Pour votre information. Communiqué de Presse du G.R

Transmis par Augustin Mukama

REPUBLIQUE RWANDAISE Ministère à la Présidence B.P.15 Kigali PRESS RELEASE Since 2nd August, 1998 the Democratic Republic of the Congo has experienced instability characterized by a generalized rebellion pitting the Alliance of Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Congo-Zaire (ADFL) against the leadership and the person of President Laurent Kabila. Members of the Alliance and other Congolese, accuse Mr. Kabila of, among other things: - incapacity and unwillingness to restore peace, security, unity and stability to the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Sub-region - deliberately promoting divisions within the Congolese National Army, by forming private and tribally based militias. - Repressive policies, targeting all democratic forces, characterized by collective massacres and assassinations, incarceration of political dissidents, discrimination and gross violation of human rights. - Inciting violence and promoting ethnic hatred. Clearly these accusations define the parameters of the Congolese crisis and demonstrate the internal and political nature of the conflict. Therefore, accusing Rwanda and any other country of invading the Democratic Republic of the Congo, is a malicious and gratuitous lie. The state of war in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is regrettable and that is why the Governement of Rwanda urges all Congolese people to work towards a political solution. We call for an immediate cease-fire, followed by an All- party Conference, and establishment of all-inclusive transitional institutions. This would give the Congolese people an opportunity to manage the crisis on their own, and would bring about a quick end to the current instability. Essentially there are two categories of stake-holders in the Congolese conflict: the principal stake-holders are the Congolese people themselves. Peace and stability in the Congo is the primary responsibility of the Congolese people. As pointed out, they should be helped and encouraged to come to a peaceful resolution to the conflict. The immediate neighbours and others, who constitute the second category, should be helping in this process. Stability in the Congo benefits not only the Congo, but also her neighbours and Rwanda in particular. Unfortunately, certain SADC member States have decided to support President Kabila and not the Congolese people, by sending military forces to his rescue. This was done in total disregard of the 8th, August 1998 Victoria Falls Summit decision to send a ministerial fact-finding mission to the region. The mission was pre-emptied and its conclusions have been biased by the military decisions taken in Harare by the ministers of defence present on the 18th , August 1998. This pursuit of parallel initiatives by the same convenor is not only wrong in principle, but it is fraudulent in nature. Other regional organisations such as CEPGL have long standing security arrangements with the Democratic Republic of the Congo. These should not be ignored. Rwanda has a specific interest in the stability of the Democratic Republic of the Congo arising from our own security concerns. These concerns stem from the presence of Ex-Rwandan soldiers and Interahamwe militia and their continued use of the Congolese territory as a rear base to launch attacks against the people of Rwanda. We wish to state that the problems of the Democratic Republic of the Congo are not a preserve of SADC. Other countries, immediate neighbours of the Congo, such as Uganda, Burundi, Congo Brazzaville, Central African Republic, and Rwanda which are not necessarily SADC members, have a bigger stake in the stability of the Democratic Republic of the Congo than most SADC member States. Therefore, all these countries should have been consulted. The military involvement of certain SADC countries in the current Congo crisis clearly does not promote a peaceful resolution to the conflict. By its very nature, it can only serve narrow interests of the leaders spearheading the intervention. It serves neither the interests of the Congolese people, nor of the region as a whole. Rwanda, therefore, reserves the right to get involved and to assist the Congolese people in their search for a lasting solution in whatever manner it deems appropriate.                     Done at Kigali, on the 21st, August 1998. Transmis par Augustin Mukama