RCD Vice-President says accord will not be "automatically signed"

RCD Vice-President Moise Nyarugabo told IRIN on Thursday he wasn't exactly sure what the Dar meeting was about nor the intended objective. "All we know is Mwalimu [Nyerere] called the rebel groups, saying he wanted to discuss some issues with us," he said. The meeting did not mean the Lusaka accord would automatically be signed by the rebels. RCD leader Emile Ilunga had however gone to Dar at the head of a large delegation, and the meeting would probably be held Thursday night. Nyarugabo added it did not necessarily mean Nyerere had taken on the role of mediator between the three rebel factions. He also clarified reports that ousted RCD leader Ernest Wamba dia Wamba had been completely thrown out of the movement. "He hasn't been thrown out, but the process has started," Nyarugabo said. "If he returns to the cradle, then we welcome him, but if continues to behave like a traitor, he must go." Nyarugabo reiterated that the movement refused to acknowledge Wamba's signature of the Lusaka accord on behalf of the RCD. "But if he forms a separate group, then he can sign for that group," he said.