Delegates for dialogue chosen from government-held side

The first two civil society delegates from territory controlled by the DRC government to participate in the inter-Congolese dialogue and related preparatory talks were chosen on Tuesday, the office of the facilitator for the inter-Congolese dialogue, Ketumile Masire, announced on Wednesday. The two representatives were chosen in Kananga, Kasai Occidental province. Another two delegates from the province were chosen in Dimbelenge, which is under the control of the Rassemblement congolais pour la Democratie (RCD) rebel movement, marking the completion of selection of civil society representatives from rebel-controlled territory. With the selection of representatives from Kananga, the delegation from Masire’s office, headed by Hacen Ould Lebatt, entered the final phase of its supervision of the civil society selection process. Preparatory talks for the inter-Congolese dialogue are scheduled to begin on 16 July in Gabarone, Botswana, while a date for beginning the inter-Congolese dialogue itself has yet to be announced.