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In Congo-Kinshasa, there is a buzz about the plans of United States' diplomat Richard Holbrooke to hold a Congo summit in New York in late January. Holbrooke is US envoy to the United Nations and chairs the Security Council for the next six months. The idea, Congolese sources say but US sources won't confirm, is to bring several senior Congolese politicians, including President Laurent-Désiré Kabila, to agree on an implementation programme and supporting mechanisms for the Lusaka peace accord. The Congo mediator, Botswana's former President Ketumile Masire, would be expected to attend, to prepare the ground for Congo's internal dialogue. These plans, even if they win formal US backing, face two main snags: Kabila is unlikely to leave Congo, for fear of being toppled in a palace coup - and increasingly likely scenario. The combatants have still not accepted Masire as mediator because Botswana is seen as aligned with South Africa and because he doesn't speak French or any local language....

(This article contains approximately 1272 words)

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Keywords:

Congo-Kinshasa, United States, Richard Holbrooke, Laurent-Désiré Kabila, Botswana, Ketumile Masire, South Africa, French, Bill Clinton, Howard Wolpe, Kamel Morjane, Threats to the Lusaka Peace Accord, Jean- Pierre Bemba, China, Ugandan, Angola, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Emile Ilunga, Rwanda, Belgium, Louis Michel, Britain, France, Patrice Lumumba, Mobutu Sese Seko, Mawapanga Mwana Nanga, Badima Mulumba, Cameroon, Paul Biya, Akame Mfoumou, Bello Bouba Maïgari, Hamidou Marafa Yaya, Amadou Ali, Cavaye Yegue Djibril, Peter Mafany Musonge., Ahmadou Ahidjo, Mohammadou Ahidjo, Olusegun Obasanjo, John Fru Ndi, s, Equatorial, Guinea, Mouvement pour la Libération du Congo, kidogo, Rassemblement Congolais Démocratique, Kinois, Rassemblement Démocratique du Peuple Camerounais, Union Nationale pour la Dé mocratie et le Progrès, Union des Populations Camerounaises, de facto, Union Démocratique du Cameroun