Kinshasa, Kigali Seek Common Action On Rwandan Rebels
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UN Integrated Regional Information Networks
October 21, 2003
Posted to the web October 21, 2003
Kinshasa
Rwandan Foreign Minister Charles Muligande denied on Monday reports that his country intended to re-enter the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) because of the continued presence there of anti-Kigali rebels.
"Neither Rwanda nor the DRC wants Rwanda to return," he told reporters on arrival in Kinshasa, the DRC capital.
His visit was the first in five years by a Rwandan official.
Rwanda said it had entered the DRC in August 1998 to combat Rwandan Hutu forces blamed for the 1994 genocide in that country, and after successive governments in Kinshasa had failed to disarm them. Kigali withdrew its troops from the DRC late in 2002 after Kinshasa signed the Luanda (Angola) accord to disarm the rebels.
Recent media reports attributed to Muligande accused Kinshasa of continuing to arm the rebels - the Interahamwe and former Rwandan army - who, he said, were still bent on destabilising their country. Muligande denied making these comments, but told IRIN that the rebel groups were operating freely, were well armed and had "never abandoned their intention" of destabilising Rwanda.
"The situation needs urgent attention, and the DRC government must show more commitment in resolving this problem," he said on 15 October. "We are not happy at all. They are not doing anything and these forces are moving towards our borders."
On 16 October, the DRC government ordered the rebels to leave the country. That directive has been followed up by Mulingande's visit. After a meeting with DRC President Joseph Kabila, Mulingande said both countries were determined to neutralise the rebels' ability to fight.
"We are convinced that we will develop mechanism of information exchange and that we will eventually develop strategies to neutralise these forces which, in the end, are not only a danger to the DRC but also to Rwanda," he said.
The UN Mission in the DRC, known as MONUC, initiated a voluntary disarmament, demobilisation and repatriation programme for Rwandan rebels, but so far only around 2,700 former fighters and their families have gone home.
Mulingande went on to announce that the two countries would consult on holding a regional conference on security, development and democracy, and reopen their respective embassies, closed since 1996 at the start of Congo's war in which Kigali backed the Rassemblement congolais pour la democratie-Goma.
It is worth noting that Presidents Kabila and Paul Kagame had already agreed to normalise diplomatic ties when they met during the 58th session of the UN General Assembly in September.
