The National Dialogue for Peace, Cohesion and the Refounding of the State is expected to produce a National Pact and a strategy for implementing its resolutions.
Speaking to Channel Africa on Monday, DRC Political Analyst, Writer and Columnist Hubert Kabasu Babu said the dialogue reflected two competing perspectives on how the DRC’s challenges should be addressed.
Babu said the Tshisekedi administration viewed the process as an opportunity to rebuild state institutions, while opposition parties regarded Tshisekedi as part of the political crisis facing the country. “From the perspective of the ruling establishment, it is about refounding or rebuilding the state,” Babu said.
Babu said opposition parties had raised concerns over alleged constitutional violations, repression, the abduction of political leaders and the government’s alleged links to armed groups.
Babu said opposition parties, civil society organisations and other stakeholders should be included in the process for the dialogue to have credibility. “The opposition says that Tshisekedi is part of the problem. So you cannot be judge and party at the same time,” Babu said.
Babu recommended that the dialogue be led by a neutral team, including religious leaders and respected continental figures, similar to the facilitation arrangements used during the Sun City talks.
Babu said the process also needed to address the country’s security crisis, including violence involving M23, the Allied Democratic Forces, CODECO and other armed groups in eastern DRC.
Babu said the security crisis, political divisions and questions surrounding the legitimacy of Tshisekedi’s leadership were interconnected issues requiring an inclusive political process.
The opposition’s rejection of the dialogue could create further contestation, although Babu said opposition parties lacked sufficient leverage to significantly alter the process.
Babu said the DRC needed a political settlement capable of strengthening state institutions, improving stability and addressing armed groups operating in the east.
According to Babu, an inclusive dialogue could allow competing political forces to present different assessments of the country’s problems before working towards common solutions.
Babu said such a process could help the DRC establish greater stability and create conditions for prosperity across the Great Lakes region.
–ChannelAfrica–
