Congolese rebels backed by Rwanda and Uganda finally signed a peace accord brokered by Zambian President Frederick Chiluba to officially end the 12 month old war in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The signing ended six weeks of squabbling among the rebels as to whose name should be affixed to the peace agreement.

The agreement was signed on July 10th by the other insurgents, including the Congolese government and its allies. The rebels' backers, Rwanda and Uganda, also signed the agreement. But the rebels refused to sign at the time because of a leadership dispute.

According to the Associated Press, the agreement calls for a ceasefire between rebel forces and government troops "and the adjacent nations that support one side or the other in the conflict." The agreement also calls for a dialogue between the opposition and the Congolese government.

The United Nations is scheduled to deploy more than 25,000 troops to the Congo to oversee the implementation of the agreement. South Africa, considered by many as a power broker on the continent, is also expected to play a major role in the peacekeeping operations.

Reuters News reported that word of the rebels signing sent Congolese people dancing in the streets. "We can now concentrate our efforts on rebuilding our country," said Mungo Policarpe, a businessman in Kinshasa. But not everyone was as optimistic about the prospects for peace in the Congo. Some analysts believe that the rebels will not give up their arms because they do not have much public support in the country; Congolese people perceive the rebels as puppets of Rwanda and Uganda.

The war in the Congo has displaced hundreds of thousands of people, including several United Methodists families from Orientale, Katanga, Kivu and Kasai provinces. Many have been lost in the deep Congo jungle, and those who are financially capable have joined their relatives in different parts of the country. Others, especially from the North Katanga Conference are living in refugee camps in Kigoma, Tanzania.

The crisis began in August 1998 when Rwanda and Uganda invaded eastern Congo in support of Congolese rebels. Each country claims that military involvement was a result of security concerns, that the Congolese government was supporting insurgents trying to destabilize both the Rwandan and Ugandan governments. The Congolese government denied the allegation and accused Rwanda and Uganda of invading its country for territorial and economic ambitions.

According to many in the Congo, the conflict has halted any efforts by the civil society and the government to rebuild the country after the end of a 32 year old dictatorship. The country is now partitioned. The rebels along with their Ugandan and Rwandan backers hold the north and the east. Government troops backed by Angola, Namibia and Zimbabwe control the rest of the country. The crisis has created a humanitarian disaster sending more than 500,000 Congolese fleeing to neighboring countries.

Since the United States has failed to condemn what Congolese people perceive as a Rwandan and Ugandan invasion, many people in the Congo, including UMC members, have accused the Clinton administration of supporting the invasion of their country. According to church sources, many young Congolese UMC members have voluntarily enlisted in the armed forces to fight off the invasion.

Impacts of the conflict have been felt on all aspects of Congolese society. There are food and gasoline shortages across the country. Malnutrition and other curable diseases are causing numerous preventable deaths. A large number of children are no longer able to attend school and have become child soldiers. Even evangelism has been affected. Outreach ministries to indigenous people like the pygmies who live in northeastern Congo have been interrupted by the fighting, says Richard Byamungu, a Pentecostal evangelist based in Goma.

Since the war began, Congo has been a sight of many massacres committed mostly by Rwandan troops. MISNA, the Catholic News Agency based in Rome reports that more than 800 people were massacred in Kasika in August last year. The same news agency reported that 500 people were also killed by both the Rwandan and rebel forces in Makobola earlier this year.

August 31, 1999