UN
United Nations Peacekeeping
5 Mar
2009
Press Review
The long-awaited territorial administration and the Wednesday's incidents in Goma are the major issues in today's local press in Kinshasa.
''People are eager to know when the Territorial administration will be put in place'', recalls L'AVENIR, noting that such a statu quo does not guarantee any respect for the time frame set by the All-inclusive agreement. The paper needs to know the further development about this dossier ''after the alleged CIAT's ultimatum has expired''. One CIAT's members based in Kinshasa answered the question ''consultations are ongoing and there is every indication that this week could be the last''.
On the same subject, LE PALMARES indicates that Joseph Kabila has played the anticipation game and escaped the CIAT ultimatum. The paper refers to ''the skill with which the head of State has handled this issue''. As a matter of fact, ''to prevent the CIAT from effectively using its power in this banana-growing country, the Head of State has gone ahead of the CIAT's deadline by leading its members to believe that a solution was being found to the different stumbling blocks in the Territorial Administration's dossier''. That is to ''avoid an over interference ' by the Ciat ' which could have humiliated the national institutions''', says the paper.
Furthermore, FORUM DES AS brings out a ''malaise'' within the presidential space following the ''controversial statements made by Vice-president Azarias Ruberwa regarding the incursion of Rwandan troops into the DRC''. According to this paper, Mr. Ruberwa is confronted with the disproval of his colleagues in the presidential space. ''If the Head of State has made no comment on this subject, the three other Vice-presidents have each, directly or through their aids or political organisations, expressed their discontent'', reports the paper, noting that the ''general outcry'' does not allow the members of the presidential space to meet serenely.
LA REFERENCE PLUS announces, for its part, that this Friday cabinet meeting is to examine the Ituri dossier, especially the preparations for the meeting of chiefs of armed groups. According to this paper, ''the Friday's cabinet meeting should prepare the issues to be addressed by the warlords from the Eastern part of the country who continue to be an obstacle to the ongoing process in the DRC''. The paper hopes that ''the government will now issue clear guidelines to the warlords in order to pull the Ituri region out of the cycle of violence''.
L'OBSERVATEUR referring to the Goma incidents, highlights that ''the mystery regarding the contents of the vehicles coming from Rwanda remains unsolved''. The paper quotes a member of Goma civil society as declaring that ''there are still doubts on the nature and true content of these vehicles''. According to the daily, ''well-advised observers think that the vehicles were indeed transporting weapons hidden by Rwandan authorities under dried grass''. LE PHARE comes up with another version of the story, indicating that the vehicles contained ''neither weapons nor Paul Kagame's troops, according to Monuc's finding''. LE PHARE concludes in this regard that ''the Congolese give the impression of having such frayed nerves that the day RPA will indeed attack, they may find no resistance as happened previously''.
Other incidents are reported in Lemera, a district located 50 km away from Bukavu, where, according to LE PALMARES, ''reliable sources confirm the occupation of the district by the Rwandan rebels of the FDLR''. The occupation of Lemera by the elements of the FDLR has caused the displacement of about 24,700 people, reports the paper, which asks: ''in the face of such humiliations caused by the Rwandan's rebels, what kind of retaliation could we expect from our armed forces'''.
''Despite the cacophony in the East, the Vice-president for Political, Defence and Security matters, Azarias Ruberwa, and Mr. Barry for Monuc discussed the electoral calendar last Tuesday'', reports L'AVENIR. ''The talks between these two personalities were largely focused on four main points: the stormy relations between the DRC and Rwanda, the presence of Interahamwe on the Congolese soil and the ongoing situation in the Eastern DRC'', indicates the paper.
On the same subject, LE PALMARES indicates that Joseph Kabila has played the anticipation game and escaped the CIAT ultimatum. The paper refers to ''the skill with which the head of State has handled this issue''. As a matter of fact, ''to prevent the CIAT from effectively using its power in this banana-growing country, the Head of State has gone ahead of the CIAT's deadline by leading its members to believe that a solution was being found to the different stumbling blocks in the Territorial Administration's dossier''. That is to ''avoid an over interference ' by the Ciat ' which could have humiliated the national institutions''', says the paper.
Furthermore, FORUM DES AS brings out a ''malaise'' within the presidential space following the ''controversial statements made by Vice-president Azarias Ruberwa regarding the incursion of Rwandan troops into the DRC''. According to this paper, Mr. Ruberwa is confronted with the disproval of his colleagues in the presidential space. ''If the Head of State has made no comment on this subject, the three other Vice-presidents have each, directly or through their aids or political organisations, expressed their discontent'', reports the paper, noting that the ''general outcry'' does not allow the members of the presidential space to meet serenely.
LA REFERENCE PLUS announces, for its part, that this Friday cabinet meeting is to examine the Ituri dossier, especially the preparations for the meeting of chiefs of armed groups. According to this paper, ''the Friday's cabinet meeting should prepare the issues to be addressed by the warlords from the Eastern part of the country who continue to be an obstacle to the ongoing process in the DRC''. The paper hopes that ''the government will now issue clear guidelines to the warlords in order to pull the Ituri region out of the cycle of violence''.
L'OBSERVATEUR referring to the Goma incidents, highlights that ''the mystery regarding the contents of the vehicles coming from Rwanda remains unsolved''. The paper quotes a member of Goma civil society as declaring that ''there are still doubts on the nature and true content of these vehicles''. According to the daily, ''well-advised observers think that the vehicles were indeed transporting weapons hidden by Rwandan authorities under dried grass''. LE PHARE comes up with another version of the story, indicating that the vehicles contained ''neither weapons nor Paul Kagame's troops, according to Monuc's finding''. LE PHARE concludes in this regard that ''the Congolese give the impression of having such frayed nerves that the day RPA will indeed attack, they may find no resistance as happened previously''.
Other incidents are reported in Lemera, a district located 50 km away from Bukavu, where, according to LE PALMARES, ''reliable sources confirm the occupation of the district by the Rwandan rebels of the FDLR''. The occupation of Lemera by the elements of the FDLR has caused the displacement of about 24,700 people, reports the paper, which asks: ''in the face of such humiliations caused by the Rwandan's rebels, what kind of retaliation could we expect from our armed forces'''.
''Despite the cacophony in the East, the Vice-president for Political, Defence and Security matters, Azarias Ruberwa, and Mr. Barry for Monuc discussed the electoral calendar last Tuesday'', reports L'AVENIR. ''The talks between these two personalities were largely focused on four main points: the stormy relations between the DRC and Rwanda, the presence of Interahamwe on the Congolese soil and the ongoing situation in the Eastern DRC'', indicates the paper.
