STOP NATO: �NO PASARAN! - HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK --------------------------- ListBot Sponsor -------------------------- Have you visited eBayTM lately? The Worlds Marketplace where you can buy and sell practically anything keeps getting better. From consumer electronics to movies, find it all on eBay. What are you waiting for? Try eBay today. http://www.bcentral.com/listbot/ebay ---------------------------------------------------------------------- [If any proof was needed that Laurent Kabila's "son" was another Kostunica, it comes with this visit of the chief foreign policy supremo of the former Congolese colonial power Belgium visiting the country. Not only will Mr.Verhofstadt visit Kinshasa, but he will also go to Kinsangani to pay his respects to the Rwandan-backed occupation forces responsible for the war-related deaths of more than 2-million Congolese citizens in the East of the country.] Belgian premier, in Congo, heralds EU Africa focus By Stephanie Wolters KINSHASA, July 1 (Reuters) - Belgian Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt spent the first day of his country's European Union presidency on Sunday flying across the war-divided Congo, backing up promises to make Africa a priority for the EU. A day earlier, Verhofstadt marked the former Belgian colony's 41st anniversary of independence by pledging cash to help rebuild the country after its devastating civil war. On Sunday he flew to the rebel-held eastern city of Kisangani -- known as Stanleyville when Belgium's King Leopold II carved out a personal fiefdom in Congo in the late 19th century -- to meet Rwandan-backed rebels who have fought the Kinshasa government for nearly three years in a complex war. Verhofstadt's decision to begin his six-month EU presidency in the Congo, at a time when the bloc is struggling to contain fighting in Macedonia and wrestling with internal dissent over enlargement, bore out a pledge to push Africa up the EU agenda. Belgian Foreign Minister Louis Michel promised last week to use the rotating presidency to create a common European strategy to promote peace and prosperity in Africa's Great Lakes region. "Our country will intensify its efforts diplomatically and with all the parties concerned, and rest assured that in this we will use to the full the lever of our presidency of the European Union," Verhofstadt said at Saturday's independence celebration. The Belgian premier's visit is seen as a major step towards ending the Democratic Republic of Congo's isolation after the former colonial power distanced itself from veteran dictator Mobutu Sese Seko and Laurent Kabila, who toppled him in 1997. REBEL WARNING Verhofstadt said the ultimate goals were democratic rule and the integrity of Africa's third biggest country. But rebels complain Belgium's new engagement legitimises the rule of President Joseph Kabila, who took power after his father Laurent's murder in January, and the effective partition of the country between government and rival rebel factions. The rebel Rally for Congolese Democracy (RCD) urged Belgium not to favour Kabila, who has courted the West and achieved a thaw in long-icy relations with Brussels. "We will request Belgium to be neutral, impartial, and to consider on an equal footing all the Congolese people," RCD Secretary-General Azarias Ruberwa told Reuters before leaving his headquarters in Goma to meet Verhofstadt. "Belgium should not provide structural support to Congo. It should only intervene in the humanitarian area." War in the mineral-rich territory has drawn in forces from Rwanda, Uganda and Burundi on the side of rebels, while Zimbabwe, Angola and Namibia sent troops to help the government. A 1999 peace deal failed to end the fighting, but peace efforts picked up momentum after Joseph Kabila took power, and warring parties have pulled back from large sections of the front line, allowing U.N. observers and support troops to deploy. 11:05 07-01-01 ______________________________________________________________________ To unsubscribe, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
