ENTEBBE, Uganda — An expected peace deal between Congo’s government and M23 rebels was postponed after Congolese officials asked for more time to study the document, a Ugandan government spokesman said Monday.
A final accord, seemingly set after nearly a year of negotiations, was scheduled to be signed Monday. The Democratic Republic of Congo’s delegation, however, was not ready to agree to the document, according to Ugandan government spokesman Ofwono Opondo, who said the accord would have to wait until Congo’s government “makes up its mind.”
Opondo said the Congolese government had asked for more time to review the document despite having a copy for at least three days. Congolese officials did not issue a comment about the situation.
Okello Oryem, Uganda’s deputy foreign minister, said Congo’s government insisted on saying it would sign a “declaration” that the rebellion was over, but not “an agreement” with the M23 rebels, an issue that he said reflected the difficulty of mediating peace between the two sides.
Peace talks between M23 and Congo’s government have repeatedly stalled since they started in December, sometimes over minor details, according to Ugandan officials.
It remained unclear when the two parties would meet again.
The Congolese Army in recent weeks pushed the M23 rebels out of eastern Congo, and last week the rebels declared an end to their rebellion. The peace agreement was intended to establish the way that both sides would sustain peace in eastern Congo.
Dignitaries and journalists had gathered Monday at the official residence of Uganda’s president in Entebbe to witness the official signing ceremony.
Some ceremony participants suggested that the issue of amnesty for the rebel soldiers could hold up the deal. The Congolese government delegation was led by Foreign Minister Raymond Tshibanda while Bertrand Bisimwa, M23’s civilian head, led the rebel delegation.
It appears Uganda’s government has been seeking to get compromises from Congo’s government on amnesty for rebel commanders who are accused of committing serious abuses during the 19-month rebellion.
President Yoweri Museveni of Uganda has criticized Congo’s government for maintaining what he called a “Eurocentric” foreign policy that he said was indifferent to the interests of regional neighbors such as Rwanda and Uganda, countries accused of supporting the M23 rebels.
Both countries, whose militaries in the past have invaded eastern Congo to fight rebel groups operating there, deny the allegations despite evidence given by United Nations experts.
Russ Feingold, the United States envoy to Africa’s Great Lakes region, called the pending accord between Congo’s government and the M23 movement a “modest” but crucial first step toward solving what he called eastern Congo’s “foundational issues.”