KAMPALA, Uganda — Peace talks with rebels in eastern Congo should end with the disbandment of the M23 rebel movement, Congo’s foreign minister said Tuesday, declaring it a criminally minded organization that has caused suffering in the country.
Foreign Minister Raymond Tshibanda delivered his indictment of M23 on Tuesday after representatives of the group did not show up to a meeting Monday where the Congolese government delegation wanted to respond to earlier criticism by the rebels.
M23’s executive secretary, Francois Rucogoza, charged Sunday that the Congolese government lacked “visionary leadership” in a lengthy statement at the start of talks in the Ugandan capital, Kampala.
Tshibanda said Tuesday that he wanted the world to get “the real picture of this armed group and what they do in the area.” M23, he said, is a criminal organization that uses child soldiers and whose troops rape women and carry out summary executions.
Front Section, Pages 2 on 12/12/2012