Democratic Republic of the Congo, 2001

Allow

me, at the outset, to add my voice to those of the

distinguished speakers before me, to offer you, Sir, on

behalf of the people of the Congo and myself, our

warmest congratulations on your election as President

of the fifty-sixth session of the General Assembly. The

Republic of Korea, your country, maintains excellent

relations with mine.

May I also use this opportunity to offer our most

heartfelt congratulations to Mr. Kofi Annan, a

distinguished son of Africa, on his re-election to the

post of Secretary-General and on the Nobel Prize,

which has been awarded to him in recognition of his

commitment to the cause of promoting peace in the

world.

The people of the Democratic Republic of the

Congo, its Government and I condemn unreservedly

the blind acts of terrorism that plunged the United

States and all of humanity into grief on 11 September

2001. These were acts of gratuitous violence, which

deserve only the contempt of the whole international

community and of all nations that hold peace and

justice dear.

By applying and implementing Security Council

resolution 1373 (2001), my Government is committed

to fully cooperate in advancing all initiatives aimed at

eliminating terrorism in all its forms.

The Congolese people, which is itself the

innocent victim of a war of aggression by Rwanda,

Uganda and Burundi — another kind of terrorism

characterized by acts of barbarism that directly or

indirectly brought about the death of millions of

Congolese — had no trouble grasping the heinous

nature the sad events that took place in the United

States of America on 11 September 2001.

It would be tiresome to go back over the origin

and consequences of the war of aggression that started

on 2 August 1998, in flagrant violation of the Charters

of the United Nations and the Organization of African

Unity (OAU). Thus, following the logic of peace and

well aware that only non-violent settlements bring

lasting peace, I can but welcome the many peace

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initiatives that have sought to bring about negotiated

solutions to the conflicts.

I have particularly in mind President Chiluba of

Zambia, the appointed mediator of the Lusaka peace

process for the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

I would also like to mention the Southern Africa

Development Community (SADC), and in particular

Angola, Namibia and Zimbabwe, which, in accordance

with the SADC charter, rallied around my country

when it was attacked.

I would also like to address my thanks and

gratitude to the United Nations and the United Nations

Organization Mission in the Democratic Republic of

the Congo (MONUC), whose arduous work on the

ground has been very praiseworthy, and to the OAU,

the European Union and certain other traditional

partners of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

The situation on the ground has improved in spite

of the bad faith displayed by some of the parties to the

Lusaka Agreement. The disengagement of forces is in

its final stages, and the effective end to hostilities

which it has brought has been observed to the

satisfaction of all. However, the return of armed

tension has been seen in the eastern part of the

Democratic Republic of the Congo, in the part of the

country that is occupied by Rwanda. These hostilities

have been wrongly described as fighting that has

moved to the rear of the Rwandan forces. In fact, what

we see is the logical consequence of the failure of a

new plan by the Rwandan aggressors, who hoped to

sweep away all Congolese resistance, the better to

occupy the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of

the Congo in order to be able to continue to pillage our

wealth unchallenged.

As far as the disarmament of the armed groups is

concerned, we should note that a disarmament,

demobilization, repatriation, resettlement and

reintegration (DDRRR) programme, drafted by

MONUC and the Joint Military Commission (JMC),

was adopted by the Political Committee set up under

the Lusaka Agreement. It provides, first of all, for the

voluntary disarmament of all the armed groups in the

Democratic Republic of the Congo. In this respect, the

Congolese Government, reaffirming its good faith and

its commitment to this plan, has regrouped and

confined 3,000 Rwandan combatants in Kamina in

Katanga province, and a MONUC mission has been

there for several days now in order to identify these

particular individuals.

As far as the withdrawal of foreign forces is

concerned, the definitive and total departure of all

Namibian forces has been noted. This movement of

foreign forces back to their countries is continuing;

now the Zimbabwean, Angolan and Ugandan military

are beginning their withdrawal. Paradoxically,

however, and despite the continuing demands by the

international community through all of the relevant

Security Council resolutions, Rwanda is actually

reinforcing its military presence in the Congo.

The process of reconciliation, so long awaited

through national dialogue, made significant advances

during the preparatory meetings from 20-24 August

2001 in Gaborone, thanks to the Republican pact

initiated by the Government of the Democratic

Republic of the Congo. I would like to take this

opportunity to reiterate solemnly from this rostrum the

full commitment of my Government to participate fully

in the sessions on this dialogue to be held in the

Republic of South Africa. I invite the facilitator to do

everything possible to deal with pending issues in order

to make sure that the forum regains its inclusive

character, as provided for by the Lusaka Agreement

and the relevant Security Council resolutions.

For the Government of the Democratic Republic

of the Congo, it is important that representatives of all

sectors of our population should be able to participate

in this dialogue so as to lay the foundations of a

democratic State. I would invite the international

community, at the appropriate time, to assist my

country in organizing free, democratic and transparent

elections, which would allow the Congolese people to

choose their own leaders, leaders who will have the

legitimacy that a popular election provides and which,

in turn, guarantees political stability.

I would like to avail myself of this opportunity to

invite the United Nations to institute exemplary

sanctions against all those States, their accessories and

accomplices that are pillaging the wealth of the

Democratic Republic of the Congo.

I could not conclude my statement without

thanking the Security Council members for having

unanimously adopted resolution 1376 (2001) on 9

November, which condemns the establishment of a

joint force set up by the Congolese rebels, instigated by

Rwanda in violation of the Lusaka Agreement, in

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violation of the DDRRR plan and of all relevant

Security Council resolutions. This resolution is

particularly welcome for its providing for the

deployment of MONUC’s phase III. It also provides for

the demilitarization of the city of Kisangani, the

neutrality of Kindu and the reconstruction of the

Democratic Republic of the Congo.

In my statement, I have condemned the infamous

acts perpetrated against the people of the United States

and of the world as a whole. I have also spoken of the

catastrophic situation in my country, which has been

victim of a war of aggression for the past three years. I

have also noted the significant advances achieved in

the peace process in the Democratic Republic of the

Congo, which unfortunately risks being compromised

through the bad faith of Rwanda and its Congolese

rebel accomplices.

I have stressed how essential the support of the

international community is if we are to achieve this

process successfully and to launch the reconstruction

of my country. The Congolese people, who have

suffered so much, are asking only one thing of the

United Nations and the international community: that

justice be done for the weak and the strong, for rich

and poor alike.