Texts and Reports
- Development Policy and the Armed Forces - Speeches and Issues Notes
Issues
Note
Léonard
She Okitundu
Ambassador-at-large of the Head of State
Office of the Head of the State, Democratic Republic of Congo
The Democratic Republic
of Congo is currently in a post-conflict situation marked by fundamental
questions which must be solved urgently so that the country takes definitively
the way of development, and sustainable peace and safety.
More particularly,
we would like to speak about: 1) the problems of Interhamawés
and the ex-FAR which refuse voluntary disarmament, these dissenting
groups constitute a pretext to ceaseless incursions of the Rwandans,
Burundians and Ugandans forces on the Congolese territory; 2) the case
of Banyamulenge which do belong to the Congolese population and which
enjoys same rights and duties that any citizen of our country; and finally
3) the pressing need for restoring a state of right on totality of the
own territory.
After having presented
the background of each one of these three issues, we will put forth
proposals by taking account of the current context, operational realities
of ground and of course, urgency to solve these fundamental problems.
1) Interhamwé
& ex-FAR
Engaged since more than one year and half, the process of disarmament
and voluntary demobilization already gave concrete results. Several
thousands (10.000) of ex-serviceman returned their weapons and are now
involved in the process of reintegration (DDRRR). This important program,
follow-up very closely by the government of transition, is financed
by the World Bank as well as other multilateral and bilateral fund givers.
In margin of this
process, groups of armed men, identified as being of Interhamwé
and the ex-FAR responsible for the genocide perpetrated in Rwanda in
1994, refuse to return their weapons. Entrenched in the rainy forest
and savannas, they cause a situation of instability along the eastern
borders of our country, refusing any constructive dialogue with the
political authorities. These groups of refractory rebels to disarmament
offer the pretext to our neighbours to call upon a fallacious right
of continuation, and to regularly carry out military incursions on the
Congolese territory, in spites of the concluded agreements, violating
the sovereignty of our territory. That constitutes a situation of permanent
insecurity not very favourable with the resumption of the development
in this area.
To rectify this
situation, we think that the recourse to the force proves to be necessary
to disarm refractories and this within the shortest possible time.
Which are the involved
forces which would make it possible to succeed in such an operation?
MONUC armed Forces, too few and insufficiently equipped are not able
to intervene militarily to control these disparate armed groups. To
join together the means, to reset the mandate of MONUC and to mobilize
troops would take far too much time so that this solution is not possible
as a short-term issue.
All the forces
armed with the allied countries of Congo completely left the own territory
a long time ago. In the current context, to conclude from the agreements
and to make it possible foreign forces to come back to fight in Congo
would present too many risks. Here again, time and funding required
by such an issue are far too important.
From our point
of view, the best suitable solution would be to mobilize a specialized
national quota, recruited among the Congolese elite of the armed forces.
Quickly set up and equipped, the mission of this task force would be
exclusively to neutralize by force the rebels still refractory to disarmament
and dialogue. Composed of 10.000 men, this quota would intervene under
the responsibility for the government of transition, in a way completely
independent of the running process of reconciliation and reunification.
To conclude such
an operation, the DRC does need financial and logistics international
supports which could be rather quickly mobilizable. It is a matter of
controlling and of pacifying an important geographical area currently
subjected to uncontrolled armed bands devoted to terrorism actions towards
civil populations. They maintain a situation of instability that can
put in danger the fragile political balance set up for the reconstruction
of the Democratic Republic of Congo.
2) Banyamulenge
issue
The Banyamulenge exploit their statute of "minority" and express
a hypothetical threat of extermination. That seems inadmissible to us.
Concrete measures were taken by the government of transition to prevent
any risk of collective crime. The government intends to assume its major
responsibility to ensure the safety of Congolese without distinction
of membership one or other of the several hundreds communities which
populate the DRC.
a) Nationality
Congo is a republic of citizens and not a republic of communities. Without
any distinction, all the Congolese citizens enjoy the same rights and
duties.
A resolution was
taken by consensus during the Inter-Congolese dialogue on the subject
of nationality. Currently, the Parliament works with the development
of a bill on the basis of consensus to which the RCD, appointed party
of the community of the Banyamulenge, took part as well as all the other
political components and of the civil society.
Actual work mainly
concern two fundamental principles: nationality by recognition and nationality
by acquisition.
b) Safety
Any individual present on the Congolese territory has right to safety.
Measures of prevention were taken against the risk of massacres on a
large scale (genocide) and of war crimes. Thus, the DRC ratified the
statute of Rome of 1998 about the creation of the International Penal
Court and thus adheres to its principles guaranteeing that in the future
there will be no more unpunished crime in DRC.
Let us announce
here that neither Rwanda and nor Burundi recognize the authority of
this institution of international law, thus putting itself safe from
an official investigation of IPC in the recent case of the massacre
of GATUMBA.
Recently, President
Kabila had the occasion to present a full report on the situation which
prevails in DRC at the International Penal Court. In consequence of
the duly elected agents are operational on the Congolese territory.
They inquire into the possible exactions and crimes denounced by the
Court of Rome.
Concrete actions
are under development, financed by the greatest institutions international
and supported by new bilateral cooperation agreements, to form, to equip
and deploy effective police and security forces, to serve and to listen
to the population, independent of the army; and this on the whole of
the own territory.
Let us recall here
that our government must assume its responsibilities. If he will not,
he will have accounts to return at the national level as at the international
level.
3) Re-establishment of the State of right on totality of the own
territory
If important zones of the territory are now pacified, and that disarm
it and the demobilization are realities for the greatest proportion
of the old rebellious groups, small islands of insecurity persist.
However, it clearly
appears to us that the success of the transition implies in priority
the following issues:
- extension of
the authority of the State on the whole of the own territory without
any exception;
- total and unconditional
disarmament of disparate armed groups still operational in certain
zones of the territory, the recourse to coercion remaining an option
to be considered for the extreme case which prevails in this moment;
- design and implementation
of a legislative arsenal adapted to the specific context of the reconciliation
and reconstruction;
- Installation
of a legitimate government resulting from free and transparent elections.
The inter Congolese Dialogue assigned as fundamental objective the
implementation of free, transparent and democratic elections. These
elections cannot be held as long as a part of the territory escapes
from the control of the central Government. The formation of a new
restructured and integrated army is the only way to restore the authority
of the state through the own territory while constituting a guarantee
at the organization and the implementation of elections;
- Finally, a powerful
and determined international implication, at the level of the fundamental
stakes engaged in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Everyone will
accept that the New Partnership for the Development of Africa (NEPAD)
cannot be conceived without a completely reconciled and pacified Democratic
Republic of Congo.
|
Contents