FDLR surrender a hopeful sign
The East African - 30 minutes ago.
Posted Saturday, June 7 2014 at 11:51

In Summary
The group was scheduled to start surrendering in batches to the
government of Congo from May 30 in North and South Kivu, but
conflicting reports over whether the group is actually laying down its
arms have dampened hopes for a major diplomatic and security
breakthrough in the region.
Reports that the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda are
seriously considering laying down their arms after 20 years should be
welcomed by all those who value peace in the region.
There is no doubt that the FDLR, a remnant of the Interahamwe militias
accused of carrying out the 1994 Rwanda genocide, has been a major
threat to peace and security in the Great Lakes region.
However, efforts by the International Conference on the Great Lakes
Region Secretariat to make the militia lay down their arms and
reintegrate into the Rwandan society have been met with disappointing
scepticism. Such scepticism could only drive the group further
underground at a time when the rebels themselves have realised that
they are fighting a futile war that will never address their
grievances.
The group was scheduled to start surrendering in batches to the
government of Congo from May 30 in North and South Kivu, but
conflicting reports over whether the group is actually laying down its
arms have dampened hopes for a major diplomatic and security
breakthrough in the region.
Kigali believes that it is a ploy by the besieged outfit to
reorganise, while some Western diplomats believe that it could be an
attempt by Congolese President Joseph Kabila to deflect attention from
his alleged intention to go for an illegal third term after 2016.
Even the UN mission in Congo, Monusco, has described the number of
soldiers laying down arms in the first phase of the surrender as
"insignificant" and called for the top ranking officers to also come
forward. A local civil society group said it was a "publicity stunt"
to avoid being hunted down by UN forces after the expiry of their
ultimatum to FDLR.
These concerns may be justified because past events have shown that
FDLR and Kinshasa are joined at the hip. Yet, that should not be a
justification for shooting down genuine attempts to bring peace to
eastern Congo and the Great Lakes region in general.
Besides being a source of constant military and diplomatic conflict
between Congo and Rwanda, FDLR is now the cause of strained relations
between Rwanda and Tanzania after President Jakaya Kikwete advised
Kigali to initiate peace talks with the rebels.
As with the now vanquished M23, the total absence of FDLR from eastern
Congo would be for the good of all the countries concerned. Congo will
have no excuse to accuse Rwanda of incursion into its territory under
the guise of hunting rebels and it will be forced to confront its own
governance challenges.
Let the parties concerned seize this opportunity to solve the FDLR
problem once for all for the sake of peace in the Great Lakes region.
http://www.theeastafrican.co.ke/OpEd/editorial/FDLR-surrender-a-hopeful-sign/-/434752/2340076/-/6nfngl/-/index.html
--
SIBOMANA Jean Bosco
Google+: https://plus.google.com/110493390983174363421/posts
YouTube Channel: http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL9B4024D0AE764F3D
http://www.youtube.com/user/sibomanaxyz999
***Online Time:15H30-20H30, heure de Montréal.***Fuseau horaire domestique:
heure normale de la côte Est des Etats-Unis et Canada (GMT-05:00)***
Posted by: Jean Bosco Sibomana <sibomanaxyz999@gmail.com>
| Reply via web post | • | Reply to sender | • | Reply to group | • | Start a New Topic | • | Messages in this topic (1) |
.To post a message: RwandaLibre@yahoogroups.com; .To join: RwandaLibre-subscribe@yahoogroups.com; .To unsubscribe from this group,send an email to:
RwandaLibre-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
_____________________________________________________
More news: http://www.amakurunamateka.com ; http://www.ikangurambaga.com ; http://rwandalibre.blogspot.co.uk
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-SVP, considérer environnement avant toute impression de cet e-mail ou les pièces jointes.
======
-Please consider the environment before printing this email or any attachments.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: only a member of this blog may post a comment.