Opposition alliance awaiting resumption of dialogue

Members of the opposition Alliance pour la sauvegarde du dialogue intercongolais are still in South Africa, awaiting resumption of the inter-Congolese dialogue (ICD), Bizima Karaha, a senior official of the Goma-based Rassemblement congolais pour la democratie (RCD-Goma) rebel movement, told IRIN on Wednesday.

"The dialogue must take place whether the warmongers continue with the battle or not, because this is the will of the people of Congo," Karaha said, reiterating his optimism that the ICD would resume. He noted, however, that no date has yet been set.

The alliance brings together RCD-Goma and five unarmed opposition parties of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), one of them being the Etienne Tshisekedi-led Union pour la democratie et le progres social (UDPS).

"RCD wants dialogue more than ever. We [together with other opposition groups] are united for the dialogue, and there will be dialogue," Karaha said. He accused DRC President Joseph Kabila and the leader of the rebel Mouvement de liberation du Congo (MLC), Jean-Pierre Bemba, as having "run away" from the recently concluded ICD in Sun City, South Africa.

"All items in the agenda at Sun City were discussed, and there was only one item left, which was the discussion of the new political order, the new constitution and power-sharing," Karaha explained.

He said any pressure brought to bear to make them recognise the "agreement" between Kabila and Bemba instead of proper dialogue resuming, "which we believe is the only way for the peace process in Congo", would be "pressurising us to turn our backs on the dialogue itself, and this is not to the interest of the Congolese".

Karaha said RCD officials were working in unity towards the achievement of peace in the DRC and described as untrue reports by L'Observateur newspaper that the rejection of the Sun City accord by some senior RCD officials had created a rift between them and the president of RCD, Adolphe Onusumba, and other officials.

"The position could explain why Adolphe Onusumba has been sacked and replaced by Moise Nyarugabo, a pro-Kigali element. Already, there has been mention of the presence in Kinshasa of RCD-Goma officials - a high-ranking officer and a few politicians," the newspaper said, quoting "reliable sources".

On Tuesday, Kabila told the visiting United Nations Security Council delegation that he was willing to include the RCD in current negotiations between his government and the MLC over the details of the Sun City accord.