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UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs

DRC: Mbeki vows to mobilise AU support for transition

KINSHASA, 6 May 2003 (IRIN) - South African President Thabo Mbeki has promised to mobilise support from the African Union in an effort to help ensure a smooth two-year transitional period for the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

He made the promise on Monday during a two-hour meeting with DRC President Joseph Kabila during a stopover at the N'djili International Airport outside the capital, Kinshasa.

"In his capacity as acting president of the African Union, President Thabo Mbeki spoke with President Joseph Kabila about progress in the DRC peace process, of which South Africa is the mediator," Kabila spokesman Mulegwa Zihindula told IRIN on Tuesday. "He promised to mobilise the African Union with a view toward resolving outstanding matters with regard to the military and the logistics for the effective implementation of the peace process in the DRC."

Mbeki encouraged Kabila, who was maintained as president by consensus of all parties to the inter-Congolese dialogue, to "pursue discussion with the military commission" dealing with matters related to a unified national military, Zihindula added.

The question of a national military unifying the numerous armed factions in the DRC has remained one of the unresolved issues for the transitional period. Leaders of the various armed faction have been meeting in Kinshasa since Saturday in an effort to reach a compromise by 12 May, the deadline set by the follow-up committee for the inter-Congolese dialogue.

Mbeki, however, did not provide any specific advice as to how he intended to help the Congolese resolve this problem.

Mbeki was returning from a summit in Harare hosted by Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe aimed at beginning national reconciliation and restoring economic stability in his country. Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo and Malawi President Bakili Muluzi had also participated in that meeting.

Themes: (IRIN) Governance

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