Masire aide says “no developments” in mediation

A delegation from the office of the inter-Congolese dialogue mediator, Ketumile Masire, said at the weekend that there were “no developments” in the relationship between the facilitator and the DRC government. “It is a matter of going through a difficult period, but we hope to persevere with our mandate, which is based on the Lusaka accord,” rebel-controlled radio from Bunia, monitored by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), quoted the leader of the delegation, Masire’s chef de cabinet, Philip Winter, as saying. “That is why we have come to consult the other signatories to the Lusaka accord,” he added.

The delegation had arrived in Bunia from Gbadolite, the headquarters of the Mouvement de liberation du Congo (MLC), led by Jean-Pierre Bemba. Winter expressed optimism that DRC President Laurent-Desire Kabila “is capable of changing his position”. “This is evident,” he noted.
According to Winter, the team was on a “consultative” mission to find a way forward, “because the government in Kinshasa has so far rejected the Lusaka accord. We are compelled therefore, under the prevailing circumstances and according to the mandate of the facilitator, to consult the other signatories on the way forward,” he said.

On the possibility of amending or simply forgetting the Lusaka accord, Winter said it was up to those who signed it. He reiterated that the facilitator was “still ready to persevere with the mandate given to him by the signatories to the Lusaka agreement”.

The team was due to visit rebels of the Goma-based Rassemblement congolais pour la democratie (RCD-Goma). The DRC government rejected Masire as the inter-Congolese dialogue facilitator, describing him as a “complicator” rather than “facilitator”. The government has proposed other personalities to take over from Masire, saying he is “history”, despite pleas from heads of state in the region and the international community.