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Power Sharing Deal Weakens Uganda's Hold on DRC
April 24, 2002
After weeks of negotiations at the plush South African resort town Sun City, combatants in the more than three-year war in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) -- which has drawn in at least six foreign militaries and 10 rebel groups -- made headway toward peace last week. Two of the key players in the conflict, the DRC government and rebel leader Jean-Pierre Bemba's 10,000-member Movement for Congolese Liberation (MLC), cut a side deal April 19 that could reshape the conflict's political landscape.
Under the terms of the deal, Bemba would become prime minister of the country while Joseph Kabila would retain the presidency of a new government. The capitol Kinshasa has agreed to establish a transitional government ahead of new elections.
The accord between Bemba and Kinshasa is an important step because it takes one of the main rebels groups out of the equation, thereby undercutting the other groups that have been battling for control of the DRC's vast natural resources, especially the Rwandan-backed Rally for Congolese Democracy (RCD) based in Goma.
But whether the deal will go through remains to be seen. Bemba and the MLC are heavily indebted to their main supporter -- Uganda -- and Kampala has now rejected the agreement.
Uganda has a reported 8,000 troops in the DRC and a vested interest in preventing peace. There is a lucrative trade in timber, diamonds and other natural resources coming out of the northeastern city of Kisangani. Ruled by the rebels who are cut off from the capital Kinshasa, much of that trade goes through neighboring Uganda and is largely controlled by the Ugandan military.
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(Story Source)
(c) 2002 Stratfor, Inc.
Dan
Power Sharing Deal Weakens Uganda's Hold on DRC . . .