UN
United Nations Peacekeeping
6 Mar
2009
DRC Press Review
*Original in French
The social tension witnessed in Kinshasa on Monday and the adoption by the Parliament of the National Defence Law are the main subjects tackled by much of today's press.
The social tension witnessed in Kinshasa on Monday and the adoption by the Parliament of the National Defence Law are the main subjects tackled by much of today's press.
Kinshasa came within an ace of a catastrophe on Monday, reports LE POTENTIEL, explaining that tension mounted when private 'transport operators carried out their strike threat, preventing thousands of Kinshasa workers from reaching their employment places.' Things took a dangerous turn when overzealous police agents went around stopping women and girls dressed in trousers and slashing the trousers with scissors, the paper says. These acts were witnessed by hostile crowds and created disputes in several parts of the capital. Approached by the paper, the governor of Kinshasa said he was 'surprised' by the private transport operators' strike. Asked about the slashing of trousers, the governor did know who gave the order. 'Who wanted to create a riot among the population' And for what ulterior motives'' asks the paper, saying that with such tension in tension in Kinshasa, 'anything could happen.'
Titling 'A day without trousers in Kinshasa,' LE PHARE notes that most of Kinshasa's trouser-loving women were forced to dress more conventionally, that is, in loincloths, skirts and dresses. There have been unconfirmed reports of a ban on the wearing of trousers by women, notes the paper, saying this is what led to 'the arrest by the police of young girls in trousers. Without asking for any explanation, police agents began to tear the trousers, leaving the victims naked, while curious bystanders looked on.'
Thus, women experienced martyrdom in Kinshasa yesterday, notes FORUM DES AS, announcing that the Ministry of Women's Condition and Family is considering launching a campaign designed to promote 'the proper dress code for Congolese women'.
According to L'AVENIR, Monday's effervescence in the streets of Kinshasa put 'The Transition in danger'. To see police agents following orders not given them by their direct commanders shows that an underground organisation was, in fact, behind those incidents, the paper writes.
The Transitional Parliament has adopted the law on the general organisation of Defence and the Military, L'OBSERVATEUR announces. The paper notes that this piece of legislation is based on 'the key idea that the army must cease to be an instrument of oppression against the people and assume henceforth its noble mission, that is, to defend the country and its republican institutions, and the fundamental interests of the nation.' In the same connection, LA TEMPETE DES TROPIQUES however points out that this law 'does not specify the size of the army.' According to the paper, parliamentarians have justified this shortcoming by invoking the absence of a technical service to determine the army's size.
The United Nations has published its report on the massacre at the refugee camp at Gatumba, Burundi. LE POTENTIEL notes that the UN investigation has been inconclusive, because 'it has failed to identify who orchestrated, perpetrated and financed these atrocities.' Citing extracts from the report, the paper stresses that ' the available evidence indicates that the FNL [National Liberation Forces, rebel movement from Burundi] have probably participated in the attack,' but the investigation has failed 'to clearly establish the nature and extent of FNL's role.'
LA REFERENCE PLUS considers the celebration of the United Nations Day in Kinshasa. 'For over a week, organisations of the UN System have deployed intense activities aimed at fostering a better understanding of their objectives among socio-professional groups,' the paper writes. In Kinshasa, the resident coordinator of the UN System in the DRC, Herbert Mc'Leod, encouraged Congolese to plan reconstruction activities beyond the future elections, the paper notes.
At the United Nations headquarters in New York, Kofi Annan has called for a new UN, reports LE POTENTIEL, adding that the UN Secretary-General insisted on the necessity to revitalise the world body, as it needs refreshing in terms of 'a structure, an image or even a soul.'
Titling 'A day without trousers in Kinshasa,' LE PHARE notes that most of Kinshasa's trouser-loving women were forced to dress more conventionally, that is, in loincloths, skirts and dresses. There have been unconfirmed reports of a ban on the wearing of trousers by women, notes the paper, saying this is what led to 'the arrest by the police of young girls in trousers. Without asking for any explanation, police agents began to tear the trousers, leaving the victims naked, while curious bystanders looked on.'
Thus, women experienced martyrdom in Kinshasa yesterday, notes FORUM DES AS, announcing that the Ministry of Women's Condition and Family is considering launching a campaign designed to promote 'the proper dress code for Congolese women'.
According to L'AVENIR, Monday's effervescence in the streets of Kinshasa put 'The Transition in danger'. To see police agents following orders not given them by their direct commanders shows that an underground organisation was, in fact, behind those incidents, the paper writes.
The Transitional Parliament has adopted the law on the general organisation of Defence and the Military, L'OBSERVATEUR announces. The paper notes that this piece of legislation is based on 'the key idea that the army must cease to be an instrument of oppression against the people and assume henceforth its noble mission, that is, to defend the country and its republican institutions, and the fundamental interests of the nation.' In the same connection, LA TEMPETE DES TROPIQUES however points out that this law 'does not specify the size of the army.' According to the paper, parliamentarians have justified this shortcoming by invoking the absence of a technical service to determine the army's size.
The United Nations has published its report on the massacre at the refugee camp at Gatumba, Burundi. LE POTENTIEL notes that the UN investigation has been inconclusive, because 'it has failed to identify who orchestrated, perpetrated and financed these atrocities.' Citing extracts from the report, the paper stresses that ' the available evidence indicates that the FNL [National Liberation Forces, rebel movement from Burundi] have probably participated in the attack,' but the investigation has failed 'to clearly establish the nature and extent of FNL's role.'
LA REFERENCE PLUS considers the celebration of the United Nations Day in Kinshasa. 'For over a week, organisations of the UN System have deployed intense activities aimed at fostering a better understanding of their objectives among socio-professional groups,' the paper writes. In Kinshasa, the resident coordinator of the UN System in the DRC, Herbert Mc'Leod, encouraged Congolese to plan reconstruction activities beyond the future elections, the paper notes.
At the United Nations headquarters in New York, Kofi Annan has called for a new UN, reports LE POTENTIEL, adding that the UN Secretary-General insisted on the necessity to revitalise the world body, as it needs refreshing in terms of 'a structure, an image or even a soul.'
