UNION
POUR LA DÉMOCRATIE
ET LE PROGRÈS SOCIAL

Press Release

UDPS PRESS CONFERENCE

Responsibilities in the aggravation of the political crisis in Congo and recommended settlement to pull our people out of the drama imposed to him and protect him from the hell in which he is being more and more encircled

R‚f.: RBL/UDPS/PR/077/98

Thursday 3 September 1998, 14 h

Centre of Press International (IPC) Boulevard Charlemagne, nø 1 1040 Brussels

Ladies and gentlemen journalists, Dear compatriots,

The international extension of the Congolese crisis, the numerous deplorable acts committed by each belligerent, the misunderstandings which can lengthen the conflict and our own will to achieve a durable peaceful settlement are the main reasons which justify our purpose today.

This purpose will be developed about the 3 following aspects : first, the causes of the aggravation of the crisis, then the radioscopy of the actors in presence and last the UDPS recommended solution.

1. THE CAUSES OF AGGRAVATION OF THE PRESENT CRISIS

They are many causes of aggravation of the crisis but they may be summarised to the nature of the political regime installed on 17 may 1997 by the AFDL and their maladministration of the outside military help they had received.

1.1. Nature of the political regime

From the advent of the AFDL to power, the UDPS, through his national President, Mr Etienne Tshisekedi, had issued two advice to Mr Kabila. The first advice suggested was to organise a negotiated withdrawal in all transparency of all foreign troops who had consented sacrifices and contributed to the glorious victory. Secondly, he asked Mr Kabila to initiate negotiations with all the Congolese political and social forces in view to achieve a political reconciliation , i.e. a broad national consensus about a democratic project of society, similar to what had been achieved by the sovereign national conference. This project should contain :

- a legal frame defining the exercise of power during the transition period;

- a government of national union, in which every political and social component should acknowledge themselves;

- a precise negotiated political schedule up to the elections;

- a national independent election committee;

M. Kabila did not listen to these advice. Leaning on the foreign military help which was drawing into a military power of occupation, he has put down a political regime challenging the public opinion. He has, by lack of transparency and by this fact, created the conditions of fragility of his regime by depriving himself of an important assets: the support of the people.

It does not mean that one should blame Mr Kabila of having overthrown the dictatorship with the help of foreign troops, because this is not the first case in history of mankind : Europe has indeed been liberated from the clutches of the nazis with the help of the American army.

The deplorable thing is the maladministration of this victory by Mr Laurent-D‚sir‚ Kabila and his followers. Instead of accepting the will of the people and assuming the democratic patrimony they had found in the country by improving it, the AFDL has started making up everything from nought: proclaiming themselves the sole political authority excluding the whole population from the management of his destiny. Only the AFDL had freedom of the city and spoke without shades: "Anyone who is not a member of the AFDL stands against the AFDL and must vanish".

It is then normal that with this kind of administration, based on such anachronistic principles, bears to foreigners who have been appointed to high political positions to the detriment of natives, the fancy of requiring more.

The lack of transparency combined with the struggle for influence among the different clans of the AFDL will lead to a climate of putridity in which their different tendencies are trapping one another up to the day that everything had sprung out, splashing the the foreign troops on our territory, leaning on them to set up a new dictatorship. The UDPS condemns in the first place our own compatriots who have originated this situation, and not the foreigners.

But as every dictatorship ends by suppressing its own devotees, the AFDL coalition has crashed, imposing a useless war to the country. Being political, the crisis has to find a political issue. The weapons have only multiplied horror and will bring no real durable solution. Those who will sustain defeat will not hesitate to take revenge by the first opportunity. War and violence have only worsened the Congolese political crisis.

2. THE FORCES IN PRESENCE

2.1. On the rebels side

Let us first point out two confusions. The first one is fostered by Mr Kabila as he intentionally identifies all the rebels to Rwandans and Ugandans, while many native sons and daughters are among the rebels. This is to avoid taking into account their legitim claiming and negotiate. The second confusion consist in identifying all the rebels to the Banyamulenge insurgents or "Congolese Tutsis". One omits speaking about Congolese civilians and militaries who are neither Tutsis nor native of the Kivu province.

The UDPS notices that the rebellion is composed by a heteroclite coalition of former associates of Mr Kabila (civilians and militaries), former Mobutu supporters (civilian and militaries) and former members of the internal democratic opposition. The rebellion is sustained by Rwandan and Ugandan troops. These troops have been standing on our territory since one year with Mr Kabila s agreement. Moreover fresh troops from Rwanda and Uganda regularly penetrate on our territory to chase their respective rebels. Last, there are also soldiers without frontier : these are

Rwandan soldiers who spend a good time during one day in the Kivu province and return to Rwanda in the evening, sometimes taking with them Congolese prisoners prisoners without frontier who will clear their punishment into Rwandan prisons.

About the former associates of M. Kabila and the former Mobutu supporters, the UDPS is sincerely wondering whether the aim of their struggle is to set up a democratic state observing the rule of law, or is it just to overthrow Mr Kabila and put in place a new dictatorship and plunder the country? The UDPS condemns the violations of human rights by the rebels such as the cancellation of the political parties in the territories under their control, the massacres of civil innocent populations, the break of electricity and water which let show through that the rebellion was in war against the whole population.

As to the complain by the Banyamulenge about their security, the UDPS repeats that this is not a specific problem for them, but a general problem for all the Congolese tribes, all the Congolese citizens and all the foreigners leaving in Congo. No one is safe nowhere in a country where all the powers are detained by one person and law is issued by his arbitrary will.

