Congo Kinshasa
Inter-Congolese dialogue breaks down before it starts

afrol News, 26 February - The Inter-Congolese dialogue was to be officially inaugurated in Sun City, South Africa today, but after one of the key rebel leaders, Jean-Pierre Bemba, refused to attend the conference, it was suspended for 24 hours. The key elements of the Congolese peace process are the withdrawal of foreign troops and a dialogue between the Congolese parties.

The President of Congo Kinshasa (DRC), Joseph Kabila, and the two main rebel leaders had had talks late on Monday, aiming at ending the civil war. Bemba obviously was not satisfied with how these talks went, and refused to participate in today's conference opening. 

Jean-Pierre Bemba heads the Movement for the Liberation of Congo (MLC), a rebel movement that controls almost one third of Congo Kinshasa. The MLC is backed by Uganda and controls the mineral-rich north-eastern part of Congo.

The South African government, the UN and the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) had given great prestige to the Sun City conference. The UN Security Council yesterday stated that the Inter-Congolese dialogue was "an essential element to achieving lasting peace" in Congo Kinshasa, while South African President Mbeki yesterday said he expected the Congo would "emerge as a united, peaceful, democratic and prosperous country" after the talks.

Yesterday's opening ceremony was opened by President Mbeki and attended by a large number of high ranking personalities. These included the Chairperson of the OAU and President of Zambia, Luke Mwanawasa, the President of Malawi, Bakili Muluzi and the Secretary-General of the OAU, Essey Amara.

The participants were at first relieved to see that the Congolese President Kabila had taken his seat, at there was some controversy about whether he would attend. The seat of rebel leader Bemba was however empty. 

None of the foreign warring parties, Rwanda, Uganda, Angola, Zimbabwe and Namibia, had sent their highest ranking officials. All the five countries have been reluctant to move their troops out of the Congo, such as expected through the Lusaka Peace. All are further reported to be involved in stripping Congo out of its natural resources - some at the government's invitation, some at the rebels' invitation. 

Donors and protagonists of the "Inter-Congolese dialogue" reportedly are loosing patience with the conflicting parties. Also the host, President Mbeki, is not reported to have been happy about loosing his face at the opening, where he stated this dialogue was "about the future of our continent" and attributed much pride to the African ability of resolving its own problems.

Sources: Based on SA govt, UN, press reports and afrol archives

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