Tshisekedi repeats call for national dialogue

Congolese opposition leader Etienne Tshisekedi, leader of l’Union pour la democratie el le progres social (UPDS), has called for a meeting that would bring together the various political leaders opposed to Kabila, including leaders of the Congolese rebellion, Radio France Internationale reported on Tuesday. He was speaking at the congress of the French Socialist Party in Grenoble, France, at the weekend, during a visit to Europe to seek the international community’s support to organise the national debate called for in the Lusaka agreement. Tshisekedi remained committed to the Lusaka accord, outside which there was “no salvation”, he said.

In an interview with Radio France Internationale, the UPDS leader also called for a start to “the real phase” of Congolese dialogue, “the phase that will actually lead to the setting up of a government for the country ... because right now there is no one who can lead Congo.” In addition, he made what he called “a brotherly appeal” to Kabila to understand that the two men should meet for the common good of Congolese people. “It is high time we met, as quickly as possible, and examined together what we can do, in a humble manner, because - like other people- our people deserve the right to be happy,” Tshisekedi said.