Reconciliation
in the Great Lakes Region
of Africa
Remarks
by the Hon. David Kilgour,
P.C., M.P.
Secretary
of State, Latin America and
Africa & MP for Edmonton
Southeast
At
the Consultation on Central
Africa hosted by:
Centre
Africain de Recherches et
d’Education sur la Paix et
la Démocratie
Camp
Iawah, near Perth, Ontario
31
October, 2001
*Check against delivery
Thank you,
Charles Foster, for
inviting me to join you this
evening.
In examining the often
ignored questions of reconciliation
and ethics in politics, I’m
certain your three days of
consultations have been very
useful.
Gatherings
like this one provide an opportunity
to look beyond the traditional
scope of politics and to focus
on principles that bind us
together as a single human
race: all human life has equal
value; the right to live with dignity; the freedom to realise
one’s own salvation spiritually.
Underpinning those precepts,
of course, lie eternal ones
of love, generosity, honesty,
loyalty and
truth.
As
Dr. Foster suggested in his
paper, “Towards Humanizing
Social Change,” we cannot
afford to abandon transcendent
principles – ones that are
shared by all of the world’s monotheist religions.
They are consistently
espoused as well in the political
arena. They should play a
key role in reducing further
human suffering in the Great
Lakes region of Africa.
Canadian
Policy in the Great Lakes
Region
I’ve been asked
to discuss Canada’s foreign
policy approach to the Great
Lakes region.
Simply put, the government
believes that the conflict
in this region must be resolved;
its continuation will have
a disastrous impact on the
whole continent.
As we all know,
the region has been marked
by immeasurable tragedies,
ones that resonate today especially
in Burundi (where just yesterday
the 26 members of the new
Tutsi-Hutu transitional government
set to start tomorrow were
announced) and the Democratic
Republic of Congo (DRC).
Seven years ago, a
horrendous genocide occurred
in Rwanda, which still reverberates
on the collective conscience
of the world.
It took the lives of
more than 800,000 persons
of all ages. Rwandans believe that the international community
failed them during April to
June, 1994.
It is our duty as citizens
of the world to ensure that
a similar event does not happen
again in any part of the world,
ever.
I might add
here a personal comment.
Former Archbishop Desmond
Tutu evidently visited Kigali
not too long after the events
of April - June, 1994.
In speaking to a large
audience at an outdoor stadium
shortly after he arrived,
the great man called for forgiveness.
Thereafter, he visited
some of the sites of the killings
- many of which were churches.
According to one of
the Rwandan survivors I spoke
to, Tutu was so appalled at
what he observed that he changed
his view: justice for a least
some of the perpetrators,
and then forgiveness.
In his recent book, No Future Without Forgiveness,
Tutu deals with the past and
does not forget, but allows
individuals and communities
to achieve reconciliation.
Canada condemned
the genocide and has worked
with the United Nations and
other countries to see justice
done.
Much has been achieved,
but more remains to be done
to ensure that the world sees
that those guilty of war crimes
and crimes against humanity
do not go unpunished.
At the same time as
they pursue justice, Rwanda
and its people continue their
healing process.
Canadians support Rwandans
in their effort to rebuild
their beautiful country.
Canada
was among the first donor
countries to resume their
involvement in Rwanda after
the genocide.
Since 1994, we have
contributed approximately
$150 million in bilateral
and multilateral assistance
to that country.
Seven years after the
genocide, and with the reconstruction
well under way, Canada’s aid
to Rwanda still amounts to
about $8.5 million a year.
La
République démocratique du
Congo
Le Canada ne
peut fermer les yeux sur le
fait que le Rwanda est fortement
impliqué dans la guerre civile
qui s’évit depuis trois ans
dans la République démocratique
du Congo. Nous appuyons l’Accord de Lusaka et continuons
à demander le retrait immédiat
de toutes les forces étrangères
du pays, à savoir, l’Ouganda,
le Rwanda, le Zimbabwe, l’Angola,
la Namibie et le Burundi.
Tout en comprenant
les impératifs de sécurité
du Rwanda, nous sommes aussi
très préoccupés par la situation
critique de la population congolaise.
À ce titre, nous encourageons
tous les signataires de Lusaka
de respecter leurs engagements,
de mettre un terme au conflit
et de respecter les droits
de la personne des populations
dans les territoires sous
leur contrôle.
Nous ne pouvons
passer sous silence la catastrophe
humanitaire qui se déroule
au Congo. Nous sommes attérés, non seulement par le nombre
dramatique des victimes civiles,
mais également par les violations
systématiques des droits de
la personne commises par toutes
les parties au conflit, et
par le pillage illégal des
ressources naturelles.
