South Africa pushes for ceasefire

Pushing for a ceasefire in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), South Africa announced on Thursday that it will be sending a high-level delegation to the Lusaka peace talks this week headed by Deputy President Thabo Mbeki. A government statement said the Southern African Development Community (SADC) meeting hosted by Zambian President Frederik Chiluba, would also be attended by Foreign Minister Alfred Nzo, with the deputy defence minister, Ronnie Kasrils. They will address a regional foreign and defence minister meeting on Thursday and Friday prior to the summit on Saturday which Mbeki will attend. “The intended talks are a further step in the process to end the DRC crisis and will include non-SADC states. It is understood that representatives of the OAU and the UN, and of governments of the DRC, Botswana, Mozambique, Namibia, Tanzania, Kenya, Angola, Zimbabwe, Gabon, Rwanda, Uganda, Burkina Faso, Chad and Libya have been invited to attend,” a foreign ministry statement said. An SADC summit in Pretoria last August called for a ceasefire, the cessation of hostilities, the withdrawal of all foreign forces involved in the conflict, and negotiations aimed at re-establishing a democratic government. “Within that context, the South African government continues to be fully supportive of the efforts of President Chiluba of Zambia, in accordance with the mandate given to him by the SADC Summit held in Mauritius during September 1998, to bring about a ceasefire in the DRC. The South African government has been actively involved in previous talks held in Lusaka and Gaborone aimed at achieving consensus among all parties to the conflict - including the rebel forces - for the terms of a ceasefire and the modalities of its implementation,” the statement said.