Zaire has banned the formation of a government-in-exile on its territory by officials of Rwanda's former Hutu-led government, Zairian radio reported Saturday.
The Rwandans have been told to halt all political activities in Zaire, Communications and Press Minister Masegabio Nsanzu was quoted as saying in the broadcast, monitored by the British Broadcasting Corp.Nsanzu said Zaire was only prepared to grant Rwandans political asylum for humanitarian reasons. "Accordingly, no Rwandan government-in-exile can be allowed to operate on Zairian territory," Nsanzu said.
Top U.N. officials are considering a plan to send a new peacekeeping force to northeastern Zaire to stop as many as 30,000 defeated Rwandan soldiers and militiamen from brutalizing Hutu refugees and reorganizing their army.
The force of as many as 5,000 soldiers would work with another 5,500 U.N. peacekeepers in Rwanda, the last of whom arrived this week.
The army and militias are blamed for many of the massacres of an estimated 500,000 Rwandans between April and July, before Tutsi-led rebels took control. The victims were mostly minority Tutsis and Hutus opposed to the former Hutu-led government.
Another 1.2 million people, mostly majority Hutus, fled to neighboring countries amid fears of reprisal attacks by Tutsis. An estimated 1 million people are displaced inside the central African nation.
Recent reports from Goma, Zaire, where several large Rwandan refugee camps are located, have confirmed campaigns of intimidation and plans to reorganize the ousted army.
Security in the camps, which are controlled by the militiamen and soldiers, has become so poor that a leading private relief agency, Doctors Without Borders, pulled out Tuesday. Several others have threatened to do so unless the violence is halted.
The soldiers and militiamen in control consider any refugees who want to return as traitors. They also want to deprive the new Rwandan government of a population base.
The U.N. plan calls for securing the camps, resettling Rwandans displaced inside Rwanda, providing the Kigali government with money and seeking reconciliation between the new government and the army it defeated.