Citation
KINSHASA, April 24 (Reuter) - A Rwandan government team said on Sunday
it had signed a ceasefire agreement brokered by Zairean President
Mobutu Sese Seko but the Rwanda Patriotic Front (RPF) had failed to
turn up.
The four-member delegation, making a surprise appearance in the Zairean
capital, said it had flown to Mobutu's palace at Gbadolite, 1,150 km
(700 miles) north of Kinshasa, to sign a ceasefire agreement due to
come into force on Sunday.
But it said the rebels, who originally asked Mobutu to mediate between
the two sides and had previously approved the document drawn up by the
Zairean president, never put in an appearance.
We were surprised by the FPR's absence,
said Rwandan Communications
Minister Andre Ntagerura.
We don't know why the FPR did not present itself. We hope it was for
reasons out of its control.
Asked why the Rwandan government had failed to send a delegation to
peace talks scheduled to take place in Arusha in Tanzania this weekend,
which were attended by the FPR, Ntagerura said the government had been
plagued by communications and transport problems.
He added that the FPR had gone to Arusha simply to make a declaration
and not to negotiate peace.
The Zairean-brokered ceasefire was due to come into force on Sunday at
midday. Ntagerura said the Rwandan government had not given up hope on
a ceasefire, but considered it would have to be signed by both sides
before it could be applied.
We consider that if the FPR has not signed the accord in Gbadolite, it
could still do so fairly soon. It could already have done so,
he said.
The delegation, which included Justice Minister Agnes Ntamabyaliro,
Health Minister Casimir Bizimungu and Army Brigadier General Marcel
Gatsinzi, insisted it wanted peace.
But it rejected a series of rebel conditions, ranging from the
dissolution of the government to the disbanding of the presidential
guard and closure of the pro-government Thousand Hills radio station.
The RPF will soon realise that these demands fly in the face of
legality and democratic principles,
said Ntamabyaliro.
Asked how rebel forces had managed to penetrate so swiftly into Kigali,
the delegation claimed they were receiving active support from both
Uganda and Belgians in the U.N. peacekeeping contingent, and reiterated
claims that three Belgian soldiers shot down the plane carrying the
Rwanda and Burundi presidents.
Only Belgian members of UNAMIR owned the missiles used to down the
plane, they were the only ones in the whole city of Kigali,
said
Bizimungu.
Asked for proof of Belgian involvement in the April 6 explosion, he
added that Belgian soldiers had been responsible for airport security
and local residents who rushed to the airport after the incident found
Belgian soldiers there covered in mud.
I think these facts suffice in themselves,
he said.
Brigadier-general Gatsinzi accused Belgian peacekeepers of killing
Rwandan army soldiers and claimed that white mercenaries had been
spotted fighting on the rebel side and several had been killed.
UNAMIR, he added, was guilty of transporting RPF troops to strategic
military positions in its vehicles and turning a blind eye when the
rebels smuggled in weapons into the demilitarised zone before the
outbreak of hostilities.
Gatsinzi also claimed that neighbouring Uganda had sent two batallions
of soldiers -- the Simba and 21st batallion -- to fight on the rebel
side and was supplying the RPF with heavy artillery and weapons by air.
The delegation, which is due to return to Kigali in the next few days,
denied press reports that several Rwandan ministers had fled across the
national frontier.
The government is still working in Rwanda, and above all, it is still
in the capital,
Ntagerura said.
(c) Reuters Limited 1994
