U N I T E D N A T I O N S
Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA)
Integrated Regional Information Network (IRIN)

DRC: Efforts to resume inter-Congolese dialogue

NAIROBI, 24 May (IRIN) - Inter-Congolese dialogue facilitator Ketumile
Masire is continuing efforts to resume the talks with the help of the
Organisation of African Unity (OAU), Africa's foremost political body.

At a meeting on Thursday in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, he said
"only a minute fraction" remained to be done to complete the dialogue. He
added, in a statement released from his office, that if the parties returned
to the negotiation table an inclusive deal could be clinched in which there
would be neither "victor nor vanquished".

OAU Secretary-General Amara Essy, who has set a team in motion to organise a
brief visit to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), reiterated that
any deal that excluded one or more parties, "would simply not work".
Masire's office also reported that following the meeting in Ethiopia, he
would meet DRC President Joseph Kabila in Kinshasa, the capital, and hoped
"in the very near future" to continue negotiating with other Congolese
belligerents in the conflict.

Meanwhile, Zambian President Levy Mwanawasa, chairman of the OAU, announced
on Thursday that he had convened a regional summit in Zambia on 30 May, to
try restart the inter-Congolese talks, Reuters reported.

President Paul Kagame of Rwanda indicated his support for the meeting on 23
May. "They reviewed the inter-Congolese dialogue and agreed that until an
inclusive agreement is reached by all Congolese parties, the problems of the
DRC and her neighbours will not be resolved," he said in a statement.

President Yoweri Museveni of Uganda, who met Kagame at the COMESA summit in
Addis Ababa on 23 May, also expressed his support for the meeting, the
office of the Rwandan president said. "They expressed support for the
proposal to convene a summit of all stakeholders to discuss how best to
realise a power-sharing arrangement in the DRC that would enable a stable
transition," it added.

"On the Interahamwe [Hutu extremist] and ex-FAR [Rwandan former armed
forces] militia, President Kagame and President Museveni agreed on the need
for an urgent solution to the problem, and for the need to share information
and work closely with the United Nations Organisation Mission and the Joint
Military Commission to address the issue," the statement continued.

The Joint Commission was established under the Lusaka Accords to assist with
the disengagement of forces and investigations of ceasefire violations in
DRC; to monitor and verify the withdrawal of foreign forces; to verify the
disarmament of all Congolese who are illegally armed (militia such as the
Mayi-Mayi); and to work out mechanisms for disarming armed groups, such as
the ex-FAR and the Interahamwe.

[ENDS]

[This Item is Delivered to the "Africa-English" Service of the UN's IRIN
humanitarian information unit, but may not necessarily reflect the views
of the United Nations. For further information, free subscriptions, or
to change your keywords, contact e-mail: [email protected] [2] or Web:
http://www.irinnews.org [3] . If you re-print, copy, archive or re-post
this item, please retain this credit and disclaimer. Reposting by commercial
sites requires written IRIN permission.]

Copyright (c) UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs 2002