European Union backs Kikwete’s stance on Hutu rebels

President Jakaya Kikwete  

Dar es Salaam/Brussels. A few weeks after President Kikwete announced to the international community that Tanzania was ready for military offensive to neutralise Hutu rebels in eastern Congo, European Union Foreign Affairs Council on Monday called for immediate action to that end.

In a move seen as a stamp of approval on the Tanzanian leader’s position, the Council noted that the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) rebels have failed to lay down arms willingly, hence the need to use force against them.

The call comes at the time when a UN Group of Experts has released a report which some analysts fear could derail Tanzania’s efforts to bring peace and stability in eastern DR Congo.

The Group of Experts, using what one senior security officer in Dar es Salaam termed fabricated evidence, it claims that leaders of the FDLR militia and its political supporters in Europe have held several meetings in Tanzania since 2013.

The report by the Group, dated January 12, indicates that a staffer with the UN Mission in DR Congo (Monusco) reported how a senior FDLR commander and a Rwandan opposition politician, “Colonel” Hamada Habimana, the FDLR sector commander for South Kivu, travelled to Tanzania at the end of December 2013.

In its meeting held in Brussels this Monday, the Council stressed the need to take stern action against the rebel group if there is to be peace in the Great Lakes Region.

“Progress in achieving the goals of peace, security and cooperation framework has been insufficient…Renewed efforts from all parties to maintain the momentum are required so that the agreement can fulfil its potential in uniting all actors around a common goal,” notes part of the statement released after the meeting, a copy of which was seen by The Citizen.

President Kikwete told diplomats in Dar es Salaam recently that Tanzania has always been supportive and will continue with efforts to ensure the Eastern DRC is free of armed groups that threaten the security of the people of DRC and its neighbours.

He further noted that misrepresentation of Dar’s position is entertained by people who pretend to read Tanzania’s mind and make their thinking the truth.

In Brussels, EU confirmed its commitment to promoting stability and development in the Great Lakes Region and in particular, to full implementation of the PSC Framework—Peace Security and Co-operation Framework Agreement for the DRC.

EU said since the January 2 deadline for the rebels to lay down arms voluntarily has expired without them complying, there was no option but to use force to disarm them. It reiterated the call by the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR), the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and the UN Security Council (UNSC), that “the moment has come to start military action as per UNSC Resolution 2147.”

EU also called on DCR authorities and Monusco to immediately move to disarm the FDLR while also giving the rebels the opportunity to disarm peacefully.

“At any point, FDLR combatants can still choose a peaceful path by entering into the existing disarmament, demobilisation, repatriation, reintegration and resettlement (DDRRR) programme which continues to repatriate former FDLR members to Rwanda,” reads part of the statement.

The EU expressed its dismay over the increase in human rights violations in eastern DRC following an upsurge in violence attributed to armed groups.

“Continuing and severe human rights violations in the DRC, in particular gender based violence, and the recruitment and use of child soldiers, whether conducted by armed groups or other actors, are absolutely unacceptable and must end,” says EU.

It called on stakeholders and players to make sure that the protection of civilians and the neutralisation of all armed groups in the eastern DRC was their priority and the EU encourages the DRC, in partnership with Monusco, to take robust and effective action against the perpetrators of violence.

It also asked DRC, in cooperation with Uganda and Rwanda, to accelerate disarmament, demobilisation, repatriation, re-integration and resettlement (DDRRR) of ex-M23 members, who were disarmed sometime last year.

According to EU, ending the threat from the FDLR and other armed groups was crucial to realising the ambition of a region at peace with itself.

“Military action has to be complemented by political action that will also build a long-term basis for stability. By tackling the root causes of instability, it will strengthen confidence and allow for future investment and development,” observed EU.