Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2004-12-14-Speech-2-270"
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"en.20041214.14.2-270"2
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".
Madam President, I very much agree with the honourable Member. As you well know, I am very sensitive to and very concerned at the situation in the Great Lakes countries and, more especially, by what is happening in eastern Congo. That is why, when I leave you tomorrow morning, I shall be flying out there to make a repeat visit to all those countries and to review the situation with their leaders.
I am also aware of the renewed abuses and renewed and extremely serious acts of violence that the region is again witnessing. The problem is not only the ex-FAR/Interahamwe, there are also groups of what are really organised criminals and others who are really living off the backs of the population and are behind what can only be described as atrocities.
I shall therefore be touring the capitals between 15 and 20 December. I shall be meeting with those countries’ presidents and various people in positions of responsibility, including United Nations officials, to see what the international community can really do and, in particular, what the international community is in the end prepared to do. We are well aware that the problem will not be solved by the Congolese army and police. They are not, at this present time, in a position to do so and it would be better to give the United Nations Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUC) another mandate: it needs more resources in terms of ability to act on the ground.
As you are also aware, its present mandate does not allow it to disarm people by force, for example, but only to collect weapons from those who are willing to hand them over. There is therefore a principle of voluntarism involved and I shall be trying to convince the people with whom I have talks. First of all, I am going to try and persuade the Rwandans and the Congolese to keep calm and not to act in haste and risk reopening a conflict when the transition process is in full swing. I am therefore first going to try to convince them of the necessity of preserving the transition process. Then I shall be doing my utmost to persuade the international community, which is represented in the country by bodies like the United Nations, of the need to take the necessary decisions to settle this matter once and for all, because, as you so rightly said, the rule of law is no longer truly a reality in that part of the world.
Having said that, the proof that I am in total agreement with you is that I am leaving to tour the area again tomorrow, and to take stock of the situation on the ground. There is the question of elections in Congo, of the timetable for those elections, and the legislation that still has to be passed by the parliament for those elections to be held. You are aware, since I have already said so publicly, that I believe the election timetable should be left unchanged so as to keep up the pressure on the authorities. I am also going to argue in Kigali that there should be no incursions of Kigali troops into foreign territory. As you see, I am therefore planning to make another complete review of the situation.
Unfortunately, Mr Staes, it is beyond my power to resolve the problem myself, and I can only hope that my powers of persuasion will have an effect this time. At any rate, believe me, I shall be voicing your concerns because they are my own."@en1
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