Strasbourg, 20/12/2004 (Agence Europe) - Adopting another resolution during its emergency debate in Strasbourg last Thursday, on the situation in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the European Parliament condemned Rwanda's military action less than a week after the International Conference on Peace and Security in the Great Lakes Region (held in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, on 20 November), have again, for the third time in ten years, have made an incursion into the Democratic Republic of Congo. The EP notes that peace has not yet returned to the Ituri district and the provinces of North and South Kivu and the continuation of illegal exploitation of natural resources continues to stoke up the situation. The EP believes Rwanda's unilateral action risks having serious consequences on the peace process in the Great Lakes Region and urges Rwanda to withdraw its troops and respect the DRC's borders, and for all sides in the conflict to respect the 2003 peace accords and the UN Security Council's resolutions.
The EP urges the Council of the EU to take all action necessary to aid the African Union, in liaison with the UN Mission in the DRC (Monuc), organise the disarming of illegal armed groups in the DRC, particularly those formed from the former Rwanda forces. The EP hopes that EU armed forces will take an active part in the training of African Union peace keeping forces and the unified national Congolese army, and urges the Council to urgently consider sending a new EU mission to the DRC, along the lines of the Artemis operation, to help restore security in the east of the country, particularly along the borders with Rwanda.