RCD dismisses agreement between gov't and MLC

The rebel Rassemblement congolais pour la democratie (RCD-Goma) has dismissed "as a joke" the power-sharing agreement signed on 19 April between the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) government, the rebel Mouvement pour la liberation du Congo (MLC) and members of the unarmed opposition and civil society at the end of the inter-Congolese dialogue (ICD), the BBC reported.

"It will not bring a reunification of the country, it will not bring peace and it will not lead to the withdrawal of foreign forces or to free elections," the BBC quoted Bizima Karaha of the RCD as saying on Friday. "An alliance between [MLC leader Jean-Pierre] Bemba and [DRC President Joseph] Kabila will not solve one of the problems of the Congo," he added.

The deal will allow Kabila to remain in power, while giving the post of prime minister to Bemba.

Meanwhile, at a press conference in Ugandan capital, Kampala, over the weekend, Bemba said he would not form a government until he had met Kabila to discuss security concerns, AFP reported. He said the meeting would be held before they proceeded to the DRC capital, Kinshasa.

Once in Kinshasa, his first priority would be to bring together all the signatories of last week's agreement to form a government and to work out a plan to reunify all the belligerent forces in one army and thereby to guarantee the security of neighbouring countries, AFP quoted him as saying. He said a supreme defence council would be formed, with equal representation for all groups, and that officers from all sides would meet in Kinshasa to work on the unification of the fighting groups.

"We beg RCD to accept that agreement," AFP quoted Bemba saying.

The facilitator of the ICD, Ketumile Masire, adjourned the Congolese political negotiations on Friday, but said they would resume at a later date with a reduced number of delegates.

The ICD had been due to end on Friday, after 52 days of deliberations in Sun City, South Africa, but there still remained outstanding issues to address to meet the need to find consensus on the institutions of transition, the bureau of the facilitator said in a press release issued on 20 April.

The statement said the 361 delegates had adopted 37 resolutions in the five commissions working as part of the ICD. Masire described this as an impressive achievement given the complexity of the DRC crisis, but added that "we are leaving Sun City without fully realising all our goals". The statement added that South African President Thabo Mbeki - who played a key role in the negotiations in Sun City - had warned at the close of the ICD that if there was any plan that was not all-inclusive, "that plan will not work. It may not attract international support."

South African Foreign Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma declared on Sunday that her government would do everything possible to prevent war reigniting in the DRC, AFP reported. She said South Africa would continue to play a mediating role in negotiation on the future of the DRC, adding that she was confident that a final solution could be found.