Mandela, Museveni defend Kabila

Mandela, Museveni defend Kabila

CAPE TOWN (AFP): President Nelson Mandela and his visiting Ugandan counterpart, Yoweri Museveni, came to the defense of Laurent Kabila's new regime in the former Zaire yesterday, despite a ban there on all political parties.

Addressing journalists at the outset of Museveni's state visit to South Africa, Mandela said Kabila had shown a "commitment to democracy" in his new Democratic Republic of Congo, formerly Zaire, and had been unfairly "demonised" by western governments.

"You must judge what Kabila is doing with what is happening in his country. He has no less than 250 parties, and there is a great deal of disorganization in the country," Mandela said.

"It would be suicidal for him to allow parties before he has a firm grip on the government," he added.

In a five-point crackdown, Kabila's government reiterated Monday that all political parties and public demonstrations would be suspended "until further notice."

Mandela praised Kabila for setting up a transitional authority, and promising a constitutional assembly in 60 days, adding the former rebel leader had "the only disciplined army" in the country, despite recent complaints of abuses by Kabila's forces in the capital Kinshasa.

The South African statesman would not comment, however, about Kabila's exclusion from his government of opposition party leader Etienne Tshisekedi.

Tshisekedi leads the main opposition Union for Democracy and Social Progress, which has launched fresh protests against Kabila's one-week old Alliance of Forces for the Democratic Liberation of Congo/Zaire regime.

Museveni, who was earlier received in an hour-long meeting with Mandela followed by a review of South African troops, told reporters he, too, understood Kabila's party ban.

Museveni arrived Monday night on his four-day visit, due to focus on inter-regional economic cooperation.

"I don't believe in democracy through parties, but in democracy based on individuals," Museveni said, adding that he had suspended parties in his own country, Uganda, because it was a "rural society."

"In Uganda, 92 percent of the people live in rural areas ... because of that, political parties represent each tribe and each religion," Museveni said.

He added that if and when Uganda became an industrialized nation, the ban could be reviewed.

Praising the Ugandan president, Mandela said Museveni had "insured that every political movement was represented" when he formed his government in the 1980s.

Referring to the ongoing conflict in Sudan, which borders Uganda, Mandela said various international groups had asked him to participate in peace negotiations there.