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DRC Talks Progressing Well: Mbeki

South African Press Association (Johannesburg)
NEWS
November 19, 2002
Posted to the web November 20, 2002
Pretoria
The Democratic Republic of Congo's power-sharing agreement meeting currently
underway in Pretoria was progressing well, President Thabo Mbeki said on
Tuesday.
"There has been many developments with regards to the inter-Congolese dialogue,
but we have passed most obstacles," he told Burundi ambassador to South Africa
Patricie Rwimo at the Union Buildings.
Rwimo was among five new ambassadors who presented their credentials to Mbeki
on Tuesday.
Mbeki said: "The negotiations are progressing well. We, the DRC officials as
well as the militant groups are pressing ahead in an effort to finalise an
agreement that will benefit all parties.
"The resolution of the conflict in Congo and in the Great Lakes region will
soon be over."
The aim of the meeting was to reach an agreement on a document on the country's
transition to democratic elections.
Mbeki also told Rwimo that former president Nelson Mandela has asked foreign
donors to help rebuild war-ravaged Burundi.
"Mandela has been engaging a number of international donors and has asked them
to provide aid to rebuild the general and economic infrastructure of Burundi."
Mbeki said Mandela was efforts to broker a ceasefire in Burundi closely.
"He is very interested to know what is happening so that once everything has
been settled, the rebuilding of Burundi commences urgently."
More than 250000 people have been killed in Burundi's civil war, which started
in 1993 and pits a variety of Hutu rebel groups against an army of dominated by
the Tutsi minority.
South African Deputy President Jacob Zuma is currently chairing a fresh round
of talks in Tanzania on ways to achieve a ceasefire in the central African
country.
Others ambassadors who presented their credentials to Mbeki on Tuesday were
Manuel Da Luz of the Republic of Cape Verde, Gun Gwang from North Korea, Rustam
Isaev of the Republic of Uzbekistan and Costas Leontiou from the Republic of
Cyprus./wj

   

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