Lusaka process in a serious situation

The prospects for the inter-Congolese dialogue remain poor - DRC officials reportedly walked out of the Political Committee meeting in Lusaka on Friday when the OAU-appointed facilitator, Ketumile Masire, whom it rejects, addressed the meeting, the sources said. Many see the government’s plans to establish a Constituent Assembly in Lubumbashi in August as undermining the dialogue process further. Worse still, the virtual non-existence of discourse between the belligerents in the past two months has led to a standstill on other political issues such as transitional arrangements, elections and a new constitution, they added. The UN had based its planning for the DRC peace process on the cooperation of the belligerents but ongoing military actions, combined with the political deadlock, meant its ability to deploy peacekeepers in the DRC was seriously in doubt, the sources told IRIN.