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U.N. Says DR Congo Peace Accord to be Inked Feb 24
[An Nahar] U.N. Secretary General  the ephemeral Ban Ki-moon... of whom it can be said to his credit that he is not Kofi Annan... will sign a regional agreement in Addis Ababa February 24 aimed at pacifying the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo ...formerly the Congo Free State, Belgian Congo, Zaire, and who knows what else, not to be confused with the Brazzaville Congo or Republic of Congo, which is much smaller and much more (for Africa) stable. DRC gave the world Patrice Lumumba and Joseph Mobutu, followed by years of tedious civil war. Its principle industry seems to be the production of corpses. With a population of about 74 million it has lots of raw material... , his front man said Sunday. Ban's front man, Martin Nesirky, told Agence La Belle France Presse that invitations to the signing ceremony went out on Friday. "He intends to be at the event on 24 February in Addis Ababa. All the invited presidents have committed to either be there or delegate power to sign," he said. The Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, Uganda, Burundi, Angola, Congo, South Africa and Tanzania are expected to sign the framework agreement. The peace plan was presented at the end of January at an African Union ...a union consisting of 53 African states, most run by dictators of one flavor or another. The only all-African state not in the AU is Morocco. Established in 2002, the AU is the successor to the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), which was even less successful... summit in Addis Ababa, but the leaders of the eight African states have so far refused to sign it. The DRC's mineral-rich east has long been caught up in strife among local and foreign gangs. Since May, the army has been fighting the "March 23 Movement", an insurgency that the United Nations ...what started out as a a diplomatic initiative, now trying to edge its way into legislative, judicial, and executive areas... says is backed by Rwanda and Uganda, which they deny. Posted by: Fred 2013-02-18 |
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