It's us or them - DRC rebels
2008-12-08 15:40
Nairobi - Eastern Congo rebels in Nairobi
for UN-brokered peace talks with the government said on Monday
they were not prepared to sit down with other insurgent groups.
The Democratic Republic of Congo government at the weekend
invited around 20 other armed groups to participate in the
talks, aimed at ending fighting in North Kivu province that has
displaced a quarter of a million people since August.
But the delegation for General Laurent Nkunda's National
Congress for the Defence of the People (CNDP) said that was
"impossible" and it was in Kenya only for direct talks.
"We cannot allow discussions with 20 other militias.
Otherwise we would stay at home. We have not made this journey
for nothing," CNDP foreign affairs spokesperson Rene Abandi said.
"They can meet Mai Mai (pro-government militia), or whoever
they want, in Nairobi, Kinshasa or New York. Just not at the
same table where we are."
First face-to-face talks
While that difference raised the prospect of the talks
failing before they had even started, there was no sign of other
groups arriving in Nairobi, and the rebel-government discussions
were due to start under UN auspices on Monday afternoon.
They would be the first face-to-face talks between Nkunda's
Tutsi rebels and President Joseph Kabila's government, although
neither leader was coming to Kenya.
Diplomats have cautiously welcomed the meeting as a first
step towards defusing tensions that have threatened to escalate
into another regional war.
The CNDP declared a ceasefire after reaching the gates of
the North Kivu provincial capital Goma in late October. It has
been generally respected by both the rebels and the army,
leading to more than a month of relative calm in North Kivu.
However, clashes continue between Nkunda's fighters, and
local Mai Mai militia and Rwandan Hutu rebels who often
support Kabila's weak and chaotic army.
Congo's Information Minister, Lambert Mende, said on Sunday
the meeting in Nairobi would include all those armed groups who
signed up to an earlier January peace deal.