UN
United Nations Peacekeeping
4 Mar
2009
DRC Press Review
The demonstration held in Kinshasa yesterday in support of MONUC, as well as the insecurity in the Congolese capital and other parts of the country constitute the main points covered by Kinshasa's newspapers of March 18, 2004. The paper also analyse the transitional process that seems to be at a standstill.
On Wednesday, in front of the UN Mission's headquarters, "Congolese expressed their support to MONUC," reports LE PHARE. In a message handed to MONUC, the signatories "thank the international community for all the sacrifices it has endured and the efforts it continues to make in favour of the peace process in the DRC." The message, which the paper quotes in full, also denounces "the notorious and obvious incompetence of the transitional leaders" and demands their immediate departure from the top of the State. The demonstrators urged that the CIAT (International Committee to Support the Transition) take charge of the organisation and the holding of elections within the timeframe prescribed by the Constitution, and that MONUC really make use of Chapter 7 of the UN Charter in order to impose peace in Congo.
LA REFERENCE PLUS, headlining "Grandiose march to support William Swing as Head of MONUC," explains that the will of the Congolese to stand by William Swing, and thus by MONUC, "is a way of discouraging all those who are largely regarded as enemies of peace in the DRC because of their undermining campaigns against MONUC."
On the identity of the demonstrators, LA TEMPETE DES TROPIQUES points out that they were " free political thinkers and analysts who gather everyday at newspaper selling points and in other places across Kinshasa, in order to get informed and exchange views on the burning questions of the hour," and who are commonly known as "standing parliamentarians." According to LA REFERENCE PLUS, some among the demonstrators were under the control of civil or political groups, such as the Union pour la Démocratie et le Progrès Social (UDPS) led by Etienne Tshisekedi. LE POTENTIEL agrees, saying the demonstration was intended to show "UDPS's support to William Swing."
Reporting on the Wednesday's news briefing by UN Mission's spokesman, LE PHARE announces that "MONUC is determined to see that the arms embargo is respected." "MONUC will use all its forces to help with control of illicit arms trafficking towards the DRC," says the paper, quoting the spokesman. To that end, according to L'OBSERVATEUR, "MONUC is authorised to inspect without prior notice the cargoes on aircraft" or any other vehicles used to carry arms. The paper is referring to Security Council resolution 1533 adopted last Friday setting up a mechanism to reinforce the arms embargo imposed on the armed groups in the East of the DRC.
With respect to the insecurity prevailing in the DRC, The Minister of the Interior, Decentralisation and Security, Théophile Mbemba, is to respond to questions in the Senate, L'AVENIR announces. According to the paper, the Senators will certainly question the Minister on the incursions of armed men who operate in the Bas Congo province, and on the incidents of March 8, at the Palais du Peuple, in Kinshasa. According to L'OBSERVATEUR, the Minister will also have to answer questions about the arms caches discovered in several places, especially in Bukavu and other towns in the East of the DRC.
Following the discovery of arms caches in Bukavu, Bunia and Kinshasa, LE POTENTIEL describes the DRC as an enormous powder keg, which might blow up any time. The paper notes that "this proliferation of firearms, which can be observed across the DRC, constitutes a real threat for the Transition." According to the paper, the problem of insecurity will only be resolved through "the rapid establishment of a unified command of the army, national police and intelligence services, as well as the implementation of the DDR and DDRRR programmes."
Looking at the political arena, LE PHARE notes "a political spectacle unworthy of a modern and civilised State," and characterised by "bad faith, poor governance, a crisis of leadership, and the will to exploit the Transition." The paper denounces "the recurrent quarrels which have invaded the +espace presidentiel+ [in the local political jargon, the French phrase refers to the DRC President and his four Vice-Presidents], evoking the situation of spoiled children playing at the blind's man buff...[And] the cacophony, the insults and the verbal violence which have become a mode of government in the DRC." The paper calls on Congolese to "change both in the literal and figurative senses," and "to imperatively change their model, or, if they do not have one, invent, as a matter of urgency, a priority scale of rules and criteria compatible with the most universally established standards of excellence."
LA REFERENCE PLUS, headlining "Grandiose march to support William Swing as Head of MONUC," explains that the will of the Congolese to stand by William Swing, and thus by MONUC, "is a way of discouraging all those who are largely regarded as enemies of peace in the DRC because of their undermining campaigns against MONUC."
On the identity of the demonstrators, LA TEMPETE DES TROPIQUES points out that they were " free political thinkers and analysts who gather everyday at newspaper selling points and in other places across Kinshasa, in order to get informed and exchange views on the burning questions of the hour," and who are commonly known as "standing parliamentarians." According to LA REFERENCE PLUS, some among the demonstrators were under the control of civil or political groups, such as the Union pour la Démocratie et le Progrès Social (UDPS) led by Etienne Tshisekedi. LE POTENTIEL agrees, saying the demonstration was intended to show "UDPS's support to William Swing."
Reporting on the Wednesday's news briefing by UN Mission's spokesman, LE PHARE announces that "MONUC is determined to see that the arms embargo is respected." "MONUC will use all its forces to help with control of illicit arms trafficking towards the DRC," says the paper, quoting the spokesman. To that end, according to L'OBSERVATEUR, "MONUC is authorised to inspect without prior notice the cargoes on aircraft" or any other vehicles used to carry arms. The paper is referring to Security Council resolution 1533 adopted last Friday setting up a mechanism to reinforce the arms embargo imposed on the armed groups in the East of the DRC.
With respect to the insecurity prevailing in the DRC, The Minister of the Interior, Decentralisation and Security, Théophile Mbemba, is to respond to questions in the Senate, L'AVENIR announces. According to the paper, the Senators will certainly question the Minister on the incursions of armed men who operate in the Bas Congo province, and on the incidents of March 8, at the Palais du Peuple, in Kinshasa. According to L'OBSERVATEUR, the Minister will also have to answer questions about the arms caches discovered in several places, especially in Bukavu and other towns in the East of the DRC.
Following the discovery of arms caches in Bukavu, Bunia and Kinshasa, LE POTENTIEL describes the DRC as an enormous powder keg, which might blow up any time. The paper notes that "this proliferation of firearms, which can be observed across the DRC, constitutes a real threat for the Transition." According to the paper, the problem of insecurity will only be resolved through "the rapid establishment of a unified command of the army, national police and intelligence services, as well as the implementation of the DDR and DDRRR programmes."
Looking at the political arena, LE PHARE notes "a political spectacle unworthy of a modern and civilised State," and characterised by "bad faith, poor governance, a crisis of leadership, and the will to exploit the Transition." The paper denounces "the recurrent quarrels which have invaded the +espace presidentiel+ [in the local political jargon, the French phrase refers to the DRC President and his four Vice-Presidents], evoking the situation of spoiled children playing at the blind's man buff...[And] the cacophony, the insults and the verbal violence which have become a mode of government in the DRC." The paper calls on Congolese to "change both in the literal and figurative senses," and "to imperatively change their model, or, if they do not have one, invent, as a matter of urgency, a priority scale of rules and criteria compatible with the most universally established standards of excellence."
