OWN CORRESPONDENT, Kinshasa | Thursday
IN a sprawling mansion protected by North Korean tanks and heavily armed Zimbabwean soldiers, with a waiting room full of sleepy guards, President Joseph Kabila said on Wednesday he was ready for peace – but on his terms.
The young leader, who is in his late 20s, has promised to work closely with the United Nations to implement an often-violated 1999 cease-fire agreement. But on Wednesday he said Congo would not be “held hostage” by the deal.
His tone was smoother and more diplomatic than his father, slain President Laurent Kabila, but his arguments were largely the same. The former president had regularly pledged to bring peace to Congo – as long as his enemies withdrew first.
Already head of the army, Joseph Kabila was quickly chosen to succeed his father after the elder Kabila was gunned down on January 16 by one of his own bodyguards. The young president has now ordered the creation of a commission to investigate the assassination. The presidential decree said the commission would work for 30 days, or more if needed. It would have powers to detain and order the arrest of any suspect and would have access to all relevant documents.
Little is known about the new leader – including his exact age – but many here and abroad have expressed hope that the sudden power shift represents a new opportunity for peace in the Central African nation, which has been divided by two-and-a-half years of civil war.
Kabila said on Wednesday that he wanted U.N. peacekeepers to deploy soon, but insisted there could be no peace without the withdrawal of “occupying” forces from a number of African countries that have been drawn into the conflict.
He offered to meet with unarmed opposition leaders as soon as next week, but like his father said he had reservations about the designated mediator, former Botswana President Ketumile Masire.
ZA*NOW
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