53 armed groups in DR Congo commit to end war

By mary wambui            

nairobi. Fifty-three armed groups from DR Congo have agreed to lay down their arms as Kinshasa finds ways to address their grievances, among them removal of foreign armed groups from the country.

This was one the resolutions made in the final communique read out during the close of the week-long East African Community-led Nairobi peace process in Kenya.

“I think we shall be overestimating our capacity to think that we can solve this problem in one day. What is important is that we have started the journey to finding lasting peace in eastern DRC,” the former Kenyan president, Mr  Uhuru Kenyatta,  who is the process facilitator, said yesterday.

“We are happy with the progress; we are not saying we have completed everything but we have managed to achieve some milestones in terms of specific issues that will be undertaken by DRC and others that will be done by the delegates who are here,”  he added.

The issues include unconditional cessation of hostilities by the armed groups, the formation of a committee to facilitate release of prisoners with no criminal records and release of child soldiers.

Mr Kenyatta also urged armed groups to stop taking advantage of the situation to sexually assault women.

“The stories I have heard from women are shameful and evil. A man that commits such acts to a woman is not a human being but an animal. Let us tell our sons to respect and protect our women and children...I have no interest in your minerals or forests but I need you to respect your women and advise your sons to do so too,” he said.

A follow up meeting will be held in Goma and Bunia between January and February next year where the progress of the resolutions will be assessed.

“We want to see the implementation of the low-hanging fruits by January then we can get to the deeper issues which require more time, more consultation and deliberations with partners because the medium- and long-term aspects are not things that EAC or DRC can do on their own. They require support from development partners,” Mr Kenyatta said.

Earlier, Mr Kenyatta thanked EAC secretariat for addressing participants’ concerns over allowances.“I thank the secretariat ... for aligning the issues that cropped up yesterday. Next time, do not annoy us. Ensure that such plans are made in advance,” he said.

Commitment 

All the armed groups represented in the meeting signed the communique alongside the facilitator, Mr Uhuru Kenyatta and his two envoys — Kenya’s Macharia Kamau and DRC President Felix Tshisekedi’s special envoy, Prof Serge Tshibangu — as a sign of commitment to implement the resolutions.