12 11 13 News.co.nz: Disagreement postpones Congo peace deal

The Congolese government
delegation was not ready to agree to the document, according to Ugandan
government spokesman Ofwono Opondo, who said the accord would have to wait
until Congo's
government "makes up its mind." Opondo said the Congolese government
had asked for more time to review the document despite having a copy for at
least three days. Congolese officials did not issue a comment about the situation.

Okello Oryem, Uganda's
deputy foreign minister, told The Associated Press the deal had not been signed
after Congo's government insisted on saying it would sign a
"declaration" that the rebellion was over, but not "an
agreement" with the M23 rebels, an issue that he said reflected the
difficulty of mediating peace between the two sides. Peace talks between M23
and Congo's
government have repeatedly stalled since they started in December, sometimes
over minor details, according to Ugandan officials.

It remained unclear when
the two parties would meet again.

The top international
envoys to the region issued a joint statement expressing regret that an
agreement couldn't be concluded Monday.

UN Special Envoy to the
Great Lakes Region Mary Robinson, US Special Envoy for the Great
Lakes and Congo Russ Feingold, African Union Special
Representative Boubacar Diarra, European Union Senior Coordinator for the Great
Lakes Koen Vervaeke, and UN Special Representative in Congo Martin Kobler noted
that the parties have expressed no differences on substantive points within the
draft document.

But the envoys said
"agreement on the format has not yet been reached." They urged the
parties "to resolve the differences relating to the format of the
document," to remain committed to a peaceful settlement of the conflict
and to ensure that those who have committed war crimes, crimes of genocide and
crimes against humanity will be held accountable.

 

The Congolese army in
recent weeks pushed the M23 rebels out of eastern Congo, and last week the rebels
declared an end to their rebellion. The peace agreement was intended to
establish the way that both sides would sustain peace in eastern Congo.

Dignitaries and journalists
had gathered at the official residence of Uganda's
president in the Ugandan town of Entebbe
to witness the official signing ceremony. But the 6pm time for the ceremony
came and went with no signing. Some ceremony participants suggested that the
issue of amnesty for the rebel soldiers could hold up the deal. The Congolese
government delegation was led by Foreign Minister Raymond Tshibanda while
Bertrand Bisimwa, M23's civilian head, led the rebel delegation.

It appears Uganda's government has been seeking to get
compromises from Congo's
government on amnesty for rebel commanders who are accused of committing
serious abuses during the 19 month rebellion. Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni
has criticised Congo's
government for maintaining what he called a "Eurocentric" foreign
policy that he said was indifferent to the interests of regional neighbours
such as Rwanda and Uganda,
countries accused of supporting the M23 rebels. Both countries, whose
militaries in the past have invaded eastern Congo to fight rebel groups
operating there, deny the allegations despite evidence given by United Nations
experts.

Feingold called the pending
accord between Congo's
government and the M23 movement a "modest" but crucial first step
toward solving what he called eastern Congo's "foundational
issues." The deal would create "positive momentum" for regional
leaders to seek a negotiated end to persistent violence in eastern Congo, said
Feingold.

Feingold said the proposed
deal between the M23 and Congo's
government offered no blanket amnesty for the rebels nor did it contain their
automatic reintegration into the Congolese army, the Congolese government
position that he said dovetailed with the views of the US government.
He said amnesty should be granted on a case-by-case basis.

"We believe the
agreement will reflect the desire not to make those mistakes again," he
said, talking about a previous agreement in which Congo's government gave blanket
amnesty to a rebel group that was M23's precursor.

Hundreds of M23 rebels fled
to Uganda after they were
defeated by Congolese government troops in recent fighting in eastern Congo.

Uganda is holding M23's top commander, Makenga, who last week surrendered to
Ugandan border officials amid a heightened offensive by Congolese government
troops on rebel positions in eastern Congo. He crossed the border with
more than 1,500 of his fighters, said Ugandan military spokesman Lt. Col. Paddy
Ankunda.

The amnesty issue is
believed to have been one of the reasons for the repeated postponement of the
signing of the peace agreement, and Ugandan officials haven't said what they
will do with Makenga, who has been sanctioned by the US and the UN for serious crimes
including rape and the use of child soldiers in his rebellion.