JK: We won`t waver on DRC peace effort

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   President Jakaya Kikwete joins other African Heads of State in yesterday�s signing of the Democratic Republic of Congo peace, security and cooperation pact in Addis Ababa. The event was chaired by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon (C-background). (Photo: State House)
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   President Jakaya Kikwete has said Tanzania will do the most it can to ensure efforts to help the people of Democratic Republic of Congo know lasting peace, security, stability and cooperation bear fruit.
   

   He gave the assurance here yesterday after taking part in the signing of an agreement aimed at ending years of violence and bloodletting in the eastern parts of the strife-torn country.

   He added that the signatures the African leaders had just appended to the pact amounted to a solemn undertaking and commitment to deliver on the aspirations of the people of the Great Lakes Region generally and DRC in particular for peace, security, stability and cooperation.

   “On behalf of the Government and people of the United Republic of Tanzania, I promise that we will play our part accordingly,” declared President Kikwete.
   
   

   “This is a very auspicious and historic day for the people of the Democratic Republic of Congo, her neighbours and the entire Great Lakes Region. It is a momentous day for the Southern African Development Community (SADC), Africa, the African Union, United Nations and the entire international community,” he added.

   He noted that the people of the DRC have suffered for too long and “deserve a break to live a better life; a life where their safety and security is assured and guaranteed; a life where they pre-occupy themselves with more important things for improving their living conditions”.

   The president had special praise for United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, who graced the historic event, “for this great initiative”.

   He also thanked African Union Commission Chairperson Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma for having demonstrated leadership that made the event possible as well Ethiopian Prime Minister Haile Mariam Desalegne, who is also AU Chairperson, “for his wise leadership, warm reception and gracious hospitality” accorded to all those who attended the event.

   The presidents of DRC, South Africa, Mozambique, Rwanda, Congo Republic and Tanzania were in the Ethiopian capital for the ceremony, while Angola, Burundi, Central African Republic, Uganda and Zambia were represented by high-profile envoys.

   The accord calls upon all countries in Africa’s Great Lakes region to refrain from interfering in each other’s internal affairs and seeks to encourage the reform of weak institutions in DRC.

   Reuters earlier reported that African leaders failed to sign the deal last month after a disagreement over who would command a new regional force to be deployed in eastern Congo and take on armed groups operating in the region.

   The DRC’s army is fighting M23 rebels, who have hived off a fiefdom in eastern Congo’s North Kivu province in a conflict that has dragged the eastern region back into war and displaced an estimated half a million people.

   The rebels, who launched their offensive after accusing Kabila of reneging on the terms of a March 2009 peace agreement, have broadened their goals to include his removal and the “liberation” of the entire Congo.

   According to Reuters, South Sudan was also represent at the signing of the Peace, Security and Cooperation Framework for the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Great Lakes.

   “It is my hope that the framework will lead to an era of peace and stability for the peoples of the Democratic Republic of Congo and the region,” the agency quoted the UN Secretary General as saying.

   Congo’s government and the rebels are holding talks in Uganda aimed reaching an agreement on a range of economic, political and security issues dividing the two sides, including amnesty for “war and insurgency acts”, the release of political prisoners and reparation of damages due to the war.

   “We ... commit ourselves to respect our obligations of this agreement we signed today, and we wish that all the signatories do the same,” said DRC President Joseph Kabila at the Addis Ababa ceremony.

   The UN-mediated peace deal is meant to end two decades of conflict in the area. UN experts had accused Rwanda and Uganda of supporting the rebels, an accusation both countries denied.
       

SOURCE: THE GUARDIAN