DRC: C64 opposition coalition meets in Rome, calls for inclusive dialogue

DR Congo's main opposition coalitions refused to back an armed rebellion led by former President Joseph Kabila. The C64 coalitions also slammed constitutional changes that would extend current leader Felix Tshisekedi's time in power. Emmett Livingston tells us more. It's a repudiation of former President Joseph Kabila. Sitting around a table in Rome, the leaders of the Democratic Republic of Congo's C64 opposition coalition issued a rejection of armed rebellion in the country. This has come after earlier this month, Joseph Kabila formed the FRN Rebel Coalition and vowed to topple the government of President Félix Tshisekedi. But the opposition leaders also criticised Tshisekedi. They called his plans to change the constitution a, quote, constitutional coup designed to keep the president in power. They're calling for a national political dialogue to resolve the increasingly complex crisis in Congo. The opposition coalition is today taking the initiative to meet with President Félix Tshisekedi on the one hand and Honorary President Joseph Kabila on the other in order to find a Congolese solution to the crisis and to agree under the best possible conditions acceptable to all on a genuine and inclusive national dialogue to safeguard national interests and preserve what is essential. Last week, President Tshisekedi also made his first official statement on Kabila's rebellion. Speaking to members of his party, he dismissed Kabila as a coward and a pawn of Rwanda. Tshisekedi also denied that he was trying to cling to power, saying he simply didn't like Congo's constitution without going into further details. But among Congo's opposition, there is little trust in these assurances.