Monday, 2 October 2006's Kinshasa newspaper commentary is mainly related to the official launch last Saturday of the AMP-PALU political coalition.

In related news, La Référence Plus reports that AMP and PALU "committed themselves to work for the institution of republican values in the DRC."

"The Kabila-Gizenga alliance reconciles the DRC at a time when reportedly there is a so-called East-West split," Forum des As writes.

"The [coalition] government team seeks by its initially proposed composition to overcome the East-West schism and be a government really representative of all the country's provinces," Le Potentiel notes. According to proposed distribution of ministerial portfolios, "Antoine Gizenga [is slated as] prime minister, Vital Kamerhe [as] president of the National Assembly, Samba Kaputo [as] minister for the Interior, Olivier Kamitatu [as] minister for Foreign Affairs and Nzanga Mobutu [as] minister for International Cooperation," according to Le Potentiel.

That government's main mission will include "fight[ing] against the precariousness of salaries, malnutrition, the degradation of the education system, insecurity and the housing deficit," L'Avenir reports. Calling the AMP-PALU "marriage [a matter of] national interest], L'Avenir explains that the two partners "signed a pact to pull the DRC out of political agitation."

"The ball is in Jean-Pierre Bemba's camp," says Le Phare, referring to the leader of the Mouvement pour la Libération du Congo (MLC, Congolese Liberation Movement) and his Union for the Nation coalition's efforts to secure the support of Etienne Tshisekedi's UDPS party in Bemba's bid for President. To that effect, Le Phare writes, Bemba "should not hesitate to show humility and to admit his part in the errors that have been committed and his part in the injustice which has been done to UDPS throughout this transition" period. Above all, he should "provide serious and reliable guarantees by making such concrete and realistic proposals as not to force Etienne Tshisekedi, who is known as a man of principles, to go back on his word or contradict himself in public or in private," Le Phare concludes.

Similarly, La Réference Plus writes that Jean-Pierre Bemba will have to address "previous problems between him and UDPS if he is to obtain UDPS' support".

Meanwhile, meeting with the International Committee of Elders (ICE) last Friday, Jean-Pierre Bemba said he hoped for "transparent and fraud-free elections," reports Le Potentiel, citing Joachim Chissano, head of the ICE.