29 01 14 Bloomberg U.S. Expresses Concern Over Congo Progress Demobilizing Rebels
M23 ended their 20-month rebellion in
December and are
mostly living in camps in
neighboring Rwanda and Uganda.
“We are
concerned and a bit disappointed about the
progress” of Congo’s implementation of the process
of
disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration
for the rebels,
Feingold said. Reintegration into
Congolese society “is the
best way to stop the M23
from ever coming back.”
Congo is set to pass
an amnesty law in the coming week that
will allow
rebels who did not commit war crimes or crimes
against humanity to return to their homes, Feingold
said. Under
the law, M23 insurgents should not be
allowed to re-join the
army as they did in 2009
after the end of a previous rebellion,
he said.
The former U.S. Senator echoed demands by the
United
Nations for Rwanda and Uganda to help hand
over the movement’s
leaders to be prosecuted.
Feingold also called on the Congolese army to
cooperate
with UN peacekeepers and continue
military operations against
two foreign rebel
groups located in eastern Congo, the
Democratic
Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda and the Allied
Democratic Forces-National Army for the Liberation of
Uganda.
Both groups have been active in
eastern Congo for years and
stand accused by the UN
of widespread human rights abuses.
2016 Elections
To consolidate
peace, Congo must continue to
professionalize its
security forces, and commit to holding
local,
provincial and national elections by 2016, Feingold said.
The vote should be an improvement on the 2011
presidential and
parliamentary elections, which
“were deeply flawed,” he said.
The Central
African country should not change its
constitution
so President Joseph Kabila can run for a third
term, Feingold said.
“My belief is that a country will always do better if it
does not change its term-limit rules with regard to
its
presidency,” he said. “The U.S. endorses
following the
constitution as it now is.”
Congo was the world’s eighth-largest source of
copper in
2012 and the biggest producer of cobalt.
It is also rich in
gold, diamonds, tin ore and
coltan, a material used in
electronics.
December and are
mostly living in camps in
neighboring Rwanda and Uganda.
“We are
concerned and a bit disappointed about the
progress” of Congo’s implementation of the process
of
disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration
for the rebels,
Feingold said. Reintegration into
Congolese society “is the
best way to stop the M23
from ever coming back.”
Congo is set to pass
an amnesty law in the coming week that
will allow
rebels who did not commit war crimes or crimes
against humanity to return to their homes, Feingold
said. Under
the law, M23 insurgents should not be
allowed to re-join the
army as they did in 2009
after the end of a previous rebellion,
he said.
The former U.S. Senator echoed demands by the
United
Nations for Rwanda and Uganda to help hand
over the movement’s
leaders to be prosecuted.
Feingold also called on the Congolese army to
cooperate
with UN peacekeepers and continue
military operations against
two foreign rebel
groups located in eastern Congo, the
Democratic
Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda and the Allied
Democratic Forces-National Army for the Liberation of
Uganda.
Both groups have been active in
eastern Congo for years and
stand accused by the UN
of widespread human rights abuses.
2016 Elections
To consolidate
peace, Congo must continue to
professionalize its
security forces, and commit to holding
local,
provincial and national elections by 2016, Feingold said.
The vote should be an improvement on the 2011
presidential and
parliamentary elections, which
“were deeply flawed,” he said.
The Central
African country should not change its
constitution
so President Joseph Kabila can run for a third
term, Feingold said.
“My belief is that a country will always do better if it
does not change its term-limit rules with regard to
its
presidency,” he said. “The U.S. endorses
following the
constitution as it now is.”
Congo was the world’s eighth-largest source of
copper in
2012 and the biggest producer of cobalt.
It is also rich in
gold, diamonds, tin ore and
coltan, a material used in
electronics.