Rwandan Hutu rebels halt war

ROME - Rwanda's main Hutu rebel group denounced the 1994 genocide in their country and said they would halt military operations against Rwanda to help ease the "catastrophic humanitarian" crisis in the region.

A delegation representing the rebel organisation, the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), made the announcement after two days of talks at the Sant'Egidio religious community in the heart of Rome.

The declaration was a first from the Hutus rebels, many of whom are accused of taking part in the killing of 800,000 Rwandan Tutsis and moderate Hutus in a spasm of violence over 100 days in 1994.

"The FDLR condemns the genocide committed against Rwanda and their authors. It is committed to fight against all ideologies of ethnic hate and renews its commitment to co-operate with international justice," FDLR President Ignace Murwanashyaka said, reading from a statement.

"From this moment forward (the FDLR) announces that it is halting all offensive operations against Rwanda. "

The Hutu rebels were chased out of Rwanda following the genocide, taking refuge in the jungles of neighbouring Congo.

Since then they have been at the centre of tensions in the vast country's eastern region where violence and disease have created a major humanitarian crisis.

The FDLR constitutes the largest grouping of Hutu rebels in eastern Congo, estimated at about 14,000 fighters, although there are Burundian Hutus who also operate in the east.

A representative of the Democratic Republic of Congo hailed the FDLR move, saying it was an historic moment for Africa.

"Even a month ago it was impossible to believe that they would issue such a strong statement," Congo's roving ambassador, Antoine Ghonda, told Reuters.

"We are confident that this will be the turning point in ending the conflict, but they will need guarantees from Rwanda."

Tiny but militarily powerful Rwanda has invaded its huge neighbour twice, in 1996 and 1998, saying it had a right to hunt down the Rwandan rebels and has threatened to launch fresh cross-border raids unless they are neutralised.

Richard Sezibera, Rwandan President Paul Kagame's advisor on the Great Lakes, told Reuters from Kigali that if the FDLR statement was true, it was welcome news.

"If they have renounced the struggle they should totally disarm. We shall know how serious they are if and when they disarm," he said.

Thursday's statement said the FDLR recognised the "catastrophic humanitarian situation in the Great Lakes" and urged an immediate international inquiry into the "terrorism and other crimes committed" in the region.

The FDLR also called for Rwandan refugees to be allowed back into their country. Disarmament officials estimate there may be as many as 30,000 FDLR dependants in Congo.

Diplomats in Rome said it was now up to the Rwandan government to provide guarantees that disarmed rebels could return home safely and be awarded full legal rights.

Returning former FDLR fighters to their communities, where the atrocities took place in 1994, would not pose a problem, Sezibera said.

"We've had a long process of integrating these groups. They don't pose an insurmountable challenge. The important thing is that they cease to be a security threat to Rwanda," he said.

However, FDLR fighters suspected of involvement in the genocide would be investigated and tried, he added.

Many FDLR rebels were members of the former Rwandan army and the notorious Hutu militias, or Interahamwe, which took part in the genocide. The FDLR leadership said that henceforth it would transform its armed struggle into a political cause.

Thomas Cargill, Africa Programme coordinator at London's Chatham House, questioned how many Hutu rebels would agree.

"Many of the Hutu groups hold that there was no genocide, that it was tit for tat killings, so this would be quite an unexpected and radical departure ... (But) It is very unlikely that these other groups will fall into line," he said.

UN and government officials in Kinshasa said there would be a follow-up meeting in Rome on April 2 at which the different groups, including the UN, would discuss the methods and timing of the disarmament and repatriation.

UN sources say they hope the process will begin within a matter of weeks.

Sant'Egidio is a Roman Catholic movement of lay people who strive to broker peace around the world. It scored its greatest diplomatic success in 1992 when it helped build a deal to end 16 years of civil war that killed 1 million people in Mozambique.

- REUTERS