Some progress reported in Abuja talks

Rival political leaders from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) agreed in Abuja, Nigeria, on Sunday to seat allotments at a planned inter-Congolese conference on the future of the war-torn country. In a communique, they agreed that the Mayi-Mayi fighters would be given six of the 300 seats at the conference table and religious confessions seven. Some of the other seats have been allocated thus: the unarmed opposition parties would get 55, and 30 would go the opposition parties that took part in the failed Addis Ababa talks in October. The facilitators would allocate another 25 seats after consultations with all the belligerents. The Abuja meeting was to have continued this week and it was hoped that DRC President Joseph Kabila and the leaders of the two main Congolese rebel movements would take part. However, the organisers of the conference said on Monday that Kabila would likely stay in Kinshasa. Although some compromise was reached at the meeting, observers on the Abuja meeting said the inter-Congolese dialogue would likely be held later than the end of January, the period previously set. A spokesman for the facilitator of the dialogue, Mory Toure, said that delegates were unhappy at the venue chosen by South Africa for the talks. "They have learned that Sun City is the gambling capital of South Africa and as such they do not think it is appropriate," Toure said.