Civil Society and JPR Welcome Tshisekedi's Dialogue Clarifications as C64 Holds Firm in Rejection

DRC civil society and the Justes Patriotes pour la République (JPR) party welcomed President Tshisekedi's clarifications on the format of his national dialogue, in remarks reported Aug 30. Civil society general coordinator Christopher Ngoy Mutamba called the initiative "mûrement réfléchie" (thoroughly deliberated), saying the president's clarifications addressed several of its concerns over venue, organization and participation, while insisting inclusivity must not extend to armed groups, whose members it said must answer for crimes rather than be integrated into the political process. JPR urged the opposition to seize the "outstretched hand" and use the dialogue to defend its political convictions. The reception contrasts with the Coalition Article 64 (C64)'s Aug 28 rejection of the same dialogue as "pretended consultations," underscoring a split in the domestic opposition's response even as the process runs on a track separate from the Doha-mediated DRC-M23 negotiations.