For Immediate Release                                                       Friday, August 21, 1998

Contacts:
Dr. Alafuele M. Kalala
Mr. Rohan Carney
Phone: (202) 463-9373
Fax: (202) 463-9374
Email: cdzcrm@freewwweb.com

Prescriptions for Long-lasting Peace in the Congo and the Great Lakes Region

Washington, DC - The Rally for a New Society is holding a press conference on Tuesday, August 25, 1998 at 12:00 noon at the National Press Club in the Murrow room in Washington, DC.  The press conference will address the crisis in the Congo and the Great Lakes Region of Africa.  The conflict between Mr. Laurent Desire Kabila’s regime and the rebels threatens to engulf not only the Great Lakes region but the entire central and southern Africa regions.

The Rally for a New Society strongly believes that peace and stability in the Congo cannot be achieved through the barrel of a gun but rather through dialogue, negotiations and national reconciliation.  The RNS will provide reports and analyses from its network on-the-ground in the Congo.  The RNS will also present its eleven-point plan to deal effectively with the crisis and to ensure long-term stability not only in the Congo but in Central Africa and the Great Lakes region as a whole.  In addition, the RNS will recount many of the prescriptions which speak directly to the current crisis offered by Congolese politicians, human rights figures, and scholars at the RNS 1997 International Conference on the Reconstruction of Congo-Zaire.