African leaders look to Kabila assassination as an opening for peace

Laurent Kabila

In this story: Opposition meets in Belgium The OAU and the Lusaka accord RELATED STORIES, SITES

From CNN Correspondent Jim Clancy

(CNN) -- The assassination last week of Congo President Laurent Kabila could accelerate moves toward peace in the region. African leaders are making motions that might lead to the implementation of the 18-month-old Lusaka peace accord and end Congo's civil war.

For years, Kabila's refusal to talk with factional leaders in his own nation about whether to share political power was seen as the main stumbling block in the path to peace. With Kabila gone, some believe the time has come to implement the Lusaka peace accord and end the civil war that has drawn troops of five nations into the Democratic Republic of Congo, formerly Zaire.

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Those five other nations -- Zimbabwe, Angola, Uganda, Namibia and Rwanda -- also have signed the accord.

Leaders of Zimbabwe, Angola and Namibia, who held a summit on Sunday, were supporters of the slain president and also are weary of the cost of the long-running conflict.

Representatives of Rwanda and Uganda told CNN they see an opportunity for peace in the current crisis. Both nations back rival rebel groups that recently moved to unify their causes.

Opposition meets in Belgium

Members of political groups opposed to Kabila's regime met last week in Belgium and insisted they would not recognize Kabila's son Joseph Kabila -- Congo's acting leader -- as the nation's new president.

"We know since the son is there the government ... is weak and therefore they will be very sensitive to the international opinion," said Etienne Tshisekidi, a member of a Congo opposition group. "They will try to agree to all the facts of the Lusaka agreement."

Faced with possible rebel assaults from groups in the north, east and southern regions of Congo, Joseph Kabila's government is making political moves of its own, asking Belgium, China and the Organization of African Unity for official recognition.

The OAU appeared to be leaning toward Joseph Kabila. "We will always support the DRC (Democratic Republic of Congo) to guarantee its territorial integrity," said OAU representative Kamal Morgan, "and especially to guarantee the peace that the people of Congo have been seeking for some time."

The OAU and the Lusaka accord

Formed in 1963, the OAU is made up of representatives of 53 independent member states in Africa and its surrounding islands. Its goals are to help ensure peace and security across the continent and to help improve member nations' socioeconomic development.

Under the unimplemented accord that Congo agreed to in 1999 in Lusaka, Zambia, an immediate cease-fire would go into effect. The OAU would appoint a neutral chairman who would oversee the Congo's fighting factions and the government as well as investigate cease-fire violations.

The accord called on the chairman to work out a plan to disarm militia factions and use United Nations peacekeeping troops to carry out the plan. The chairman also would be charged with fostering an "inter-Congolese dialogue" intended to lead to "a new political dispensation in the DRC."

Kabila's body returns home to Congo
January 20, 2001
Congo government asks for calm after assassination
January 18, 2001
Congolese president dead following apparent coup attempt, sources tell CNN
January 16, 2001
Gunfire reported near Congolese president's home
January 16, 2001
U.N. votes to expand Congo military observers
December 14, 2001

U.N. Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Lusaka Ceasefire Document
Permanent Mission of the Democratic Republic of The Congo
Congolese Rally for Democracy-Liberation Movement
Jane's Information Group: Democratic Republic of Congo (Zaire)
Human Rights Watch 1999 report on the Democratic Republic of Congo
The International Rescue Committee
Mortality Study, Eastern Democratic Republic Of Congo
Congo Defense Fund (CDF)

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