clashes between
militias have killed 500 civilians in the past two months.
As the new attacks in Ituri came to light, Rwandan-backed rebel forces calling
themselves RCD-Goma captured Lubero, a strategic town in North Kivu region
in the DCR. The town fell after the rebels allegedly acquired three armored
vehicles and a helicopter from the Rwandan government, a charge that the
Rwandese denied. Because of the fragile situation, South African troops are
also on their way to the Congo to help the French while 150 British troops
are also expected in the country to beef up the peace keeping force which
started its operations a month ago. The hostilities in North Kivu has forced
the UN Security Council to extend the UN mission in the DCR with at least
one month.
The fragile peace deal, which was signed in April this year, was supposed
to lead to the inauguration of a transitional government on 30th June that
was set to rule the country for the next two years in a power sharing deal
ahead of free and fair elections. This arrangement is now being threatened
further by the fact that rival rebel Movements which signed the peace deal
have disagreed with the government on the sharing of posts within the military
during the transition period.
In a meeting that was held last week, the RCD-Goma Movement, a major partner
in the peace deal, claimed that according to the agreement they signed, the
Movement was supposed to clinch the post of armed forces chief of staff while
the government was to provide the second in command. The problem that has
cropped up is that the government wants the chief of staff post.
As a consequence, the follow up Committee of the Inter-Congolese dialogue
has referred the problem for resolution to the UN Secretary General’s special
envoy who has been requested to help with the formation of a unified national
army. If the issue is not resolved, the peace deal may collapse with possible
renewal of hostilities.
Another problem is that tension continues to dominate relations between Uganda
and Rwanda which have both accused each other of aiding rebels fighting in
the DCR. At stake is a vast resource of minerals which the fighting factions
continue to loot as blood is spilled and civilians killed. Western multinational
companies have been fueling the conflict because they have been providing
both the weapons and the major marketing outlets for resources looted in
the Congo.
A lasting solution to the crisis in the Congo will not come through a compromise
between those plundering wealth in the DCR. Congolese workers and peasants
must take control of the country's resources if a foundation out of the crisis
is to be established. This means the building of a strong Socialist Movement
free from local warloads, corrupt politicians and greedy multinational companies
which are also at the centre of the crisis.
Okoth Osewe
Published by Kenya Socialist Democratic Alliance
(KSDA)
email: harakatips@hotmail.com