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Zairian rebels to participate in Africa summit
Zaire's president expected to make major announcement
March 24, 1997
Web posted at: 12:13 p.m. EST (1713 GMT)Latest developments:
- Summit success doubted
- Parliament problems
- International military deployments
- Related stories and sites
KISANGANI, Zaire (CNN) -- Zairian rebel leader Laurent Kabila has sent a senior aide to represent him at an Organization of African Unity summit on Zaire's war.
The summit may be preceded by a major announcement by Zairian President Mobutu Sese Seko on the current political stalemate between the government and rebels.
Officials say Bizima Karaha, the chief international policy strategist for the rebels, will represent Kabila, who has declined to attend the meeting Wednesday in Lome, Togo, for security reasons.
Togo's Foreign Ministry said in a statement Monday that both Kabila and the ailing Mobutu had been formally invited to attend the summit. Mobutu has not said whether he will attend.
Summit success doubted
Observers are skeptical about the success of the OAU summit. Both Rwanda and Uganda, which are accused by Zaire of backing the rebels, will only send low-level ministerial delegations. And on Monday a senior rebel figure was quoted as saying that, while Kabila would send a delegation, there would be no negotiations.
Kabila's forces have taken control of much territory of eastern Zaire, and are now said to be moving toward the nation's second largest city of Lubumbashi.
In light of the mounting territorial gains, Kabila has taken an increasingly tough stance, maintaining there will be no cease-fire until peace talks with the government of Mobutu get under way.
Kabila has called for a transitional government made of "people who have never been in power and who never shared power" with the Mobutu government. Mobutu, 66, has ruled Zaire since seizing power in 1965.
Mobutu, appearing in public on Sunday for the first time since his return from cancer treatment in France, received a letter from South African President Nelson Mandela over the weekend. There have been no details as to what the South African message was, but it was believed to involve proposals to end the crisis. Mobutu said he would make an announcement within 48 hours.
It remains unclear whether Mobutu is willing to negotiate with rebel leader Kabila. Mobutu himself has called for a truce and talks and the creation of a national council to find ways out of the current crisis "with all our brothers, without exclusion".
Parliament problems
Apart from the uprising in eastern Zaire, where rebels are now said to control about 20 per cent of the territory, Mobutu also faces a political crisis in parliament. The legislative body fired Prime Minister Kengo Wa Dondo last week, while both the president and prime minister were out of the country.
That move was immediately challenged as illegal by those who claimed that not enough parliament members had been present to make the decision valid.
Zairian state television confirmed on Monday that Mobutu "took note of the dismissal of the government". However, it remains unclear whether this means that Mobutu has accepted the decision.
International military deployments
A U.S. Army unit has arrived in neighboring Congo to prepare for the possible evacuation of American citizens. A U.S. warship is also on its way to Zaire.
France, too, has sent troops to the region in preparation for a possible evacuation. And Belgium, Zaire's former colonial ruler, on Monday sent in a first group of 35 troops. Most of them will go to Brazzaville, the capital of Congo. But some of the Belgian officers will be deployed in the Zairian capital Kinshasa to protect the Belgian embassy.
Reuters contributed to this report.
Related stories:
- Ailing Mobutu meets with S. African vice president - March 23, 1997
- U.S. Army unit arrives in Congo - March 23, 1997
- Unrest prevails despite return of Zairian president - March 22, 1997
- Mobutu slips into Zaire as rebel leader gets hero's welcome - March 21, 1997
- Zaire's rebellion is Cold War's bitter fruit - March 21, 1997
- U.S. troops head for Africa to await possible Zairian evacuation - March 21, 1997
- Zaire president arrives home - March 21, 1997
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