Congo (MRB Oct 01 2001): SA steps in as most delegates stay away from Addis 'dialogue'.

The inter-Congolese dialogue, which according to the Lusaka peace agreement must lead to "a new political dispensation and national reconciliation in the DRC", is deadlocked. None of the Congolese leaders were at the inauguration ceremony in Addis Ababa on October 15, under the aegis of the facilitator, former Botswana president Ketumile Masire and the talks are now to be moved to South Africa amidst continued wrangling about who should attend.

The chairman of the Rwandan-backed Congolese Rally for Democracy, Adolphe Onusumba, was in Addis but did not participate in the opening sessions. Likewise, the leader of the breakaway CRD-Kisangani, Ernest Wamba dia Wamba, was there but did not either take part in the discussions.

The leader of another Ugandan-backed breakaway faction of the CRD, Mbusa Nyamwisi boycotted the dialogue. He told journalists at the Kampala Nile Hotel on October 15 that he did not want to go because Masire had failed to invite the Mai-Mai militias which in his view could be ignored in the peace process. He also deplored that traditional chiefs, religious leaders of big denominations and the external opposition were not represented in the Ethiopian capital, as an all inclusive dialogue would require.

Nyamwisi's criticism of Masire is shared by European diplomats in Brussels who say that the concern about the lack of funds to organise the dialogue was not justified. "What happened is that Masire failed to show us a proper budget for the dialogue in order that we can foot the bill properly in accordance with our financing procedures" a European Commission source told MRB. As a result, only 80 delegates were present in Addis on October 15 to participate in a mini-dialogue.

The Congolese foreign minister, Leonard She Okitundu agrees that money is not the root problem. In an interview with MRB he said that the main problem was political and consisted in setting up the conditions for the all-inclusive dialogue.

The Mai-Mai, the religious groups, the traditional chiefs, the diaspora, the refugees, the 'non-armed opposition', the dissident rebel groups and the Mai -Mai should all be represented, he said, adopting a view similar to Nyamwisi's.

There is a general agreement among all participants about the principle of the participation of all these groups. However, the form of the representation is a matter of controversy - the government believes that all CRD factions should share their quotas and inflate the number of parties. This would be a violation of the Lusaka agreement, says Okitundu.