Protect Lusaka Peace Accord, Says President

PRESIDENT Yoweri Museveni has called for the “isolation” of whoever deviates from or derails the Lusaka Peace Accord, the regional initiative to resolve the crisis in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), reports Alfred Wasike. Venerato Keeya of Museveni’s press unit told The New Vision yesterday, that Museveni made the call on Saturday while welcoming to Uganda a delegation from the European Union (EU) at State House Nakasero. Museveni also called for an “authoritative” meeting between the United Nations Security Council and all the parties to the stalled accord to resolve the DRC problems which have sucked five national armies and armed groups into the bloody conflict. Uganda, Rwanda, DRC President Laurent Kabila and his allies Angola, Zimbabwe and Namibia signed the accord brokered by Zambian President Frederick Chiluba, on July 10, 1999. The accord gives a schedule for the pullout of troops by all parties and also sets the ground for an inter-Congolese dialogue. The EU delegation is in the region to put its weight behind the stalled accord, signed by all parties one year after the start of the conflict. The team led by the Belgian Deputy Premier/ Foreign Minister Louis Michel last night completed the final leg of its tour of the Great Lakes region seeking to promote peace in the DRC. The delegation met with the presidents of the DRC, Angola, Zimbabwe, Burundi and Rwanda. They also talked to former Botswana president Sir Ketumile Masire, the facilitator of the Inter-Congolese peace dialogue. “The Lusaka Peace Process should be fully implemented and whoever deviates from it should be isolated, Museveni told the EU delegation. Michel said, “The EU would like to see a speedy holding of the Inter-Congolese Dialogue. We want all the Congolese parties involved to move towards solving the problems facing their country. We want a timetable to be set for the Inter-Congolese Dialogue to take place.” In Kigali, Michel told President Paul Kagame that “steps have to be made to create conditions for retrieving Rwandan troops” from the DRC. The Lusaka peace process stalled when DRC government representatives walked out of the first meeting of the Inter-Congolese Dialogue in Addis Ababa last month. Michel was accompanied by the representative of the EU’s External Affairs, Janvier Solana, the Commissioner for External Relations, Chris Patten and the EU’s Special Envoy to the Great Lakes Region, Aldo Ajello. Third deputy premier and foreign affairs minister James Wapakhabulo attended the meeting. Ends