(19 Dec 1996) French/Nat
Zaire's President Mobutu Sese Seko has called on opposition leaders to work with him to establish a "crisis government" within 48 hours.
Only two days after returning from four months of cancer treatment in Europe, Mobutu appeared to be moving swiftly to reaffirm his control over the central African country.
On Wednesday, he named a hard-line general as the army chief in an attempt to crush a rebellion in the east.
Zaire's President Mobutu Sese Seko met with members of the opposition and his own political allies on Thursday.
He asked them to come back to him within 48 hours with names of people who could strengthen his government and concentrate on putting an end to the rebel incursion in eastern Zaire.
It was unclear whether that meant Prime Minister Leon Kengo wa Dondo was on his way out or whether Mobutu was calling for a new government.
Kengo's Rwandan Tutsi heritage has prompted allegations that he was soft on the Tutsi-backed rebels and led to anti-government demonstrations in Kinshasa last month.
The meeting was snubbed by Mobutu's one-time archrival, Etienne Tshisekedi, the 64-year-old head of the Union for Democracy and Social Progress who hopes to replace Mobutu when elections are held next year.
Tshisekedi still considers himself Zaire's democratically elected prime minister.
He was elected by a transitional National Conference in August 1992, but Mobutu refused to confirm him and replaced him three months later.
"Tshi-Tshi," as he is known here, is wildly popular among the working class of Kinshasa and the opposition stronghold of central Zaire.
But opposition leader Kibasa Maliba and some of his top U-D-P-S allies deserted him last year, causing a sharp rift and weakening the party.
When Tshisekedi showed up for the meeting with Mobutu and saw that Kibasa was there, he refused to attend.
Mobutu spokesman Kitenge Yezu told reporters after the meeting at the offices of the Organisation for African Unity that a new prime minister was not necessarily the solution.
SOUNDBITE: (French)
"We need a strong government, a crisis government. We have to avoid destabilising the head of government. My opinion is that we cannot change the direction or flow of the river, the government. But we need a strong government, a crisis government, with responsible ministers."
SUPER CAPTION: Kitenge Yezu, Mobutu spokesman
But one Mobutu ally who attended the meeting, Bemba Saolona, said Kengo had to go.
Saolona, a wealthy businessman whose daughter is married to one of Mobutu's sons, is believed to have aspirations for the office himself.
SOUNDBITE: (French)
"(Q You don't think Prime Minister Kengo is in the seat he should be? We need someone who is accepted and liked by the masses. Someone who knows how to talk to the people, who knows how to get the people to work"
SUPER CAPTION: Bemba Saolona, President of the Chamber of Commerce and President of the Allied Group of Mobutu
Kibasa Maliba, who called himself the representative for the opposition, emerged from the meeting only to say that the opposition had agreed to work with Mobutu.
He would not say whether Kengo, who is popular with both sides, would be dumped.
Mobutu also held talks Thursday with the hard-line general he named as army chief in an attempt to crush a rebellion in the east.
The appointment of General Marc Mahele Lieko Bokungu is the second time in a month Zaire's armed forces have had a new leader - a sign of the disarray among the weak and demoralised troops.
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Негізгі бет ZAIRE: PRESIDENT MOBUTU TRIES TO ESTABLISH A CRISIS GOVERNMENT
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