Global Policy Forum

By Stephanie Wolters

Kinshasa - Civilians in the rebel-held city of Kisangani danced in the streets Wednesday to welcome the start of a cease-fire in the year-old war in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. But elsewhere, reaction was muted, with problems already rearing their heads.

President Laurent Kabila's government reacted cautiously to Tuesday's signing of the cease-fire deal in Zambia by its main rebel enemies. ``We have noted with concern the divisions among the (rebel) delegates and we believe that it will be difficult to translate into action something signed by 50 people,'' Information Minister Didier Mumengi told Reuters. Mumengi said a split between Rwandan- and Ugandan-backed factions in the mainstream rebel Rally for Congolese Democracy (RDC) could still derail the fragile deal that was signed in Zambia by the other warring parties on July 10.

Different rebel factions control most of the east and much of the north of Africa's third largest country.

In Lusaka, Zambia, where all RDC founding members signed Tuesday under a deadlock-breaking compromise, the main rebel leader demanded that Kabila resign before further talks begin -- a new condition bound to complicate the search for peace. ``He must stand aside and come into the talks like any other Congolese. He cannot come in as president of the country. That is simply unacceptable and non-negotiable,'' Emile Ilunga, head of the Rwandan-backed RDC faction, told reporters.

Both RDC factions agreed to respect the truce, which formally took effect at 11 a.m. EDT Wednesday, but the divisions that delayed the signing persisted. Illunga argued openly with Ugandan-backed Ernest Wamba dia Wamba over the composition of a Joint Military Commission (JMC) to oversee the truce. Ilunga told reporters that only his faction had the right to nominate the two RDC members to sit on the JMC and made a pitch for both RDC places on the committee to prepare talks between the government and the opposition. ``They do not stand for peace and have no intention of resolving the war through dialogue,'' Wamba retorted angrily.

Angola, Namibia and Zimbabwe have all sent troops to help Kabila fight the rebels. They signed the peace deal along with Kabila and Rwanda and Uganda in Zambia on July 10. Ugandan-backed northern rebel leader Jean-Pierre Bemba signed on Aug. 1.

Tuesday's signing followed intensive mediation from South Africa and Zambia, which has led efforts to end the war.

In the jungle city of Kisangani, thousands of war-weary residents, from diamond dealers to market traders danced in the streets, some waving palm leaves as a traditional symbol of joy. ``Today they have signed for peace, tomorrow the foreigners will go home,'' chanted women in colorful wraps in the market, as they balanced smoked fish and bananas on their heads. Dark-green four-wheel drive vehicles filled with Rwandan and Ugandan soldiers weaved their leisurely way through the crowds.

Kabila accuses Rwanda and Uganda of invading. In Kinshasa, Mumengi said Kabila and his government were ``ready to make all sacrifices to resolve the situation in the country.'' But in Kisangani, scene of bloody clashes between the two RDC rebel factions and between their Rwandan and Ugandan sponsors in August, there was skepticism amid the celebration. ``We have peace today, but you never know what will happen tomorrow,'' one middle-aged hotel worker commented.