UN
United Nations Peacekeeping
6 Mar
2009
DRC Press Review
*Original in French
The main focus of today's local press is President Joseph Kabila's address made at the opening of the preparatory meeting for the International Conference on the Great Lakes. But the papers continue to comment on the President's recent visit to Kisangani, in the east of the DRC.
The main focus of today's local press is President Joseph Kabila's address made at the opening of the preparatory meeting for the International Conference on the Great Lakes. But the papers continue to comment on the President's recent visit to Kisangani, in the east of the DRC.
The second meeting of the regional preparatory committee for the International Conference on peace, security and development in the Great Lakes was launched yesterday Tuesday October 19th, reports L'AVENIR, noting that President Joseph Kabila presided over the opening ceremony. Also in attendance were the UN Secretary-General's Special Envoy to the Great Lakes, the Special Envoy of the African Union Commission President and the European Union Special Representative for the Great Lakes, the papers says. Citing the presidential address, L'AVENIR says 'Joseph Kabila denounced the manipulation of ethnic groups', which he said is 'one of the causes of the instability in the Great Lakes region.' The paper says the President demanded respect of the borders inherited from colonisation. On participation in the Conference on the Great Lakes, the President welcomed the fact that Congo-Brazzaville, Angola and Sudan have been included.
On the massive violations of human rights in the region, President Kabila deplored the some million deaths and displaced persons victims of 'an unjust war', FORUM DES AS reports. It quotes the President as saying this situation 'demands a new awareness at the level of the region regarding the systematic and massive violations of human rights, so that such humanitarian tragedies will not be repeated. It is therefore 'only fair and good that the authors of these acts of barbarity against Congolese populations acknowledge their crimes before reparation, a guarantee of peace, comes to pave the way to the future,' Joseph Kabila said. According to L'OBSERVATEUR, the president added that his country 'aspires to live in peace with all its neighbours.'
LA TEMPETE DES TROPIQUES publishes what it calls 'troubling revelations' on Joseph Kabila's three-day trip to Kisangani. Citing a written statement from the former rebel Congolese Rally for Democracy (RCD-Goma), the paper says during that visit, 'the special presidential security unit (GSSP) disarmed all military and police personnel that had not been part of the former government's army, before cantoning them several kilometres away from Kisangani - and this without food.' This attitude 'constitutes a real threat to the ongoing democratisation process,' the RCD also said in the statement.
LE PALMARES tells readers of the 'secrets of Joseph Kabila's visit to Kisangani.' For example the paper reveals that 'the President undertook walkabouts without a bullet-proof vest.' Moreover, 'Ignoring the residence prepared for him, he settled for a tent pitched in the yard of St Joseph Parish Church,' writes the paper, stressing that even the President's agenda was kept secret until the last day.
Controversy continues over the Belgian Minister of Foreign Affairs' recent remarks on the officials of the Transition in the DRC, LE POTENTIEL reports. While visiting Kigali, after Kinshasa, Mr. Karel De Gucht was quoted as saying there is no State in the DRC and that he did not find there many people capable of contributing significantly to the peace process, the paper recalls. The Congolese Minister of Foreign Affairs, acting on the Government's behalf, has expressed indignation at what he described as an 'inimical' attitude. But the controversy over the case intensifies in Brussels, the paper says, speaking of an 'outcry' in the Belgian capital where 'Belgian personalities and political parties, in turn, are voicing their indignation.'
LA REFERENCE PLUS notes that though Mr. Karel De Gucht's remarks have stirred a wave of disapproval, the Union for Democracy and Social Progress (UDPS) praises the 'political courage of the Belgian Minister.' The paper quotes the party's leader, Etienne Tshisekeki, as saying 'the adequate diagnosis made (by De Gucht) should be followed by the appropriate treatment before June 30, 2005 if a generalised popular uprising, a civil war and chaos are to be averted.'
On the massive violations of human rights in the region, President Kabila deplored the some million deaths and displaced persons victims of 'an unjust war', FORUM DES AS reports. It quotes the President as saying this situation 'demands a new awareness at the level of the region regarding the systematic and massive violations of human rights, so that such humanitarian tragedies will not be repeated. It is therefore 'only fair and good that the authors of these acts of barbarity against Congolese populations acknowledge their crimes before reparation, a guarantee of peace, comes to pave the way to the future,' Joseph Kabila said. According to L'OBSERVATEUR, the president added that his country 'aspires to live in peace with all its neighbours.'
LA TEMPETE DES TROPIQUES publishes what it calls 'troubling revelations' on Joseph Kabila's three-day trip to Kisangani. Citing a written statement from the former rebel Congolese Rally for Democracy (RCD-Goma), the paper says during that visit, 'the special presidential security unit (GSSP) disarmed all military and police personnel that had not been part of the former government's army, before cantoning them several kilometres away from Kisangani - and this without food.' This attitude 'constitutes a real threat to the ongoing democratisation process,' the RCD also said in the statement.
LE PALMARES tells readers of the 'secrets of Joseph Kabila's visit to Kisangani.' For example the paper reveals that 'the President undertook walkabouts without a bullet-proof vest.' Moreover, 'Ignoring the residence prepared for him, he settled for a tent pitched in the yard of St Joseph Parish Church,' writes the paper, stressing that even the President's agenda was kept secret until the last day.
Controversy continues over the Belgian Minister of Foreign Affairs' recent remarks on the officials of the Transition in the DRC, LE POTENTIEL reports. While visiting Kigali, after Kinshasa, Mr. Karel De Gucht was quoted as saying there is no State in the DRC and that he did not find there many people capable of contributing significantly to the peace process, the paper recalls. The Congolese Minister of Foreign Affairs, acting on the Government's behalf, has expressed indignation at what he described as an 'inimical' attitude. But the controversy over the case intensifies in Brussels, the paper says, speaking of an 'outcry' in the Belgian capital where 'Belgian personalities and political parties, in turn, are voicing their indignation.'
LA REFERENCE PLUS notes that though Mr. Karel De Gucht's remarks have stirred a wave of disapproval, the Union for Democracy and Social Progress (UDPS) praises the 'political courage of the Belgian Minister.' The paper quotes the party's leader, Etienne Tshisekeki, as saying 'the adequate diagnosis made (by De Gucht) should be followed by the appropriate treatment before June 30, 2005 if a generalised popular uprising, a civil war and chaos are to be averted.'
