African Ministers Starts Talks on Congo Peace Plan in LusakaThe 11th session of the Joint Political Commission (JPC) for the implementation of the ceasefire agreement in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) began sitting here on Monday, in a bid to evaluate the peace process in that country.JPC chairman, Rwandan Foreign Minister Patrick Mazimaka, said the meeting will assess progress in implementing the Kampala disengagement plan and the Harare sub-plans, which was signed late last year. The two-day meeting will also assess progress in implementing the 1999 Lusaka ceasefire agreement and the United Nations resolutions on the DRC. Another important subject for the meeting is to examine plans for the disarmament, demobilization, resettlement and reintegration (DDRR) of the armed rebel groups in Democratic Congo, Mazimaka said. The meeting will also decide on the date for the relocation of the Joint Military Commission from Lusaka to Kinshasa. Former Botswanan president and facilitator of the inter-Congolese dialogue Ketumire Masire, foreign ministers from countries involved the 33-month war in the DRC and representatives of rebel forces in that country were present at the meeting. A Zambian foreign ministry official told Xinhua that participants of the meeting are scheduled to meet a United Nations mission led by French Ambassador to the United Nations Jean-David Levitte on Tuesday. The two sides are expected to exchange information on the latest developments in Democratic Congo and endorse the DDRR plan and a plan for the withdrawal of foreign troops from that country. |
| People's Daily Online --- http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/ |