12/31/2007

The following letter appeared in the International Herald Tribune

Dear Editor:

The war in Congo killed more than four million people. With last year's historic elections, it seemed that the country was finally emerging from war. Today, new fighting has erupted and the peace is threatening to disintegrate.

The war ended in part because the government in Kinshasa allowed various rebel militias to demobilize, disarm and join the national army. But this solution produced a new problem - a bloated army of 164,000 ill-disciplined soldiers who are unable to stop vicious attacks on the population by a variety of marauding armed groups in the eastern Congo.

Three steps must be taken now to stabilize the country.

First, a political solution is needed. The good news is that the Congolese government has called for a peace conference in Goma that is getting underway now.

Second, the UN peacekeeping force - the largest in the world - needs to retain enough troops and its explicit mandate to protect civilians. The draft resolution under discussion in the UN Security Council indicates that the peacekeepers will retain current force levels in order to meet the protection challenges in the eastern Congo.

The Congolese armed forces have proved incapable of securing the eastern Congo. The national army was hastily created ahead of the 2006 elections by an "integration" process. Many soldiers of the former government who were well below par opted to remain in the army, and soldiers of similar dubious military utility from local militias were allowed to join. Current efforts to train and equip extant units are not working.

Thirdly, there must be a clear road map for military reorganization before the government of Congo pursues further offensive action. The UN mission should be given full responsibility for coordinating all short-term military assistance and ensuring that it is in accord with plans for a professional Congolese Army. Failure to do so amounts to the reckless endangerment of Africa's newest, biggest and most fragile democracy.

Mark Malan, Washington
Refugees International's peace-building program
officer