UN
United Nations Peacekeeping
4 Mar
2009
Press Review
Announcing the cabinet meeting to be chaired by President Joseph Kabila today, the Congolese press once again alerts people to the rising tension in the presidential circle. It also raises the Civil Society's negotiations in view of the upcoming appointments within the territorial administration and the report on the political situation submitted by the Congolese Bishops to the United Nations Secretary-General.
« Joseph Kabila was due to preside a cabinet meeting this morning that was highly anticipated by the analysts of the Congolese political situation», announces Le Phare. « Highly anticipated firstly due to the tensions that have been shaking the Government for over three weeks on one hand, and on the other, the Head of State's pledge to have the Government resolutely get back to work», says the paper, adding: « We will then ascertain whether Joseph Kabila has been able to calm the situation and bring together Vice-President Jean-Pierre Bemba and Joseph Olenghankoy. This will be known today from the attitudes of Vice-President Jean-Pierre Bemba and the MLC ministers when in the presence of the FONUS inflexible leader (Joseph Olenghankoy), the minister of Transport and Communication. »
« The analysts will also be closely watching Arthur Z'Ahidi Ngoma's mood; the Vice-President is said to have conducted useless negotiations with the civil servants and workers' union. Blocked by ECOFIN (the Economic and Finance Commission), the cabinet meeting will give him the opportunity to defend his actions for which he was duly mandated, while in the meantime, the ministers hold their breath», concludes the paper.
A new tension is inevitable, according to Le Palmarès. « During the presidential actors' meeting, Jean-Pierre Bemba rejected Joseph Kabila's and Arthur Z'Ahidi Ngoma's advice » regarding the Olenghankoy dossier, indicates the paper.
« From well-informed sources, yesterday's meeting came to a deadlock and was interrupted by outbursts which successfully buried the illusion of serenity displayed by the actors in the presidential circle. The root cause of the charivari is Jean-Pierre Bemba's decision to hang on to ''Olenghankoy's dossier'' indefinitely. The MLC leader is intransigent; MLC ministers including himself would walk out of the meeting should Minister Olenghankoy be allowed into the meeting hall. With such a stance, Jean-Pierre Bemba's view is opposed to those of the Head of State and Arthur Z'Ahidi Ngoma who, addressing this subject, declared the dossier closed», adds Le Palmarès.
As if to prevent a new crisis within the Government and grassroots organisations, the Civil Society component wanted to « make sure on Monday that the clauses of the All-inclusive Agreement would be respected in appointing the heads of the territorial administration, diplomatic missions and public firms and prevent that most of the (posts) be snapped up by the former belligerents», indicates L'Avenir. « During their talks with Azarias Ruberwa, the Civil Society demanded its piece of the pie and were given every assurance on behalf of the DRC Government in this regard. According to the head of the Civil Society delegation, Vice-President Ruberwa took all the plat-form's concerns into consideration».
The Congolese Catholic Bishops also voiced their concerns to the United Nations Secretary-General. La Tempête des Tropiques publishes the document signed by 14 Congolese archbishops which addressed to Kofi Annan; « a relevant analysis of the dramatic plight into which are thrown 60 million people; the document clearly denounces the predators of the Congolese economy and proposes a way-out both at the national and the sub-regional levels», says the paper.
According to the Congolese catholic prelates: « In spite of agreements and rapproche between the Government and belligerents, we deplore continuing fighting and plundering in the Eastern DRC. In our opinion, it appears obvious that the countries that aggressed the DRC are on the payroll of foreign powers, which provide them with political, financial and military support... »
« To restore peace to the DRC and the sub-region, stresses the document, the DRC National Episcopal Conference feels that an official signing of an end-of-war declaration is essential. The declaration should provide for sanctions against any person or movement that would attempt to re-launch hostilities. The sanctions shall include disqualification from the electoral process, destruction (of the movement's) military logistics base, exclusion of the political movement having violated the agreement, as well as legal prosecutions against the movement leaders by the International Criminal Court. »
« The analysts will also be closely watching Arthur Z'Ahidi Ngoma's mood; the Vice-President is said to have conducted useless negotiations with the civil servants and workers' union. Blocked by ECOFIN (the Economic and Finance Commission), the cabinet meeting will give him the opportunity to defend his actions for which he was duly mandated, while in the meantime, the ministers hold their breath», concludes the paper.
A new tension is inevitable, according to Le Palmarès. « During the presidential actors' meeting, Jean-Pierre Bemba rejected Joseph Kabila's and Arthur Z'Ahidi Ngoma's advice » regarding the Olenghankoy dossier, indicates the paper.
« From well-informed sources, yesterday's meeting came to a deadlock and was interrupted by outbursts which successfully buried the illusion of serenity displayed by the actors in the presidential circle. The root cause of the charivari is Jean-Pierre Bemba's decision to hang on to ''Olenghankoy's dossier'' indefinitely. The MLC leader is intransigent; MLC ministers including himself would walk out of the meeting should Minister Olenghankoy be allowed into the meeting hall. With such a stance, Jean-Pierre Bemba's view is opposed to those of the Head of State and Arthur Z'Ahidi Ngoma who, addressing this subject, declared the dossier closed», adds Le Palmarès.
As if to prevent a new crisis within the Government and grassroots organisations, the Civil Society component wanted to « make sure on Monday that the clauses of the All-inclusive Agreement would be respected in appointing the heads of the territorial administration, diplomatic missions and public firms and prevent that most of the (posts) be snapped up by the former belligerents», indicates L'Avenir. « During their talks with Azarias Ruberwa, the Civil Society demanded its piece of the pie and were given every assurance on behalf of the DRC Government in this regard. According to the head of the Civil Society delegation, Vice-President Ruberwa took all the plat-form's concerns into consideration».
The Congolese Catholic Bishops also voiced their concerns to the United Nations Secretary-General. La Tempête des Tropiques publishes the document signed by 14 Congolese archbishops which addressed to Kofi Annan; « a relevant analysis of the dramatic plight into which are thrown 60 million people; the document clearly denounces the predators of the Congolese economy and proposes a way-out both at the national and the sub-regional levels», says the paper.
According to the Congolese catholic prelates: « In spite of agreements and rapproche between the Government and belligerents, we deplore continuing fighting and plundering in the Eastern DRC. In our opinion, it appears obvious that the countries that aggressed the DRC are on the payroll of foreign powers, which provide them with political, financial and military support... »
« To restore peace to the DRC and the sub-region, stresses the document, the DRC National Episcopal Conference feels that an official signing of an end-of-war declaration is essential. The declaration should provide for sanctions against any person or movement that would attempt to re-launch hostilities. The sanctions shall include disqualification from the electoral process, destruction (of the movement's) military logistics base, exclusion of the political movement having violated the agreement, as well as legal prosecutions against the movement leaders by the International Criminal Court. »
