La SADC dépêche des émissaires en République Démocratique du Congo-DRC
Angola Press Agency (Luanda), 23 October 2007
A multidisciplinary team of the Troika of the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC)'s Defence and Security Committee will soon travel to Kivu, eastern DR Congo, to analyse the situation on the ground and outline strategies and ways to overcome the instability prevailing in the region.
Angop learned the information from the Community's executive secretary, Mozambican Tomaz Salomão, who attended a Troika's meeting on Thursday afternoon, meant for an analysis of the situation prevailing in the DRC, particularly in the eastern region of that SADC member country, and seek ways to maintain it assistance.
The Troika groups Angola, as president of the Political, Cooperation, Defence and Security Organ, United Republic of Tanzania and Swaziland, including the members of the SADC secretariat.
According to the source, the meeting has adopted three main stands. The first is connected with humanitarian operation, intended to assist about 600,000 refugees and displaced people.
To start with, SADC will air an appeal and marshal resources to assist the Congolese currently in urgent need of humanitarian aid, said the source, adding that all will be done by the members of the region to assist those people.
The second stand has to do with sending the said Troika multidisciplinary team into eastern DRC's Kivu zone, to analyse the situation and design strategies and ways of tackling the problem.
The team will talk with such neighbouring countries as Rwanda and Burundi, and hold contacts with some institutions and countries like Belgium, the US and England that have a relevant role to play, judging by their interests in the Great Lakes region.
"All this will be a combination of effort and synergies aimed at bringing peace and democracy to the democratic Republic of Congo", Tomaz Salomão also said.
The third aspect of the decisions made in Luanda is linked to the issue of defence and security, whereby the specialists of the defence theatre can observe on the ground the concrete aspects and come up with points of view of technical and military character.
But Tomaz Salomão explained that the fact that the Troika multidisciplinary team comprises a military component, does not mean SADC is considering a military intervention.
He noted that the fact there are military actions in progress, military specialists are required to produce the necessary counselling towards a solution to the problem and help restore peace in that country.
This is the Troika's first session since Angola took up the presidency of the Political, Cooperation, Defence and Security Organ, during the summit of heads of State and Governments held in August this year in Lusaka, (Zambia).
