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Kabila Arrives in Botswana to Prepare for Inter-Congolese Dialogue
Joseph Kabila, President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Monday arrived in Gaborone, capital of Botswana, to attend a meeting for preparing the inter-Congolese dialogue, the South African Press Association reported.
At the meeting, representatives of the DRC government, opposition political and armed groups and civil society will set a date, venue and rules of procedure for the dialogue.
Kabila was met by Botswana President Festus Mogae and former president Ketumile Masire, who is the facilitator of the inter- Congolese dialogue.
"Kabila will attend the opening ceremony and is expected to fly home Tuesday," an unidentified spokesman for Masire was quoted as saying.
President Frederick Chiluba of Zambia, who is the mediator of the DRC peace process, will also attend the opening ceremony and is expected to arrive Monday afternoon.
The meeting, which will run till Friday, will be officially opened by Mogae later on Monday.
Masire said on Sunday that peace talks on the DRC could take up to six months to start.
"I think the dialogue should be sooner than six months... the Congolese people want it sooner than later," he said.
There will be no representation in Gaborone from the governments of Namibia or Zimbabwe, who have troops in the DRC in support of the Kabila government. Rwanda and Uganda, who support the DRC rebels, will not be represented either.
"The Congolese and ourselves decided this would be a technical meeting, not a political forum and they (outside parties) should be left out, but they will be invited to the dialogue" without official representation, Masire added.
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