African leaders in Nairobi for talks on security, governance and
economic development vowed Thursday to consolidate democracy in
achieving an enduring peace in the impoverished and volatile Great
Lakes region.
Addressing the second Summit of the International Conference on
Great Lakes Region, Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki who took over the
chairmanship of the forum from Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete
said the quest, attainment and consolidation of peace and security
requires patience, fortitude and cooperation.
"We need to consolidate the delicate equation of peace and
security, and begin to direct our energies towards reconstruction
and development," said Kibaki, the incoming chair of the
International Conference on the Great Lakes Region.
The Kenyan leader said Great Lakes countries had been ravaged by
conflicts for decades, lamenting that civil wars in Burundi, the
Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda, Sudan and northern Uganda,
had caused myriad suffering to civilian populations.
Kibaki said it was important to build on the progress made in
enhancing democracy in the region adding that the recent conclusion
of democratic elections in Zambia and the DRC was confirmation that
democracy was taking root in the sub-region.
"This positive trend further reinforces our belief and knowledge
that legitimacy, attained through ballot, in a free, competitive
setting, will ultimately lead to a significant reduction of
conflict in our region and beyond," he told regional leaders and
representatives of the United Nations, the European Commission and
various organizations.
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He said the east African nation valued the continuing support to
the summit of the Great Lakes Conference and other peace processes
in the region and noted that the success of these efforts required
focused nurturing of strong bilateral ties and dedicated regional
and international co-operation.
African Union Commission Chairman Alpha Omar Konare called on
the regional leaders to find lasting solutions to conflicts in
western Sudan, eastern Chad, Central African Republic and
Somalia.
"The writing is on the wall. Countries are helping armed groups
in violation of our rules that power cannot be taken by force,"
Konare said.
"They know very well that the AU cannot carry out an
investigation, but we need the political will to deal with these
methods that defy our very basic principles," he added.
The AU chief also urged leaders to back the fledgling Somali
government that is facing rebellion from the powerful Supreme
Council Islamic Courts Council (SCIC) in its efforts in stamping
its authority on the Somali soil.
"Somalia has remained a non-state and we have allowed things
there to rot. Obviously, we are not going to wage war. But there
can be no balanced dialogue (between Somalia's rivals) if the
transitional federal government is not helped and supported." He
said, "for two years there has been no real support given to the
transitional government. We face a difficult situation again today.
We need to work for a balanced dialogue."
"If we cannot deal with this now through dialogue, we will face
ethnic republics and religious republics, which will be unfortunate
not only for the whole region but the whole continent," said the
chairman.
In his message to African leaders, outgoing UN Secretary General
Kofi Annan said the region was on its way to stability and called
for the ownership of the process by the leaders themselves.
"Many positive developments have taken place since the beginning
of the (stability and development) process, including the elections
in Burundi and DRC. I am encouraged by the commitment to press
forward," he said.
"The Great Lakes region has seen some of the bloodiest wars in
the world," UN Secretary General Kofi Annan said in message read by
his special advisor to Africa, Joseph Legwaila.
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"The pact is not just a vision, it is a program of action millions
of people, women, youth, refugees and displaced persons and others
are watching you and watching us and are awaiting concrete
benefits," Annan added.
The leaders said that the international conference on the Great
Lakes Region brings together countries committed to peace and
stability in the firm conviction that this is the only path to
economic and social development.
In his address, Tanzanian President Kikwete said several
undertakings by member states have been initiated to address
conflicts in the region and impressive success has been recorded in
most of those initiatives during the last two years.
"Some of the crises points that looked intractable in
December2004 have been fixed or are on the encouraging course of
being sorted out," Kikwete, the outgoing chairman said.
He cited the successful democratic elections in the DRC and in
Burundi, signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement between the
government of Sudan and the SPLA and the concluded direct talks
between the government of Uganda and LRA as some of the gains the
region has made in two years.
"The signing of the Peace Pact that is expected to crown this
summit will herald a new beginning for the Great Lakes Region and
indeed for the African continent in translating aspirations into
actual deeds," the Tanzanian leader said.
"I believe it is very possible to bring to a close the very sad
chapter in the history of our region. A chapter characterized by
conflict, insecurity, political instability and missed economic
opportunities," said Kikwete.
He expressed optimism that even the intractable Darfur crisis
will soon be fixed as the forum gains momentum in its quest to rid
the region of conflicts.
Sudan peace agreement in early 2005 ended the conflict between
the government and a southern rebel movement, while peace talks are
under way between Ugandan authorities and the rebel Lord's
Resistance Army that was active in the north.
Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni called for the faster regional
integration to speed up development, saying most of the conflicts
in the region were caused by underdevelopment and poverty.
The source of many of the conflicts and ideological
disorientation that goes with these conflicts is rooted in this
problem societies that have failed to metamorphose into modern ones
mainly because of the disruption caused by the external negative
intrusion in the forms of slave trade and colonialism, Museveni
said.
The summit will culminate in the signing of a pact on stability,
security and development on Friday by the leaders.
The agreement, comprising legally binding protocols and
programs, will form the basis for the consolidation of peace and
security, democracy and governance, economic development and
regional integration, and humanitarian and social issues.
(Xinhua News Agency December 15, 2006)
