UN
United Nations Peacekeeping
5 Mar
2009
Press Review
Most of today's local papers in Kinshasa express indignation over the mass expulsion of Congolese from Angola, accompanied by gross human rights abuses.
During MONUC's weekly news conference last Wednesday, Gilbert Gitelman, the head of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), debriefed the press on the situation of the Congolese expelled from Angola, reports LE PHARE. Quoting the UN senior civil servant, the paper indicates that during the last ten days, 65,000 Congolese have been repatriated to the DRC as part of Angolan operations aimed to expel foreign diamond traffickers from Angola. Altogether, the UN estimates the number of the Congolese expelled both in December 2003 and January 2004 to be 100,000 the paper says, highlighting that the conditions of the expulsions give cause for serious concerns. In a press brief article, the paper quotes OCHA's chief of operations as declaring « women were forced by Angolan police force to throw their children into the river to have their own lives spared».
L'AVENIR stresses with further details on the inhuman treatment inflicted on the Congolese: 'The Congolese were searched through to see whether they did not hide some carats of diamond in their luggage. The children were purged to get gems they could have swallowed. What is worst, women were raped and manhandled'. The paper indicates that those are gross human rights abuses that shocked UN humanitarian agencies.
FORUM DES AS says that the United Nations Deputy High Commissioner for Refugees (HCR), Ms Wendy Chamberlin, declared herself outraged by the destitution of the Congolese refugees returning from Angola'. Arriving in Kinshasa last Sunday, she visited the Goma and Kahemba districts in Bandundu, where the Congolese expelled from Angola are cantoned. 'My delegation travelled to Kahemba, on the border between DRC and Angola'we met several Congolese returning from Angola, 99% of whom are young and unaccompanied. They are stuck in Kahemba and need transport to return home', declared Ms Chamberlin indicating that the HCR family was mobilising itself to go to the refugees' rescue.
LA REFERENCE PLUS, in turn, echoes the indignation of the UN Under-Secretary for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief, Jan Egeland, who declared earlier this week that 'these mass and hasty expulsions of the Congolese from Angola could prepare the ground for a humanitarian crisis'. Mr. Egeland also declared himself preoccupied by the very nature of the expulsions: 'a repatriation of immigrants should not affect their physical safety nor dignity', notes the paper.
Shocked by the brutal expulsion of the Congolese, the Congolese President and Government dispatched the Ministers of the Interior and of Foreign Affairs to Luanda to explore means and ways to stop the tragedy faced by the Congolese victims. FORUM DES AS indicates that Théophile Mbemba and Antoine Ghonda's visit led to a truce, which the Angolan authorities committed themselves to observe after the brutal expulsion of the Congolese living in the diamondiferous zones.
During their visit to Angola, the Congolese ministers explained to Angolan authorities that the DRC was unable to accommodate such a high number of returnees in such a short period of time, reports LA REFERENCE PLUS, quoting the Minister of Interior, Theophile Mbemba as declaring that the DRC did not have the necessary logistic conditions to accommodate those repatriated from Angola. This position has been strongly criticised by LE PALMARES, which says that the Congolese Government was humiliated in Luanda since they had to solicit a truce from Angola. The paper wonders how a responsible government can abdicate its responsibilities that is, to ensure the security of its people and their properties. 'When the Congolese were expecting a strong signal in reaction to the tragedy faced by their compatriots, the Minister of Interior, Théophile Mbemba, rather grovelled', writes the paper, adding that the DRC has turned into a 'human reptiles' country' that would only grovel: 'grovelling to Kagame, grovelling to Sassou, grovelling to Dos Santos, grovelling to the shade''
MONUC initiated a verification operation from the DRC following the allegations on the armed incursions by the FDLR elements into Rwanda from the DRC, reports LA TEMPETE DES TROPIQUES, echoing a UN Mission communiqué. 'MONUC immediately ordered its Kivu Brigade to redouble vigilance and step up patrols', says the paper, adding that for the UN mission, if these incursions were confirmed, they would constitute a serious threat on the ongoing transitional process in DRC. In the same development, LE PHARE writes, ' MONUC appealed to the governments of both countries to face up to their respective responsibilities concerning the control over their territory and borders'. The paper hails MONUC's reaction, which, it says, confirms its arbitration and policing roles as mandated by the International Community.
L'AVENIR stresses with further details on the inhuman treatment inflicted on the Congolese: 'The Congolese were searched through to see whether they did not hide some carats of diamond in their luggage. The children were purged to get gems they could have swallowed. What is worst, women were raped and manhandled'. The paper indicates that those are gross human rights abuses that shocked UN humanitarian agencies.
FORUM DES AS says that the United Nations Deputy High Commissioner for Refugees (HCR), Ms Wendy Chamberlin, declared herself outraged by the destitution of the Congolese refugees returning from Angola'. Arriving in Kinshasa last Sunday, she visited the Goma and Kahemba districts in Bandundu, where the Congolese expelled from Angola are cantoned. 'My delegation travelled to Kahemba, on the border between DRC and Angola'we met several Congolese returning from Angola, 99% of whom are young and unaccompanied. They are stuck in Kahemba and need transport to return home', declared Ms Chamberlin indicating that the HCR family was mobilising itself to go to the refugees' rescue.
LA REFERENCE PLUS, in turn, echoes the indignation of the UN Under-Secretary for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief, Jan Egeland, who declared earlier this week that 'these mass and hasty expulsions of the Congolese from Angola could prepare the ground for a humanitarian crisis'. Mr. Egeland also declared himself preoccupied by the very nature of the expulsions: 'a repatriation of immigrants should not affect their physical safety nor dignity', notes the paper.
Shocked by the brutal expulsion of the Congolese, the Congolese President and Government dispatched the Ministers of the Interior and of Foreign Affairs to Luanda to explore means and ways to stop the tragedy faced by the Congolese victims. FORUM DES AS indicates that Théophile Mbemba and Antoine Ghonda's visit led to a truce, which the Angolan authorities committed themselves to observe after the brutal expulsion of the Congolese living in the diamondiferous zones.
During their visit to Angola, the Congolese ministers explained to Angolan authorities that the DRC was unable to accommodate such a high number of returnees in such a short period of time, reports LA REFERENCE PLUS, quoting the Minister of Interior, Theophile Mbemba as declaring that the DRC did not have the necessary logistic conditions to accommodate those repatriated from Angola. This position has been strongly criticised by LE PALMARES, which says that the Congolese Government was humiliated in Luanda since they had to solicit a truce from Angola. The paper wonders how a responsible government can abdicate its responsibilities that is, to ensure the security of its people and their properties. 'When the Congolese were expecting a strong signal in reaction to the tragedy faced by their compatriots, the Minister of Interior, Théophile Mbemba, rather grovelled', writes the paper, adding that the DRC has turned into a 'human reptiles' country' that would only grovel: 'grovelling to Kagame, grovelling to Sassou, grovelling to Dos Santos, grovelling to the shade''
MONUC initiated a verification operation from the DRC following the allegations on the armed incursions by the FDLR elements into Rwanda from the DRC, reports LA TEMPETE DES TROPIQUES, echoing a UN Mission communiqué. 'MONUC immediately ordered its Kivu Brigade to redouble vigilance and step up patrols', says the paper, adding that for the UN mission, if these incursions were confirmed, they would constitute a serious threat on the ongoing transitional process in DRC. In the same development, LE PHARE writes, ' MONUC appealed to the governments of both countries to face up to their respective responsibilities concerning the control over their territory and borders'. The paper hails MONUC's reaction, which, it says, confirms its arbitration and policing roles as mandated by the International Community.
