PRESS CONFERENCE BY DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO FOREIGN MINISTER

Press Briefing

PRESS CONFERENCE BY DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO FOREIGN MINISTER

The Minister for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Leonard She Okitundu, told correspondents at a Headquarters' press conference this afternoon that a consensus was emerging within his country against the aggression by Uganda and Rwanda.

The Minister said that President Laurent Kabila had recently engaged in a dialogue with internal opposition forces in order to achieve national reconciliation. The Government wanted to form a common front with the internal opposition, which also felt the need to settle foreign aggression before dealing with inner divisions.

The Congolese opposition abroad had asked to discuss the political future with the President and had demanded that the meeting be held outside the country, he said. That was why Libreville, Gabon, had been chosen as the venue, with the agreement of President Omar Bongo. The domestic opposition, civil society and the Government had decided to meet in Libreville next week, with both the armed and unarmed external opposition.

For the sake of the meeting's credibility, Mr. Okitundu said, the international community should send neutral observers. The Congolese Government was asking the United Nations, the Organization of African Unity (OAU) and the Southern African Development Community (SADC) to send observers, who would follow the exchange between President Kabila and the opposition.

He said that since January's Security Council Summit on Africa, his country had been looking for a way out of the Lusaka process, which had become somewhat stalemated. Several initiatives had been put forward to dissociate the international aspect of the conflict -- the aggression by Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi -- from internal problems. The Government did not want the aggressors' withdrawal to be linked with domestic problems that remained to be settled.

The Minister said that the Congolese Government had insisted that the aggression be settled directly. That was why it was important to take into consideration initiatives like the Tripoli Summit of 8 November, where the aggressors and the victims of aggression had directly discussed the occupation. Domestic problems must be settled exclusively by Congolese people themselves without external intervention.

Recalling the signing of a disengagement plan in Harare, Zimbabwe, on 6 December, he said it was a component of the Kampala plan for disengagement, which provided that Rwandan and Ugandan troops withdraw 15 kilometres from the line of demarcation separating them from Congolese forces. Rwanda had unilaterally undertaken to withdraw 200 km and Uganda had promised a 100-km withdrawal. The Harare sub-plan was an important milestone, containing a strict

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timetable which should allow for the withdrawal of Ugandan and Rwandan troops from Congolese territory.

During Phase I of the sub-plan, the Minister said, Rwandan and Ugandan troops would withdraw to new defensive positions, an important step towards their definitive withdrawal beyond the international boundary. The Congolese Government insisted that the timetable be respected. It was committed to respecting the Harare agreement and hoped that Rwanda and Uganda also would abide by the timetable. If so, an effective disengagement and ceasefire could be reality by the end of January.

Asked what positive outcome the Government expected from its dealings with the armed Congolese opposition, Mr. Okitundu said the most important thing was for Rwanda and Uganda to live up to the disengagement plan they had signed, and that they not manoeuvre through their Congolese opposition allies to stay on Congolese territory. It would be a major milestone if the Rwandan and Ugandan armed forces did live up to the plan.

A correspondent asked what direction he could give activist organizations in the United States supporting the Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

The Minister replied that as a permanent member of the Security Council, the United States, particularly, could play a decisive role in dealing with the hostilities in his country. The incoming Administration would be expected to apply a new reading to the situation with a view to making the aggressor troops leave Congolese territory as soon as possible. Peace in the Democratic Republic of the Congo had an impact on peace in the region and on the development of all Africa.

Would the dialogue in Libreville be more credible if held within the context of the Lusaka process? another correspondent asked.

Mr. Okitundu said the important thing was that the dialogue be held, and that it achieve a political settlement. The wish of the Congolese people to speak among themselves must be supported. The Government was requesting international observers so that they could note the positive atmosphere that would prevail.

What was the problem with Lusaka? the same correspondent asked.

The Minister replied that there was confusion between the internal and external aspects. The Government did not want the aggressors to sponsor the effort towards a domestic solution. That was fully within the limits of State sovereignty and only Congolese were qualified to discuss their internal problems. Rwanda and Uganda were not democratic countries, and the Congolese did not want them to influence their internal discussions.

Asked what was the Democratic Republic of the Congo's responsibility for controlling or expelling indicted war criminals, he replied that contrary to what had often been said, the question of the armed groups was not the root cause of

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the conflict. That was a pretext put forward to justify the occupation of Congolese territory.

He said there had been no collusion between the Congolese Government and the armed groups, either before the war began or since. It was not responsible for their presence and was now in favour of their disarming in accordance to the Tripoli initiative.

The Minister called for a neutral force on the common borders which would, on the one hand, quell the security concerns of Uganda and Rwanda, while protecting the territorial integrity of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Rwanda had insisted that the armed groups be disarmed before withdrawal by Rwanda and Uganda, but his country insisted that they be disarmed after the withdrawal.

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