Belgian Foreign Minister Louis Michel on Thursday met officials of the rebel Rassemblement congolais pour la democratie (RCD), rebel-controlled radio from Goma reported. RCD-Goma described the meeting as the first such high-profile meeting between the movement and the representative of a European government, and called the gesture "proof of the new legitimacy accorded to the RCD". Agence France Presse (AFP) quoted the party's director of Communications and culture, Kin-Kiey Mulumba, as saying that they spoke about the Lusaka accords, which Belgium backs strongly. "We confirmed to him our irrevocable choice to apply the peace accords," Mulumba added. Michel arrived in Kinshasa on Thursday for celebrations on Friday to mark the 40th anniversary of Congolese independence.
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