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Neighbours Should Honour DRC Truce (Editorial)
January 21, 1999
Nairobi - Is there an end in sight to the fighting in the Congo? Will the latest
cease-fire in the six-month-old conflict hold? Will the neighbouring countries
that have committed their troops to the civil war recognise and honour the cease
-fire?
The crisis in the Democratic Republic of Congo has in the past few months preoccupied more African leaders than any other conflict on the continent in recent years.
The latest bid came at another leaders' summit in Windhoek, Namibia. Reports from the summit said Rwanda and Uganda, who are backing rebels opposed to President Laurent Kabila and Zimbabwe, Angola and Namibia, who are supporting Mr. Kabila, have agreed to cease-fire.
This should raise the chances of peace as it is unlikely that the conflict would have become as compounded had the neighbours not been that overtly involved. Although several African leaders reacted promptly to contain the crisis, the presence of foreign troops in DRC can only mean an escalation of this as the antagonists are emboldened by such support.
When Mr. Kabila, riding a crest of popularity as President Mobutu Sese Seko's fortunes tumbled at an alarming rate, was swept to power two years ago, many thought the forced change of guard in Kinshasa would translate into a new beginning for one of Africa's potentially rich countries.
The full exploitation of its resources had been hampered by Mobutu's kleptocracy that saw wealth accumulated in the hands of a few as the countryside largely remained steeped in poverty.
But as things have turned up, Mr. Kabila was in for a bumpy start to his reign. What was initially said to be an uprising among the rebel forces that had helped put him in office has since emerged as a wider scheme of disenchantment with Mr. Kabila.
It came from the most unlikely quarters - the same people who supported his
relentless march on Kinshasa turned against him.
Those who want to see Mr. Kabila out of office may not stop scheming but for the sake of the Congo's prosperity and peace in Africa, they should bid their time for the next democratically organised elections in that country. Africa has had enough of people ascending to power through the barrel of a=
gun.
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