Accra — Peace talks aimed at resolving the civil war in the Democratic Republic of Congo, are likely to continue in South Africa for an unscheduled extra week.
The announcement by the mediation team came after Congolese government representatives and rival factions, in the Sun City resort, failed to reach a settlement on the political transition leading to democratic elections in Congo.
The deadline date for the discussions to end was Thursday April 11.
The decision to prolong the Congo peace talks was made public early Thursday, after all-night negotiations, led by the office of Sir Ketumile Masire, the facilitator of the Inter-Congolese Dialogue and a former president of Botswana.
Masires spokesman, George Ola-Davies, told the BBC it had been necessary to seek an extension to iron out remaining obstacles, in order to reach agreement on a democratic political dispensation for Congo.
Ola-Davies said: "It was decided, and rightly too, that time was needed to set up what may be the transitional governing body from here, in Sun City, so that by the time the (Congolese) delegates return [home], we may see, in Congo, a new era coming out of Sun City, rather than leaving it [unresolved] in abeyance".
South African president Thabo Mbeki had earlier proposed a new power-sharing agreement to the Congolese, to try to break the political deadlock after a marathon 45 days of negotiations in Sun City, north of Johannesburg.
Mbekis compromise plan was that the current Congolese head of state, President Joseph Kabila, would remain in office for another two and a half years, until multiparty elections. Mbeki proposed that Kabila would govern jointly, with a council of state including both the main rebel factions, the unarmed opposition and civil society representatives.
But the South African proposal was rejected outright by the rebel Congolese Rally for Democracy, RCD-Goma, which has so far ruled out any deal that would leave Kabila in power. In March, RCD-Goma stalwart, Bizima Karaha, told allAfrica.com Kabila was part of the problem and must step down immediately, because he was not wanted by the people.
The RCD-Goma faction, backed by Rwanda, appears not to have changed that view and has repeated that there can be no lasting peace in Congo if Kabila remains as president.
Kabilas information minister, Kikaya bin Karubi, had earlier insisted that Kabilas presidential status was not negotiable. But the Congolese government appeared to soften that position later into the talks, when it became apparent that a number of rebels would continue to oppose Kabila remaining in the top job during the transition.
Kinshasa then proposed that the president should stay on as head of state, with prime ministers and deputies coming from the rival rebel factions and the political opposition. But the rebel RCD did not bite.
The rival Uganda-backed Congolese Liberation Movement, MLC, has indicated that it is prepared to share power with Kabila during the transition. An MLC spokesman told the BBC that all parties should be equal within any interim administration.
The Congo peace talks facilitator, supported by Mbeki, will have a tough time convincing the Congolese belligerents that a compromise is possible. And Masire may face another hurdle, with reports that Kabilas government itself is against extending the negotiations in Sun City by another seven days.
Ola-Davies said the Kinshasa authorities had not yet expressed their reservations to the plenary session, to be held on Friday. "We await to see, when they come to the plenary, whether they are really opposed to it; their reason being that they have been here for 45 days and the talks were scheduled (to last) for 45 days, according to the Lusaka Peace Accord. But that will have to be discussed."
He said Kabilas government should take into account "15 wasted days" in the course of the negotiations, convened in February. Ola-Davies said the facilitator considered an extra week long enough to allow "the political will among the delegates to thrash out the thorny issues."
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One important development is that the rival Congolese groups have agreed in principle to the formation of a national army, integrating rebel troops into the existing military force. But even this evidence of progress may be thwarted if the key political agreement, which should pave the way to democratic elections in Congo, cannot be reached.
On Thursday, the United Nations' monitoring mission in Congo, MONUC, reported renewed fighting in Uvira, in the east of the country. A ceasefire agreed by the rival factions has been repeatedly violated by all sides, even during the current peace talks.
All parties are warning their adversaries that none will be welcome back in the areas they control in Congo if they disappoint the people by failing to reach a deal. The Congolese have lived through rebellion, civil war and economic collapse since 1998, piled on top of more than thirty years of dictatorship and abject poverty under the late President Mobutu Sese Seko.
