PRESS CONFERENCE BY FOREIGN MINISTER OF REPUBLIC OF CONGO

Press Briefing

PRESS CONFERENCE BY FOREIGN MINISTER OF REPUBLIC OF CONGO

At a Headquarters press conference this morning, Rodolphe Adada, Foreign Minister of the Republic of the Congo, appealed to the international community for help in the civil reconstruction and development of his country. He also introduced a "White Book" on the Congo, entitled, The Civil Wars of Congo- Brazzaville, November 1993-January 1994, June 5-October 15, 1997, which was circulated at the press conference.

Although his country had made a remarkable switch from a one party to a multi-party system, it had experienced two civil wars during the period from 1993 to 1997, he said. More than 15,000 people had been killed, and there had been massive destruction during the wars. Responsibility for that rested with Pascal Lissouba, who had been the democratically elected President, but who had very quickly created a police State and plundered national wealth, particularly oil resources, and organized ethnic cleansing in the country.

The wars were now over, and the Congo was healing its wounds, he continued. The National Forum, created in January, had set new goals of reconciliation, national unity, democracy and national reconstruction. In presenting the "White Book", his Government in no way intended to continue to lament its plight. It simply wanted to testify to the reprehensible repression of human rights that had taken place.

This afternoon in Washington, under the aegis of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), there would be a meeting between the Congo and its partners for development. The Government of the Republic of the Congo would work to ensure that its people were elevated from their precarious living conditions: it would provide adequate supplies of drinking water and electricity, and make sure that the people's basic food, health, housing and hygiene needs were met.

The Government was working towards the return of a calm and stable situation, and the establishment of elected democratic institutions, he said. Arms were being collected, young people were being redeployed through training and professional apprenticeships, and structural reform was being implemented in the administrative and economic fields. National reconstruction provided an opportunity to work towards modernization within the framework of a strategy for development and promotion of the private sector. The shift away from the public sector would depend on transparent and effective management. The development programme would also require considerable investment in the basic infrastructure. Because of the wealth of the country's natural resources, there were good opportunities for international cooperation.

The presidency of Denis Sassou Ngesso was also a guarantee of political stability in the Congo, the Foreign Minister said. President Sassou had

worked for the cause of Africa as head of the Organization of African Unity (OAU). He had also played a prominent role in the negotiations to ensure the withdrawal of Cuban soldiers from Angola, and for the accession of the black majority in South Africa to universal suffrage. Hope was reviving in the Congo, and the international community should play its full role in the reconstruction of the country.

A correspondent said that in many African countries there had been cycles of problems followed by measures to improve the situation, which had later fallen apart again. How did the Congo plan to break such a cycle? The Foreign Minister replied that simply being in Africa did not inevitably lead to a fatality in political affairs. Africa consisted of a number of countries facing a variety of economic and ethnic affairs. But democracy, correctly applied -- with a state of law that the government itself must apply -- provided a real possibility for the stabilization of the political situation in Africa.

When would free elections be held, and would United Nations observers be welcome at such elections? a correspondent asked. Mr. Adada said the National Forum had concluded that, in the light of the mass destruction that had taken place in the capital, and the exodus of hundreds of thousands of individuals, a period of three years was needed to prepare for elections. Improvement had been more rapid than expected, however, and the situation could be stable enough to hold elections within two years. He would not set a date, however, as that would be irresponsible. Preparing for elections was a long process; reliable lists of voters must still be prepared, for example, so that elections would not be contested. His Government was looking for organizations that would supervise elections, also with the aim of avoiding contestation of the results.

A correspondent asked for clarification of the Foreign Minister's statement that the government of President Lissouba had carried out ethnic cleansing. At what level, the correspondent continued, was Mr. Lissouba and his party involved in the process of national reconciliation? Mr. Adada replied that evidence of the activities of the former Government was presented in the "White Book". In particular, from 1993 to 1994 there were acts of ethnic cleansing, and entire neighbourhoods of Brazzaville were emptied of their populations, to be replaced by "friendly" populations.

The reconstruction of the country was a process in which all of its citizens were participating, he continued. President Sassou had to maintain a balance between the victims and the perpetrators. In the current Government of National Union, there were some individuals who had been prominent members of Mr. Lissouba's government. All of the former political parties existed, and continued to exist in the Congo.

Were there any concerns about the security of the Congo -- specifically, was there any threat posed by developments in Kinshasa? a correspondent asked. There were no specific concerns in that area, replied Mr. Adada. The Congo

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was practising a policy of good neighbourliness, and contacts at the highest levels were taking place between the two Governments. President Sassou had been to Kinshasa for talks with the authorities there. The two countries both maintained a policy that neither should contribute to destabilizing the other. There were quite fraternal relations with the Democratic Republic of the Congo -- they were almost "Siamese twin" countries.

In reference to the term Siamese twin countries, the correspondent followed up, the Government in Kinshasa was facing a lot of international criticism for its human rights record: was such behaviour likely to destabilize the region in general? Responding, Mr. Adada said questions of the domestic policies of other countries were, of course, of interest; the Government of the Congo needed to work with those countries. However, it could not comment on whether one or another government was to its liking. It would work with the government that had been established by the people of that country.

In any case, he continued, the main concern stemmed from compatriots of the Congo, who thought that from the territory of the Democratic Republic of the Congo it would be possible to reorganize attacks on Brazzaville. Such a move would not be significant militarily, but from the point of view of human suffering, it could be quite serious, reopening wounds that had barely healed. That would mean the traumatization of a people who had already suffered too much.

What confidence-building measures were being taken? a correspondent asked. Confidence would be established, based firstly on the fact that, on 15 October 1997, President Sassou had declared the war over. The victor had declared the end, saying the two sides needed to live together, and had not pursued the total elimination of the other side. That was far from conventional. After the victory, the National Forum had been held to discuss the future of the country. The President was preparing for elections, and his personality itself was also an element for rebuilding confidence. The democratic regime was a creation of President Sassou.

A revolt had been conducted last year to get rid of the existing government, a correspondent said. How did the current Government hope to convince people that it was now stable, considering the way it came to power? she asked. That perception was the whole problem, Mr. Adada replied. The previous government had refused to hold elections, and had launched an operation to eliminate its political adversary. The action taken could not be considered a revolt with the objective of getting rid of an elected government. The revolt was, from the outset, an operation of legitimate self-defence, and that was what he was trying to show.

Several top United Nations officials had highlighted the problem of children forced to serve as soldiers in civil conflicts, including in several countries in Africa, a correspondent said. How big a problem had child soldiers been in the Congo, and what was the Government doing to disarm and reintegrate

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those children? The Foreign Minister replied that the problem of child soldiers was indeed a tragedy, which unfortunately was seen all too often. In the case of the Congo, it was not extremely significant, however. Although it certainly needed to be addressed, child participation had not been a major problem, except towards the end of the civil war, when more young children, under the age of 16, had taken part in the fighting. His Government was working with the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) on the issue. It was important to ensure that children were attending school, and that they had the resources to study. That was an important element in building a stable society.

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