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http://www.africanews.org/central/congo-kinshasa/stories/19990130_feat1.html
Congo Rebel Split Resolved
January 30, 1999
Kampala - President Yoweri Museveni Thursday met rival leaders of the Congolese
Rally for Democracy (RCD) rebels and persuaded them to put aside their
differences for the sake of the movement. Following President Museveni's
mediation, Prof. Arthur Z'Ahidi Ngoma, formerly RCD second vice president
reconciled with the RCD leadership. RCD leader, Prof.
Ernest Wamba dia Wamba told The New Vision from a Kampala hotel that Ngoma was back in the movement and blamed the wrangles on selfish interests which he said were detrimental to the advancement of the cause of the Congolese. But Ngoma in an interview yesterday said it was Wamba and his group who deviated from the principles of RCD. "To let down the Congolese people because of positions and selfishness is not what we are fighting for. I thank President Museveni for his advice and guidance." Wamba and group flew to Kampala to consult Museveni when Ngoma rejected the position of deputy chairman of the assembly expanded from 28 to 147.
"We are now united but I am not taking up the positions I was offered. They had no right to give me a position when I did not ask for it. I am only a member of the movement," Ngoma said. Sources told The New Vision that Museveni blamed the rebels for ignoring his advice to restructure the movement and leave it open for new political forces to join. "My main demand was for RCD to open up to Congolese political and social forces.
This is now happening and I will contribute to see to it that Kabila is toppled, " said Ngoma who boasted of being the most popular Congolese opposition politician. Last Wednesday Ngoma condemned the failure of the RCD to create a broad-based democratic movement involving "significant" political organisations in the country that opposed the Mobutu regime. Sources had said Ngoma was considering joining the rival rebel Mouvement de Liberation Congolais (MLC) of Jean-Pierre Bemba.
Copyright © 1999 New Vision. Distributed via Africa News Online (www.africanews.org). For information about the content or for permission to redistribute, publish or use for broadcast, contact New Vision at the link above.