Congolese parties fail to agree on venue for talks

Johannesburg, South Africa (PANA) - Protagonists in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) have failed to agree on the venue for the resumption of the Inter-Congolese Dialogue (ICD), the facilitator of the talks, Sir Ketumile Masire disclosed here Wednesday.
Addressing the DRC/South Africa Women's Peace Dialogue Forum in Johannesburg Masire said, however, that the parties had agreed on most issues, including representation, format and the duration of the final session.

"We still do not have a consensus on the venue but that, I hope, will not be long in coming," Masire said.

Masire, who said the ICD was about to be completed, noted that it was one of the most significant routes towards establishing peace in that country.

"But as we seem to be getting nearer to achieving this, the process appears to get somewhat unwieldy," Botswana's former president told the forum.

Masire encouraged women in the DRC to take up the challenge of bringing about peace in their country, said his office fully supports the involvement oft women in the dialogue so that they could later actively participate in the development of the Congolese society.

He regretted the absence of peace in the sub-region and the fact that DRC had continued to be the scene of a divisive power struggle for decades.

South Africa's First Lady Zanele Mbeki was among those who attended the forum, a follow-up to last year's dialogue held at Sun City.

The forum brings together women from the DRC and South Africa to share experiences and find ways to accelerate the implementation of the Pretoria Accord.