All hope for dialogue not lost, says Masire

Reacting to his suspension of the inter-Congolese dialogue on 21 Oct, talks facilitator Ketumile Masire said he nevertheless remains optimistic for future negotiations, according to a recent interview with allAfrica.com.

"I think what happened in Gaborone did show that not all hope is lost, because at least they [the conference delegates] related in a very genuine way. They were all exuding confidence," Masire said, referring to a preparatory meeting held at the end of August in advance of the talks convened in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on 15 Oct.

Masire also expressed patience for the Congolese, whom he called a people who have been betrayed many times. "The culture that has taken forty years to evolve cannot be shed overnight," he said. Working together in this dialogue, later in their parliaments and in their communities, and with friendships being built across the party lines -- that will help to engender the confidence that is necessary for the process to succeed."

Masire said that efforts were underway to remedy the financial shortfall that led to postponement of the talks, which he expects to reconvene in South Africa at a date and location to be determined. Sources close to Masire told IRIN that they did not expect this to take place until sometime early in 2002.

In the meantime, however, Ambassador Amos Ngongi, the Special Representative of UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan in the DRC, announced on Wednesday that a meeting of the political committee overseeing implementation of the 1999 Lusaka peace agreement would take place at UN headquarters in New York on 9 Nov. Speaking in Kinshasa, Ngongi said that this would be a "major" meeting that would "allow all concerned parties to reaffirm their commitment to the peace process". Conversations he has had in recent weeks with all parties to the conflict, as well as with member countries of the UN Security Council and countries that have contributed to the UN peacekeeping force in the DRC (MONUC), have led him to believe that this meeting "should result in the consolidation of the chances for peace, which have never been as great as they now are".

European Union (EU) Special Envoy to the Great Lakes, Aldo Ajello, was less effusive, calling the first phase of the dialogue "a total failure" during an interview with Angolan national radio on Wednesday.

"Nonetheless, progress has been made in areas such as the withdrawal of foreign forces, and the disarming and demobilisation of irregular forces," he said. "We are currently considering a number of initiatives that could facilitate dialogue."

Regarding his government's decision to walk out of the inter-Congolese dialogue in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on 19 Oct, Kabila said: "We believe the inter-Congolese dialogue was not well prepared. The dialogue should and must be inclusive. Up to now, this has not been the case." Speaking to Gabonese Africa No 1 radio from the United States on Tuesday, however, he gave assurances that his government was "still determined to look for and find peace whenever everything is in order."

Meanwhile, it was announced on Tuesday that Masire had been named African Statesman of the Year for 2001 by the Pan African Broadcasting, Heritage and Achievement (PABHA) Awards. The award will be presented to Masire by Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo at a ceremony to be held in Abuja on Saturday.