About the nationality problem, the UDPS stretches once again that the nationality is never acquired by means of weapons and violence, but by law and legality. The Sovereign National Conference has, in that matter, given useful orientations. Security and nationality are matters which only can find a solution in the frame of a country observing the rule of law with democratic institutions respecting the right of everyone. The Country observing the rule of law called by the UDPS in all his claims will never allow one tribe to be armed for its self-defence like in a jungle, while other tribes who are identically threatened are unarmed. For the UDPS, not one single Congolese will be Stateless because of his ethnical origin.

Thus, the Banyamulenge should adhere to the peaceful logical of democratic institutions and should struggle for the advent of a democratic country observing the rule of law, instead of preferring a military solution which only will bring hate among the different components of the Congolese populations.

The UDPS appreciates the demand by the rebels of a negotiated peaceful solution and hopes that this request will find a positive echo and bring an end to the violence.

To the Rwandan and Ugandan government, the UDPS says that the unity, the independence, the sovereignty and the integrity of Congo will never be mortgaged in whichever shape, under whatever condition and for whatever pretext. As for the security at the borders of the neighbouring countries, the UDPS remains convinced that a united democratic Congo, good organised and good governed, will master the stability at the frontiers and avoid the Congolese territory to become the starting point for many rebel groups which destabilise the neighbouring states. A real democratic Congo will have a credible and responsible government which will debate with the neighbouring governments in matter of stability, peace and progress of the region, by respecting his international commitments. Therefore the neighbours of Congo should contribute to the advent of a country observing the rule of law, united and democratic Congo.

2.2. At M. Kabila s side

The UDPS notices that three of the four components of the AFDL are no longer in power, these are the Bugera component, the Ngandu component and the Masasu component. It is then the minority of the AFDL that holds power. The outside aggression stretched by Mr Kabila today, while foreign troops are standing in our country since one year, is just a pretext to deny all lawfulness of the rebellion. By denying the democracy deficit, by refusing to share the management of city with the majority, by excluding all political challengers from the scene, a real authoritarianism problem born of the system, and by refusing to listen to the voice of wisdom, Mr Kabila is encircling himself in a logical of suicide.

Talking about outside aggression was also the favourite strategy of Mr Mobutu when he intended to exclude all possibilities of negotiations with the ones who, yesterday, requested to negotiate with him as sons of the country and who, today do not admit to negotiate with those who think that there is a deep uneasiness in the management of the State. Blowing out the claims of a population without shade, should it even be a minority population, is an anti-democratic attitude which cannot contribute to the building of a nation. Every claim from the primary sovereign, the people, has to be considered in a spirit of dialogue in conformance with our African traditions which are basically democratic.

The UDPS regrets Mr Kabila s attitude leading our people towards a logical of war and violence. This attitude aggravates the crisis, stains our country with blood, plunge the population into mourning, swallows so many means useful for the rebuilding of our country, increases hate between peoples, delays the achievement of stability, peace and progress of Congo and the whole sub-region and, definitely, will lead to same results as those we are experiencing today.

The UDPS condemns the generalised suspicions, arbitrary arrests, illegal detentions, and massacres on a ethnic basis. The UDPS deplores speeches encouraging xenophobia and ethnic hate. True patriotism considers the fatherland as a common and alienable treasure which one can die for and the people (the citizens) as the source and the foundation of the power and whose political and civil freedoms and fundamental rights are inviolable. Love and respect of one s fatherland and one s people are deeply in connection with a positive and enriching opening of the conscience and mind towards other countries and peoples.

If the international community do not break and stop the course of ethnic hate and xenophobia on going, we will live to-morrow another genocide in Congo.

3. THE POSITION OF THE UDPS

For the UDPS, the Congolese crisis is eminently political and as such, requires then a political settlement and not a military one. The UDPS remains convinced that no solution will be neither true, nor valid and nor durable if it does not reconcile the sons and the daughters of Congo and if it does not promote the advent of a democratic country observing the rule of law. An unconditional cease-fire and the withdrawal of all foreign troops from our country is the basic requirement which will permit to all the political and social forces to gather together around a negotiation table for the search of a national consensus about a democratic society project.

The UDPS sustains any national or international initiative or action for the search of a peaceful solution to the Congolese political crisis. But, the UDPS insists on the fact that the international community should not commit the error they did last year by considering that negotiations should take place only between the armed parties Mobutu et Kabila. All the political and social forces must be associated at each level and each step of the negotiations.

For the time being, the rebels and all the political and social forces are favourable to the negotiations. Only M. Kabila won't hear of it and constitutes now the problem. It is essential that the international community exerts all means of pressure to bring M. Kabila round the negotiation table in order to stop the war and the violence and install dialogue.

Dr Francois Tshipamba Mpuila
Representative

Addresses for contact:
- Representative: Dr Francois Tshipamba Mpuila
8 Pachthof, 3010 Leuven, Tel. 32-16-259781, 0477-414052
- Deputy Representative: Ing. Victor Nzuzi Kabamba
16A Rue de Moscou, 1060 Bruxelles, Tel. 32-2-5390536
- Director of Cabinet: Dr Ir Gregoire Mbuyi Kamba
34 route du Longchamp, Tel. 32-10-452212
Fax 32-10-453382,
E-mail repre.udps.belux@pophost.eunet.be,
Counsellor: Ir Rapha‰l Kashala Mutambayi
Pastoor Dergentstraat, 30
3200 Aarschot T‚l/Fax 32-16-57 22 62
E-mail :r.kashala@skynet.be
Website: www.udps.org
Bank account: B0001-2916880-69