M23 want regional leaders to push Kabila for talks

Sep 04, 2013

The M23 delegation to the peace negotiations in Kampala wants regional Heads of State to ask DRC Congo President Joseph Kabila to abide by the communiqué they signed in November last year for a peaceful solution to the DRC crisis.

By Raymond Baguma

The M23 delegation to the peace negotiations in Kampala wants regional Heads of State to ask DRC Congo President Joseph Kabila to abide by the communiqué they signed in November last year for a peaceful solution to the DRC crisis.

Roger Lumbala, a senior official of the M23 team negotiating with the DRC government, was speaking to journalists on Tuesday ahead of the extraordinary Heads of State summit over renewed fighting in eastern DRC.

Lumbala is also an opposition Member of Parliament representing the Congolese Rally for National Democracy (RCDN).

According to Lumbala, whereas President Yoweri Museveni has supported the peace negotiations in Kampala, the Kinshasa government has been unwilling to negotiate.

The regional Heads of State in the communiqué on the security situation in DRC decided that President Kabila’s government should listen, evaluate and resolve the legitimate grievances of the M23.

This opened the way for peace negotiations in December 2013. However, over the last nine months, the peace negotiations have faltered with no foreseeable agreement.  Both sides disagreed on adoption of rules of procedure and agenda including issues of ceasefire and general amnesty.

The Heads of State summit today (Thursday) is to be attended by 11 Heads of State from the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR) member countries. The summit in Kampala was preceded on Wednesday by the joint meeting of ministers of foreign affairs and defence chiefs.

Also expected to attend are officials from UN, African Union, US Senator Russell Feingold, representatives of the UN intervention brigade troop contributing countries of Malawi and South Africa.

ICGLR is an intergovernmental organisation bringing together African countries in the Great Lakes region which include Angola, Burundi, Central African Republic, DR Congo, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania and Zambia.

The regional organization deals with political instability and conflicts, which pose a major threat to regional and international peace and security.
 

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