Sun City to host Congolese dialogue end of January

The facilitator of the inter-Congolese dialogue, Ketumile Masire, announced on Monday that talks will resume in Sun City, Pilanesberg, South Africa, at the end of January. An exact start date has yet to be determined.

"I have been assured that excellent and adequate conference facilities exist there. I have also been assured that enough accommodation at a modest cost level will be available for the 45 days that the dialogue is expected to last, as provided for in the Lusaka Agreement", Masire, the former president of Botswana, said from Gaborone.

"But before the meeting can start, we will have to solve certain outstanding issues, and consultations are now in progress in several places," he added. "Also, I will not resume the dialogue unless sufficient funds have been secured for holding the full dialogue during the period foreseen in the Lusaka Agreement."

The dialogue first opened on 15 October in Addis-Ababa, Ethiopia, but was adjourned a week later after the DRC government delegation left, citing insufficient representation of all stakeholders. It was decided that the talks would be reconvened later in South Africa at the invitation of the South African government.

In the interim time, the follow-up committee of the Republican Pact - adopted on 24 August by participants at the preparatory meeting to the inter-Congolese dialogue in Gaborone, Botswana - will be holding its second meeting in Nairobi on 10-11 December under the auspices of the office of the facilitator. The committee, which is mandated to examine the application of resolutions in the Republican Pact adopted in Gaborone, first met in Nairobi on 26-27 September. It comprises representatives from the DRC government; the Rwandan-backed Rassemblement congolais pour la democratie (RCD) armed opposition movement; the Ugandan-backed Mouvement pour la liberation du Congo (MLC) armed opposition movement; the Ugandan-backed Rassemblement congolais pour la democratie-Kisangani-Mouvement de Liberation (RCD-Kisangani-ML) armed opposition movement, a splinter group of the Goma-based RCD; political opposition groups and civil society.

Among other things, delegates to the Gaborone talks committed themselves to liberalise political activities; protect fundamental human rights; free political detainees, prisoners of opinion, hostages and those detained or imprisoned because of their origin or past activities. Others were to restore communication means and infrastructure throughout the country; guarantee the free movement of civilians and legal goods, free entry and exit of all citizens and the procurement of travel documents upon request; the unconditional restitution of all goods and property that were seized and or confiscated unjustly; to maintain national heritage and protect the country’s resources against all forms of looting. "Participants to this meeting promised to do everything to ensure the success of the inter-Congolese dialogue," the office of the facilitator reported in a statement.

During this second meeting, delegates will be dealing with issues linked to the resumption of the peace and reconciliation talks in Sun City. Other subjects such as the representation of other Congolese groups, such as Mayi-Mayi militias, political opposition, religious groups, traditional chiefs and the Congolese diaspora abroad will also be discussed in an effort to reach consensus before resumption of the dialogue.