Crucial talks to find an interim power-sharing deal between warring parties in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) got underway in Pretoria on Saturday, officials said.
”They started their discussions in the afternoon,” South African Foreign Affairs representative Ronnie Mamoepa said. He said the meeting was opened by South African President Thabo Mbeki.
Mamoepa could not say when the talks would end, but insiders indicated the discussions would continue at least until Sunday.
The meeting was initially scheduled to begin on Friday but was postponed because of the late arrival of the DRC government delegation. It is believed that some technical agreements also still needed some fine-tuning.
Both DRC rebel groups — the Congolese Rally for Democracy (RCD) and the Congo Liberation Movement (MLC) — were already in Pretoria by Friday, officials said earlier.
The talks were been convened by special United Nations envoy Moustapha Niasse and Mbeki.
On the agenda is a power-sharing proposal that has been put forward by South Africa. It provides for DRC President Joseph Kabila to remain the head of a transitional government, with four vice-presidencies.
These would be taken up by representatives of government, the RCD, the MLC, and a representative of the internal political parties and civil society.
The interim government will prepare the way for democratic elections to end the four-year war in the central African country. South Africa hopes that the fresh round of talks will complete negotiations begun at Sun City earlier this year at which the DRC government and the MLC struck a power-sharing agreement without the RCD.
Mbeki’s adviser, Billy Masetlha, on Thursday said the weekend’s talks could be the final lap in reaching a settlement.
”We believe that we actually are at the last stage. We think that they (the Congolese) have this historic feat within their grasp,” he said.
”In our view, the issues that remain in terms of the interim arrangements can be wrapped up within hours.”
Masetlha added: ”We hope that outsiders won’t derail this process anymore. They must help the Congolese rather than complicate their lives.”
Rebel groups — backed by Rwanda and Uganda — went to war with the DRC government in 1998 in a conflict that eventually embroiled seven other African countries.
Most foreign troops have pulled out, but sporadic clashes between the internal belligerents have continued. Eastern parts of the DRC saw new fighting last week, casting a shadow over the latest peace effort. ? Sapa