Dans l’espoir
de participer aux efforts
de la communauté internationale
visant à mettre fin à la guerre
et aux abus qui en découlent,
les ministres canadiens des
affaires étrangères et de
la coopération internationale
ont nommé un envoyé spécial,
M. Marc Perron, qui a dirigé,
entre février et avril derniers,
une mission de consultations
sur le conflit en RDC.
Son rapport est actuellement à l’étude
à Ottawa.
Canada also
contributes to the UN Observer
Mission in the DRC (MONUC)
with six observers from the
Canadian Forces.
We have provided financial
support to the Joint Military
Commission, as well as to
the work of the Facilitator
to the Inter-Congolese Dialogue,
Sir Ketumile Masire, and to
the National Commission on
demobilization and reintegration
of child soldiers.
In regard to the Inter-Congolese
Dialogue, as you know, it
recently stumbled slightly
in Addis Ababa.
Allow me to assure
you that we will continue
to support this dialogue as
it continues to develop. Congo will remain among the main beneficiaries
of Canadian assistance to
Africa.
The government will
continue as well to support
the efforts to bring peace
in the DRC and the entire
region.
C’est ainsi
que nous sommes extrêmement
préoccupés par les retombées
de la guerre civile congolaise
au Rwanda et au Burundi.
Dans ce dernier contexte,
nous saluons l’accord survenu
entre les signataires d’Arusha
quant à la formation de gouvernement
de transition.
Cet accord fut le résultat
d’efforts incessants de la
part du Facilitateur au processus
de paix, Nelson Mandela, auquel
nous devons également la signature
en août 2000 de l’Accord d’Arusha
pour la paix et la réconciliation. Le processus de négociation fut long et difficile,
les négociations, ardues et
il faut s’attendre à ce que
la mise en oeuvre soit confrontée
à certains obstacles.
Jusqu’à tout récemment,
nous avons été le plus important
bailleur de fonds au processus
d’Arusha au niveau bilatéral
et nous en sommes fiers.
However, there
is still no peace in Burundi
as there is still no cease-fire
between the belligerents.
Every additional day
that passes without a cease-fire
agreement means that more
innocent lives are lost in
a war that has already claimed
over 200,000 victims.
This war must stop.
A comprehensive cease-fire
is desperately needed.
G8
Summit on Africa
Canada’s overall
policy in Africa aims at improving
the lives of the people most
in need. The potential of the continent, embodied in
part by the Great Lakes region,
is plain to see.
Realising this potential
will be shaped in part by
how the G8 responds to the
New African Initiative (NAI).
The document, signed
by 53 African countries at
the OAU Heads of State meeting
in Lusaka earlier this summer,
has shown the lengths to which
Africans will now go to integrate
themselves into the world
economy, including promoting
democracy and the rule of
law, building transparency
and good governance, encouraging
agriculture, women’s empowerment,
human resource development,
access to markets and so on
You can access it on the internet
at http://www.afbis.com/analysis/new_african_initiative.htm.
The Initiative, the
product of the amalgamation
of the Millennium Action Plan
for Africa and the OMEGA Plan
for Africa, has been born
out the principles of the
African Renaissance defined
by South African President
Thabo Mbeki.
This renaissance at
its core called on the world’s
donor countries to help Africa
and Africans help themselves.
Canada has
taken a lead in responding
to the NAI, and the renaissance
it embodies.
Prime Minister Chretien
and his fellow leaders vowed
at the last G8 Summit in Genoa
to develop an Action Plan
for Africa in response to
the NAI.
Canada has taken the
lead on this action plan and
our Prime Minister has appointed
Robert Fowler as his Special
Representative for the G8
and for Africa.
Two weeks ago, Fowler
was in Washington, beginning
what will be a long list of
consultations in the lead
up to next year’s G8 in Alberta.
Here in Canada,
a national consultative process
will soon begin -
with some of you hopefully
taking part -
where interested Canadians
will be asked to contribute
their own thoughts to the
development of the Action
Plan.
Africa will be at the
centre of the G8 discussions;
the Great Lakes should
certainly assume a
predominant place.
To conclude,
I return to the where this
talk began – transcendent
values and the spiritual dimension
of political affairs -
for the solutions to
the crisis in the Great Lakes
lies in what are in essence
spiritual concepts:
peace,
compassion, co-existence
and reconciliation. Let me leave you with some words from
those of a much-admired African
leader – President Olesgun
Obasanjo of Nigeria – who
lives each day with the life
and death challenges involved
in reconciling faith, politics,
and spirituality:
“True believers,
be they Muslims or Christians,
know all humans are created
by God and ought not be harmed,
but loved.”
