US embassy cable - 02HARARE1783

UNCLAS HARARE 001783 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR INR/R/MR, AF/PD, AF/S 
 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KMDR, PREL, KPAO, ZI 
SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION DRC PEACE PROCESS; HARARE 
 
 
  1.   An editorial published in the August 4 edition of the 
      independent weekly "The Sunday Mirror" and an opinion peace 
      published in the August 3 edition of government-controlled 
      daily "The Herald" focus on the recent signing of the peace 
      deal between the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and 
      Rwanda.  Excerpts: 
 
  2.   Under headline "DRC peace pact: The cleansing of 
      Rwanda?" the independent weekly "The Sunday Mirror" (08/04) 
      comments: 
 
      ". . .Sadly, neither the Lusaka Accord nor the Sun 
      City Agreement managed to stop the DRC conflict, and 
      in both cases Rwanda and its surrogate forces, the 
      rebel group RCD-Goma, continued to fuel the crisis. 
      Now that there is an agreement, which specifically 
      addresses Rwanda's security concerns, many 
      commentators have expressed the hope that peace will 
      come to the DRC at last.  The question though, is, 
      why put so much effort in appeasing Rwanda when it 
      is so clear that they are the aggressors. . .?  It 
      should therefore be made clear from the beginning, 
      that by signing the Pretoria agreement, Rwanda is 
      not automatically absolved of the horrors that it 
      perpetrated in the DRC.  The case before the 
      International Court of Justice must still be heard, 
      and Rwanda must still pay reparations to the DRC for 
      the invasion and for all the suffering it caused. 
      Also, now that the DRC is on the road to peace, the 
      international community should now focus on Rwanda. 
      Why has this small country caused so much suffering 
      not only to its own people in the 1994 genocide, but 
      also in the DRC since 1998?  There is a clear need 
      for internal soul searching in Rwanda.  An 
      Inter-Rwandese Dialogue may not be a bad idea after 
      all!" 
 
  3.   Under headline "Signing of accord set to bring peace 
      to DRC" the government-controlled daily "The Herald" 
      (08/03) carried the following op-ed by Tim Chigodo: 
 
      "The people of the DRC should feel relieved 
      following the signing of a peace accord to end the 
      four-year devastating war in the Great Lakes region. 
      The peace agreement signed by President Joseph 
      Kabila of the DRC and President Paul Kagame of 
      Rwanda in South Africa on July 30 after marathon 
      negotiations should finally bring the brutal war, in 
      which more than 2 million people have been killed 
      and several others displaced, to an end.  Although 
      some analysts are wary of the success of the accord 
      following the failure of the Lusaka agreement, the 
      commitment shown by the DRC and Rwanda leaders now 
      should lead to cessation of hostilities. . .Other 
      analysts said the recent accord was likely to 
      succeed because it had the blessing of the United 
      States, France and the former colonial power Belgium 
      who have in the past created problems.  Political 
      sources close to the deal said the three countries 
      had pledged support for the recent peace 
      agreement. . .Until a lasting solution to the DRC 
      war is found, peace cannot be guaranteed in southern 
      Africa. . . ." 
 
WHITEHEAD