In a communiqué issued on 3 April 2017, the Opposition Rally rejected the negotiations initiated by President Joseph Kabila with a view to paving the way for the implementation of the New Year’s Eve Agreement.
The opposition platform entirely blames the failure of the negotiations brokered by the Catholic Church on the regime and accordingly does not want Kabila to mediate the political impasse resulting from the failure.
“The Rally yet again wants to underscore to the national and international opinion that it has, on several occasions, denounced Kabila and his political coalition’s tactics to block the implementation of the New Year’s Eve agreement. They did so by systematically sabotaging issues around the power-sharing arrangement and the appointment of the National Agreement Oversight Council (CNSA) chairperson”, says the communiqué.
To address the blockade, the opposition rally demands that the mediation of Catholic bishops should be continued with the involvement of the UN.
“The implementation of the agreement calls for the finalisation of the power-sharing arrangement, the continuation of talks in an open and transparent fashion, with the bishops’ good mediation and the good offices of the UN, in compliance with UNSC Resolution 2348” adds the communiqué.
It will be recalled that Catholic bishops brought to an end their good offices due to divergences pitting the regime against the opposition on the appointment of the Prime Minister and CNSA chairperson. They informed Kabila of the deadlock and Kabila promised to take it upon himself to arrive at a solution through direct talks with all stakeholders involved.
It is in this vein that Kabila undertook the first round of talks with the opposition that signed the October 18 Agreement, the section civil society signed the same agreement as well as the republican opposition.
These consultations are expected to be completed today and should culminate in Kabila’s address to both houses of parliament shortly.