Preparatory meeting for inter-Congolese dialogue postponed

Preparatory discussions for the inter-Congolese dialogue among Congo’s civic groups, political parties, government representatives and rebels have been postponed a from 16 July until 20 August, Ketumile Masire, the facilitator of the talks, confirmed during the OAU summit on Wednesday. “Rather than rush it through, we feel that the designation of representatives, and the consultation process involved, must be allowed to run its due course,” the Associated Press (AP) quoted Masire as saying. A statement from the office of the facilitator noted that seven of the 11 provinces of the DRC have already been visited by a team from Masire’s office that is overseeing the elections of civil society representatives. However, the towns of Kikwit and Bandundu in Bandundu province, Mbandaka and Gemena in Equateur province, Matadi in Bas Congo province and the capital city of Kinshasa remain to be visited. Despite difficulties in persuading certain forces to withdraw as called for in the accords, Masire said he was optimistic for the future of the DRC. “The democratic spirit among the ordinary Congolese is very much alive,” he said on Wednesday. “This gives me the impression that both the Congolese and myself are on the right path for peace.”