Washington - A US envoy called on Thursday for
"semi-permanent" peace talks on the Democratic Republic of Congo,
saying that the world needed to do more after the end of the M23 rebellion.
Russ Feingold, the US special envoy for the Great Lakes
region, said he expected that talks in Kampala would lead within days to an
agreement in which M23 rebels, under assault from Congolese troops, would
disband.
But the former US senator said: "Remember, that's only
one of 40 to 45 armed groups in eastern Congo."
"So it's not time to get out the champagne, by any
means, although it could be a significant step in the right direction,"
Feingold said at Georgetown University.
Feingold, who will travel Sunday to South Africa for
regional meetings, said he has spoken to African nations about naming a former
president or head of state to negotiate with all sides.
"I think we need actual mediated talks, peace talks --
a semi-permanent mechanism," Feingold said.
The negotiator would speak to all nations including Rwanda,
which is not involved in the Kampala talks but which the Democratic Republic of
Congo and the United Nations accuse of backing the rebels.
Historical qualms
Rwanda adamantly denies supporting the M23, which was
founded by former Tutsi rebels who were incorporated into the Congolese army
under a 2009 peace deal which they charge was never fully implemented.
More than 2.5 million people died in the Democratic Republic
of Congo between 1998 and 2001 in what has been called Africa's first
continental war.
Feingold, who served three terms as a Democratic senator
from Wisconsin, said that the region was understandably weary of outside
mediation.
"A lot of us with political backgrounds, we know how to
put a press release out and get a pat on the back for trying to solve it, but
their experience is that we go away," he said.
"Our commitment this time is to not go away, is to
provide sustained attention to this problem for years," he said.
As evidence, Feingold pointed to the pledge in May by World
Bank president Jim Yong Kim for $1b in support of development in the region.
Feingold vowed to work to reassure the Congolese that the
investment would benefit them and not outsiders, acknowledging the historical
qualms of a country once considered the personal fiefdom of King Leopold II of
Belgium.
