Luanda (Fides Service)- The foreign ministers of Angola, Democratic Republic of Congo and Republic of Congo met on 5 May for a meeting of the Three-party Mechanism for Cooperation and Security, an institution set up by the three countries to solve problems regarding shared borders and respective national security.
Ibrahim Fall UN representative for the Great Lakes Region of Africa was invited to the meeting. In a statement issued at the end of the meeting presented to the press by Angolan spokesman João Pedro, the parties focussed on one main problem the compulsory repatriation of tens of thousands of illegal Democratic Congo immigrants in Angola mainly to engage in illegal exploitation and trade of diamonds in north and south Lunda.
The statement said Angola and Congo-Kinshasa agreed that ulterior operations of repatriation of illegal immigrants must be announced one month beforehand to give Democratic Congo consular offices time to identify its citizens and provide diplomatic assistance. On May 5, the Portuguese programme of Voice of America Radio said that people of other nationalities had been arrested in the operation to repatriate illegal immigrants in the diamond areas. According to the Radio some 800 Senegalese from Cambulo, Lucapa and Chitato, are now in and around Lucapa, and another 2000, from Senegal, Mali, Guinea, and Ivory Coast are in the area of Cafunfo. All these people are waiting to be taken to Luanda, from where they should be repatriated. According to the Voice of America these peopel are held in pitiful conditions and some have already died. (L.M.) (Agenzia Fides 7/5/2004 righe 27 parole 309)