RCD-Kisangani disputes office of facilitator statement

Meanwhile, the Rassemblement congolais pour la democratie (RCD-Kisangani) rebel faction of Wamba dia Wamba on Friday took umbrage with a press release from the office of the facilitator of the inter-Congolese dialogue announcing the completion of the mission to oversee the DRC civil society representative selection. Referring to the statement that “the delegation [of the office of the facilitator] covered 19 towns and cities throughout the DRC, in keeping with an agreement with the Congolese signatories of the Lusaka agreement, namely the DRC government, the Congolese Rally for Democracy (RCD), the Movement for the Liberation of the Congo (MLC),” secretary general Jacques Depelchin announced that RCD-Kisangani “rejected the claim that we, RCD-Kisangani, signatory to the agreement, were in agreement as we were never consulted regarding the limiting of “forces vives” to civil society; the number of participants to the forthcoming preparatory meeting; the number of participants to the inter-Congolese dialogue.”

“As we have pointed out before, the facilitator is neither a mediator, a moderator, nor a selector. The decision on who are the signatories of the Lusaka Agreement rests squarely with the political committee [...] set up by the agreement to settle any doubts or modification about representation which might arise,” Depelchin stated. However, Depelchin assured that RCD-Kisangani would in turn “do all in its power to make sure that, this time, all the Congolese people, without exception, are brought together in an inclusive manner to work toward a definitive peace and democratic transition.”