03/09/13 VOA: Congo-Kinshasa: UN Great Lakes Envoy to Address Rwanda Role in DRC Crisis

 Mary
Robinson also hopes the recent military advances against the rebels will create
a window for a political solution to the crisis

Robinson
arrived Monday in Goma, the economic hub of eastern DRC, as part of a
diplomatic tour of the region. Her visit follows nearly two weeks of fighting
between Congolese armed forces and the M23 rebels on the outskirts of the city.
She is due to attend a September 5 summit in Kampala of the International Conference of
the Great Lakes Region [ICGLR], which will bring together regional leaders to
discuss the conflict.

Rwanda, a member of the conference, has
been accused of supporting the M23 rebels, a group made up of former rebel
soldiers who defected from the Congolese army last year.

Direct
talks

Speaking
to reporters in Goma, Robinson said she is prepared to address the issue
directly with Rwanda.
"I do not say one thing in Goma and another thing in Rwanda. I say
tough things, especially to people who need to hear those tough things
directly. And I am prepared to speak very truthfully, but also to continue to
engage with Rwanda,
because that is my role and my responsibility," she said.

The U.N.
Group of Experts has published evidence linking Rwanda
to the rebels, and the United States
has called on Kigali
to end its support. Rwanda
has repeatedly denied any ties to M23.

Other
foreign envoys, including Boubacar Diarra of the African Union and Russ
Feingold from the United States,
are due to join Robinson on her tour of the region, which includes a stop in Rwanda.

MONUSCO
muscle

A new
U.N. intervention brigade, part of the U.N. peacekeeping force MONUSCO, was
seen as being instrumental in helping the Congolese army push the rebels to
beyond striking distance from Goma.

Robinson
said she supports MONUSCO's aggressive operations, which she sees as having
opened up a chance for dialogue.

"What
I see as being valuable is that there is now potentially a window for the
political discussions," she said.

Robinson
also said she would like to see the renewal of the Kampala talks between the Congolese
government and M23. Those talks fell apart as fighting intensified during the
past few months.