Constituent assembly holds first meeting

A 15-member preparatory committee for the selection of members to a constituent and legislative assembly which President Laurent-Desire Kabila intends to establish held its first meeting on Wednesday, Congolese television reported. The committee established three commissions - one political, one administrative and one for judicial, budgetary and
logistical matters - to organise elections to the two assemblies, the committee's general rapporteur Andre Malango Moabila was quoted as saying.

Opposition parties have said it is unreasonable to talk about
parliamentary elections in a divided country, and rejected the proposed transitional parliament as an attempt to bypass the Lusaka peace accord. Etienne Tshisekedi of the opposition Innovative Forces for Union and Solidarity on Friday called for a boycott of the assembly elections, saying they would sanction the division of the country into separate states since two-thirds of the country was under the control of Rwandan-
and Ugandan-backed rebel forces, Gabonese radio reported.