Summit sees long way to go in Africa's Gt Lakes
Source: Reuters
(recasts, adds new speeches) By Wangui Kanina and Daniel Wallis NAIROBI, Dec 14 (Reuters) - Despite recent democratic gains in Africa's Great Lakes region, much remains to be done to safeguard security and development in one of the world's most blood-soaked areas, African leaders said on Thursday. The impoverished and volatile region -- which includes Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi and eastern Democratic of Congo (DRC) -- has been mired in violence since Rwanda's 1994 genocide, which triggered a string of wars and counter-wars. Six African presidents, in Kenya for talks on security, governance and economic development, hailed landmark polls in DRC and relative stability in post-civil war Burundi. But they said there was still a long way to go. "The elections in Congo solve 50 percent of the problems in the Great Lakes," Uganda's President Yoweri Museveni told the opening of the two-day summit in Nairobi. "The other 50 percent is the presence (there) of a myriad of negative terrorist groups," he added, referring to rebel groups mainly based in east DRC. Individuals who supported "negative forces" should be prosecuted at home and in the countries they targeted, he said. The U.N.-backed meeting aims to build on a security and cooperation deal agreed in November 2004 outlining confidence-building measures including disarming rebels, tackling arms trafficking and cooperating to help millions of refugees. 'WRITING ON THE WALL' A pact due to be signed on Friday spells out five-year action plans devised since then, including a $225 million security package and programmes on good governance, social and humanitarian issues and economic integration. African Union Commission Chairman Alpha Omar Konare urged the leaders to focus on ending conflicts ranging from Sudan and Chad to the Central African Republic and Somalia. "The writing is on the wall," Konare said. "Countries are helping armed groups in violation of our rules (that power cannot be taken by force)." "They know very well that the AU cannot carry out an investigation, but we need the political will to deal with these methods that defy our very basic principles." But Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete summed up a general optimism driven largely by the peaceful voting in Congo. "It is possible to bring to a close a very sad chapter in the history of our region characterised by conflict, insecurity and missed economic opportunities," he said. "Good things are now happening. We must seize the moment." Also attending the meeting were the presidents of Kenya, Burundi, Congo and Zambia, and the prime minister of Rwanda.
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