Disarm FDLR rebels immediately, says US

WASHINGTON - The US government has saluted last week’s historic agreement between Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) on the disarmament of Rwandan militias, and called for immediate implementation of the pact.In a statement issued by the Office of the Spokesperson on Tuesday, Washington said: “We call on both parties to implement the provisions of the communiqué immediately.”It said it welcomed the signing of the pact in the Kenyan Capital Nairobi “on a common approach to end the threat posed to peace and stability in both countries and the Great Lakes Region.”“This joint statement creates a new opportunity to end the armed presence in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo of former Rwandan Armed Forces (ex-Far) and rebel Interahamwe implicated in Rwanda’s 1994 genocide,” the statement which was forwarded to The New Times, reads in part.“As a friend of both countries, we will work with them and the international community to support (its) implementation,” President W. Bush’s government pledged.The US together with the EU appended their signatures to the agreement as observers, while the UN was the facilitator. The US also condemned “continuing attacks on innocent civilians in eastern Congo, especially by illegal armed groups such as the forces of renegade Congolese General Laurent Nkunda, as well as the ex-FAR and Interahamwe.”Under the deal, Kinshasa committed itself to disarm Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) – a name under which ex-FAR/Interahamwe currently operate – and to hand over those suspected of involvement in the 1994 Rwanda Genocide to Kigali and the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) for trial.President Joseph Kabila’s administration also agreed to prepare a detailed plan to disarm the militia, and share it with the Rwandan government by December 1.Rwanda too pledged to exercise more vigilance on its border with Congo to prevent the entry into or exit from its territory of Congolese rebels or any form of reinforcement.Rwanda’s Foreign Affairs Minister Dr Charles Murigande, who signed the agreement with his Congolese counterpart, Antipas Mbusa Nyamwisi, said on Monday that he was optimistic Kinshasa is this time round committed to disarm the Rwandan militia, which is blacklisted as a terrorist group by the US government.Friday’s agreement came just a fortnight after a meeting between Bush and Kabila in Washington D.C during which they discussed the continued security crisis in eastern DRC. The UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon also on Monday described the peace deal as “a significant breakthrough” and appealed to the FDLR and other negative forces in DRC to lay down their arms and “seize the opportunity for a normal life”.A number of diplomats in Kigali have also hailed the treaty although some people including MPs have welcomed the deal with cynicism due to previous similar agreements that Kinshasa is accused of having reneged on.However, FDLR president Ignace Murwanashyaka told Reuters from his German residence late Tuesday that his group would resist forced disarmament.“We were not contacted. This accord does not concern us. We are not committed to doing anything at all. We say no to forced disarmament. We will defend ourselves,” the agency quoted him as saying.With an estimated 6,000 to 10,000 fighters, FDLR has been at the heart of bloody conflicts in the region, including a 1998-2002 seven-nation conflict that was dubbed Africa’s world war.The rebels are largely blamed for the 1994 Genocide in which an estimated one million Tutsis and moderate Hutus lost their lives in a record 100 days.Ends

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Disarm FDLR rebels immediately, says US