UN
United Nations Peacekeeping
6 Mar
2009
Press Review
The majority of today's local papers in Kinshasa make an assessment of President Thabo Mbeki's visit to the DRC.
The headlines in LE PHARE reads: Everybody agrees to save the Transition, quoting South African President as declaring in a joint press conference with his Congolese colleague, Joseph Kabila ''None of his interlocutors has voiced the intention of seeing the Transition stop''. All the Transition's players have expressed the hopes to see the process continue up to the free, democratic and transparent elections. This leads the paper to say that ''the talks held behind the political scene did enable to iron out a number of differences which is an indication that the Transition may resume in a near future, after the little blow suffered following the withdrawal of some RCD members''.
LA TEMPETE DES TROPIQUES, also referring to the effects of Thabo Mbeki's visit, announces that South Africa has pledged its support to the Independent Electoral Commission, the institution tasked to prepare independent, free and transparent elections. Altogether, six agreements were signed, notably in the areas of health, trade and teaching. Referring to the current political situation, the paper feels that ''Mr. Thabo Mbeki would not have taken the risk of engaging his country and South African businessmen in a situation without solution''. He did manage to ''find some common ground with the transition's political stakeholders '', for ''trade agreements would not make any sense if the political situation is not resolved''.
Will the RCD join back the Transition after the talks between Vice-president Azarias Ruberwa and President Thabo Mbeki, LA REFERENCE PLUS wonders. The paper answers by indicating that the RCD is meeting today to ''decide definitely whether they are lifting the decision on the suspension of their participation in the Transition or not''. The paper further reports an incident having occurred at the closing session of the joint Commission DRC-South Africa. The paper says that Mr. Azarias Ruberwa reportedly ''upset'' the South African President by showing up late at the closing ceremony. ''The suspense which lasted four hours caused the session to be closed at 13 hours just to allow the south African president to personally go to Ruberwa's residence and to entreat him to attend'', the paper writes.
The presence of the RCD leader at the DRC-SA joint Commission leads LE POTENTIEL to describe Ruberwa as having one foot in, one foot out, alluding to the transition's institutions. Asked to know whether by joining his colleagues of the presidential circles during the joint Commission session, Vice-president Azarias Ruberwa has gone back on his decision for a break in the transition, ''the South African President declined to make any comment'', whereas President Joseph Kabila, for his part, declared that RCD's decision to suspend its participation in the transitional institutions belonged to the past. ''Everybody must now look into the future and wholeheartedly work for the great delight of the Congolese people'', he added.
L'AVENIR as far as it is concerned goes back over the transition's assessment such as required by RCD, and reveals a roadmap worked out by Vice-president Ruberwa, proposing that the 1+4 political architecture be cancelled in favour of a system whereby Joseph Kabila would be the President, ''Etienne Tshisekedi the Prime minister, Ruberwa the Vice-prime minister for Defence and Jean-Pierre Bemba the Minister of State in charge of Economic matters, whereas Yerodia and Z'Ahidi Ngoma would simply be ignored''.
LE PHARE further announces that the first UN report on the situation in Burundi after the Gatumba massacre was recently published. The preliminary findings show that ''the Gatumba massacre which was carefully planned and executed, could have been perpetrated by the FNL, and, according to some eyewitnesses, with the help of some Congolese Maï-Maï and the FDLR''. The report adds ''the attackers used automatic weapons and incendiary grenades''. Moreover the report says, ''the Banyamulenge refugees were particularly targeted, while those of other ethnic groups were not'', the paper further indicates.
LA TEMPETE DES TROPIQUES, also referring to the effects of Thabo Mbeki's visit, announces that South Africa has pledged its support to the Independent Electoral Commission, the institution tasked to prepare independent, free and transparent elections. Altogether, six agreements were signed, notably in the areas of health, trade and teaching. Referring to the current political situation, the paper feels that ''Mr. Thabo Mbeki would not have taken the risk of engaging his country and South African businessmen in a situation without solution''. He did manage to ''find some common ground with the transition's political stakeholders '', for ''trade agreements would not make any sense if the political situation is not resolved''.
Will the RCD join back the Transition after the talks between Vice-president Azarias Ruberwa and President Thabo Mbeki, LA REFERENCE PLUS wonders. The paper answers by indicating that the RCD is meeting today to ''decide definitely whether they are lifting the decision on the suspension of their participation in the Transition or not''. The paper further reports an incident having occurred at the closing session of the joint Commission DRC-South Africa. The paper says that Mr. Azarias Ruberwa reportedly ''upset'' the South African President by showing up late at the closing ceremony. ''The suspense which lasted four hours caused the session to be closed at 13 hours just to allow the south African president to personally go to Ruberwa's residence and to entreat him to attend'', the paper writes.
The presence of the RCD leader at the DRC-SA joint Commission leads LE POTENTIEL to describe Ruberwa as having one foot in, one foot out, alluding to the transition's institutions. Asked to know whether by joining his colleagues of the presidential circles during the joint Commission session, Vice-president Azarias Ruberwa has gone back on his decision for a break in the transition, ''the South African President declined to make any comment'', whereas President Joseph Kabila, for his part, declared that RCD's decision to suspend its participation in the transitional institutions belonged to the past. ''Everybody must now look into the future and wholeheartedly work for the great delight of the Congolese people'', he added.
L'AVENIR as far as it is concerned goes back over the transition's assessment such as required by RCD, and reveals a roadmap worked out by Vice-president Ruberwa, proposing that the 1+4 political architecture be cancelled in favour of a system whereby Joseph Kabila would be the President, ''Etienne Tshisekedi the Prime minister, Ruberwa the Vice-prime minister for Defence and Jean-Pierre Bemba the Minister of State in charge of Economic matters, whereas Yerodia and Z'Ahidi Ngoma would simply be ignored''.
LE PHARE further announces that the first UN report on the situation in Burundi after the Gatumba massacre was recently published. The preliminary findings show that ''the Gatumba massacre which was carefully planned and executed, could have been perpetrated by the FNL, and, according to some eyewitnesses, with the help of some Congolese Maï-Maï and the FDLR''. The report adds ''the attackers used automatic weapons and incendiary grenades''. Moreover the report says, ''the Banyamulenge refugees were particularly targeted, while those of other ethnic groups were not'', the paper further indicates.
