Ongoing negotiations between theCongolese government and the political wingof the rebel NationalCongress for People's Defense (CNDP) ends today (Friday) in the restive NorthKivu province of Goma. This follows a recent peace deal to end the long timehostilities between the national army and the rebels which has left scores deadand a sharp increase in the internally displaced persons. The rebels alsoagreed to be integrated into the national army as well as immunity fromprosecution for rebel commanders. But President Joseph Kabila's government iscoming under enormous international pressure to hand over rebel leader BoscoNtaganda to the International Criminal Court. Albert Kambale is a Congolesejournalist in Goma. He tells reporter Peter Clottey that most Congolese arequestioning the rationale of the negotiations after the rebels decided to jointhe national army.
"Thetalks between the rebels and the Congolese government are going to end today(Friday). The talks come after the rebels have integrated into the nationalarmy and all we are asking is why are the talks continuing in Goma when theoriginal problems seem to have ended? What was problematic was that as far asthe CNDP rebels accepted to be integrated into the national army it was notimportant for the political talks to continue," Kambale said.
He said most Congolese areagainst the ongoing political talks reportedly aimed at some sort of a powersharing agreement between the rebels and the government.
"Some Congolese are askingwhether the talks are aimed to share power or political responsibility. Thepopulation is saying if this is what is going on then it would encourage a lotof rebellion or rebels in the country and everybody doing what they want. Sothat in the future you would come back and ask for negotiations and share powerwith the government," he said.
Kambale sharply differedthat the talks were necessary for peace in the restive north Kivu province.
"I cannot say that the talkswere important since Bosco Ntaganda (former CNDP rebel) decided to join thenational army with all the combatants of his rebellion then the talks shouldhave ended. So, talks would have been important if fight between the governmentand the rebel continues, but sine the fight had stopped and the rebelswillingly accepted to be integrated into the national army, I don't think thetalks were longer important as before," Kambale pointed out.
He said there are strongindications that Kinshasa would not hand the rebel leader to the InternationalCriminal Court in The Hague for alleged war crimes.
"This is impossible becauseup to now I don't think the government would just give Bosco Ntaganda to theInternational Criminal Court simply because he is the one who brought peace andhe is the one who decided on the breakaway faction of the CNDP to say let'sjoin the national army. So, at the moment and even in years to come, I don'tthink that the government is going to deliver him to the court. And at themoment he is being used by the government in the joint military operationagainst the FDLRA (DemocraticForces for the Liberation of Rwanda) in the east of the Democratic republic ofCongo," he said.
Some political analysts say the demand by rebel soldiers to jointhe ranks of the national army after the agreement with the government wasassigned shows how the need to end the war has been long overdue.
Meanwhile,both local and international human rights groups are demanding Kinshasa handover former rebel leader Bosco Ntaganda to the International Criminal Court. Based in The Hague, the ICCissued an arrest warrant for Ntaganda for his alleged role in war crimes, particularly enlisting child soldiers in2002-2003 in the country's northeastern Ituri region, Ntaganda's defectiondealt a massive blow to one of Kinshasa's toughest adversaries in the easternKivu provinces, renegade general Laurent Nkunda, who was arrested inneighboring Rwanda on January 22.