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Inter-Congolese dialogue facilitator visits RCD-Goma

    NAIROBI

    The facilitator of the Democratic Republic of the Congo's (DRC) planned peace talks, Ketumile Masire, arrived in the eastern DRC town of Goma on Thursday to meet with leaders of the Rwandan-backed Rassemblement congolais pour la democratie (RCD-Goma) opposition movement, AFP reported.

    Masire's visit to Goma, on the border of Rwanda, comes 11 days before the start of the 45-day inter-Congolese dialogue, due to begin on 15 October in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The talks are a key component of the 1999 Lusaka peace agreement to determine a new political framework for the DRC.

    A 28 September preparatory meeting in Nairobi ended on a pessimistic note, AFP reported, with many important issues unresolved and questions raised about sufficient funding for the dialogue. Masire's office in Gaborone told AFP on Thursday that delegations to the talks would be reduced due to lack of funding.

    "The office of the facilitator has not received adequate funding to launch the full round of negotiations on October 15," AFP quoted his office as saying. "The number of delegates to the opening round of the talks on October 15 will thus have to be adjusted."

    AFP reported a source close to the peace process as saying the talks would probably be adjourned after the ceremonial opening, allowing organisers more time to expedite promised donations.

    Diplomatic sources told IRIN that Masire, Botswana's former president, would next travel to the northeastern DRC towns of Beni and Bunia on Friday. There he is scheduled to meet with leaders of the Ugandan-backed RCD-ML (Mouvement de liberation) armed opposition movement, an offshoot of RCD-Goma. Then, Masire would travel to the northwestern DRC town of Gbadolite to meet with Jean-Pierre Bemba, leader of the Ugandan-backed Mouvement pour la liberation du Congo (MLC) armed opposition movement.

    On Wednesday, European Union Great Lakes envoy Aldo Ajello arrived in Goma to meet with RCD-Goma authorities, news agencies reported. The visit is part of Ajello's current tour to assess the prevailing situation in the region for a report to EU ministers prior to the start of the inter-Congolese dialogue.

    This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions

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