Minister of International Relations and Cooperation Ronald Lamola has denied any knowledge that M23 members would be in attendance of a peace conference where he was a keynote speakers.
The Thabo Mbeki Foundation this weekend hosted the second African Peace and Security Dialogue at Mount Grace in Magaliesburg.
In attendance were dignitaries from across the continent who took part in discussions on how to foster peace across Africa.
Ronald Lamola
M23 in SA
South African National Defence Force members clashed with M23 forces earlier this year in battles that left 14 South Africans dead.
The battles resulted in a protracted withdrawal of troops from Goma and strained relations with Rwanda, who were accused of backing the M23 rebel group.
The government of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) reportedly boycotted the conference in Magaliesburg, and DRC nationals staged a protest outside the venue on Saturday.
M23 spokesperson Lawrence Kanyuka thanked former president Thabo Mbeki for the invitation but criticised the DRC government for declining.
“It is dreadful. Awful. To have a president of a country deny an invitation for peace is really appalling. As a Congolese, I can only apologise to his excellency Thabo Mbeki and his foundation,” Kanyuka told the SABC.
‘Trying to find solutions’
Lamola stated that his department did not check the guest list before the event, but were committed to the conference’s objectives.
“We were not aware that there were members of the M23 rebels. For us, the dialogue is part of information sharing and a way of trying to find solutions to the continent’s political conflicts,” Lamola told City Press.
In Lamola’s speech at the conference, he said that the event could help find “African solutions for African problems”.
“I know this principle is feared by some, who worry it can become a slogan behind which tyrants hide. To them, I say: You have put your finger on our greatest test,” said Lamola.
“The African continent must speak in one voice to ensure that the new scramble for critical minerals must lead to beneficiation at source,” stated the minister.
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