DATE=8/30/2000
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=U-N-CONGO (L ONLY)
NUMBER=2-2660054
BYLINE=BRECK ARDERY
DATELINE=UNITED NATIONS
CONTENT=
INTRO: A special United Nations envoy to Congo-
Kinshasa said today (Wednesday) that Congo's President
Laurent Kabila wants the world to recognize that his
country has been invaded. VOA Correspondent Breck
Ardery reports from the United Nations.
TEXT: Former Nigerian leader Abdusalami Abubakar told
reporters that Congo President Kabila is adamant that
his country has been invaded by neighboring nations
and wants the Lusaka peace agreement to reflect that.
///Abubakar act///
President Kabila made the point that the Lusaka
accord has not recognized that his country is
under invasion, that they are the aggressors. He
wants that to be noted and he wants the
aggressors to leave his country. That was the
point he raised about the Lusaka accord.
///end act///
General Abubakar met with reporters after briefing a
closed meeting of the U-N Security Council on his
recent trip to Congo. He was appointed by U-N
Secretary-General Kofi Annan as a special envoy to
Congo.
The Lusaka accord, signed more than one year ago, was
supposed to bring a cease-fire to Congo and pave the
way for national reconciliation and deployment of a U-
N peacekeeping force. But the cease-fire has been
widely violated as President Kabila's government
battles rebel groups that are backed by troops from
Rwanda and Uganda.
Diplomats say it is unclear whether President Kabila
is abandoning the Lusaka agreement. In a formal
statement, U-N Security Council President Agam Hasmy
of Malaysia said that question must be answered.
///Hasmy act///
Members of the Council express the need to
clarify statements by officials of the
government of the D-R-C (Democratic Republic of
Congo) that the government is suspending the
implementation of the Lusaka cease-fire
agreement. Members of the Council look forward
to continued consultations with all Lusaka
signatories on the need to implement the Lusaka
agreement.
///end act///
Mr. Hasmy expressed hope that the U-N Summit of heads
of state, which opens next week, will help move the
Congo peace process forward.
The Security Council has authorized a 55-hundred
member force for Congo. Despite President Kabila's
recent assurances that the U-N troops will be allowed
in government-controlled areas, diplomats say the
deployment of that force must await a clear sign that
all aides of the Congo conflict are observing the
Lusaka agreement.(Signed)
NEB/UN/BA/LSF/PT
30-Aug-2000 17:56 PM EDT (30-Aug-2000 2156 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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