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

Washington, DC - The Rally for a New Society (RNS) would like to congratulate the African leaders who recently tried to broker peace in the month-old Congo conflict.  The crisis cannot be resolved without the participation and input of all those heads of state (Zimbabwe, Congo, Angola, Namibia, Uganda and Rwanda) who are implicated in the conflict in one fashion or another.  By the same token, the rebel leadership cannot be overlooked and left on the sidelines.  The RNS deplores the fact that the rebels were not allowed to be party to the heads of state negotiations.  We find it even more worrisome that the central cause of the Congolese crisis was not on the table for discussion.

The august gathering did not call for an all-party conference whereby all the major political forces, human rights groups, clergy, labor, students and other groups would gather to address the crisis in the country.  The RNS has maintained that until a political solution is sought, the problems of the Congo and the Central Africa region will persist.

We continue to call for a Special Political Conference on the Congo (SPCC) which would adopt an overall political plan for a peaceful settlement of the crisis and most importantly for moving the country on to a pluralistic, democratic and law-abiding society.