07 10 13 Reuters – – Congo's Joseph Kabila pledged on Saturday to turn the recommendations from three weeks of national dialogue into policies

 

The
talks in the capital Kinshasa were boycotted by some members of opposition
political parties, who said they were denied the opportunity to discuss the
validity of Kabila's disputed 2011 presidential election triumph.

Closing
the meetings, Kabila said he would convene a joint session of the two houses of
parliament on Thursday to discuss legislation based on the recommendations,
which were not made public.

"I
will submit the report and bring together the two houses to show the nation what
has been done so we advance on these important measures," Kabila said in a short
speech, without providing any policy specifics.

Congo ranks bottom of
the United
Nations Human Development Index. Millions of people have died in
eastern Congo from
violence, disease and hunger since the 1990s as foreign-backed insurgent groups
have fought for control of the region's rich deposits of gold, diamonds and
tin.

Philippe
Biyoya of the presiding committee said that restoring institutional legitimacy –
damaged by the row over Kabila's reelection two years ago – had been central to
the discussions.

He
said the recommendations included specific reforms to the national electoral
commission CENI ahead of presidential elections due in 2016. Some members of the
opposition have accused Kabila, who is legally barred from standing again, of
wanting to change the constitution to seek a third term.

Thomas
Luwaka of opposition party MLC, whose leader Jean-Pierre Bemba is in the Hague
facing war crimes charges before the International Criminal Court (ICC),
welcomed the recommendations but demanded action from the government.

"What
matters to us is that the delegates want to revisit Bemba's case to try to
secure his release," said Luwaka.

It
was not immediately clear how Congo could
secure the freeing of Bemba, who ran against Kabila in a 2006
elections.

The
ICC has disregarded calls from Kenya to drop charges against President Uhuru
Kenyatta for allegedly orchestrating violence before the contested 2007
elections in which 1,200 people were killed. His trial is due to begin in
November.

The
call to review Bemba's case was among recommendations aimed at seeking
reconciliation with opposition including amnesty and pardons for imprisoned
politicians and the reopening of media outlets that had been shut down.

There
will not be amnesty for leaders of repeated armed rebellions in the Congo's
turbulent east, delegates said.

Moise
Nyarugabo of the RCD-Goma party, a former rebellion-turned-political party and
member of the committee charged with community conflict and peace, said Kabila's
government had the freedom to select which measures it would implement.

"The
government has a lot of room for maneuver," he said.

(Reporting
by Pete Jones, Editing by Daniel Flynn and Ralph Boulton)