UN
United Nations Peacekeeping
10 Mar
2009
Press Review of 11 November 2005
The delegation of the UN Security Council's tour to the Great Lakes region, led by Ambassador Jean Marc de la Sablière, is the major news in today's local press.
The delegation of the UN Security Council on a mission to the Great Lakes region completed its trip by Dar es Salam, the capital of Tanzania. In five days, 'the delegation has reviewed the work achieved by the UN Peacekeeping Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the post-transition in Burundi and further assessed the chances for the restoration of peace and a smooth democratisation process in the great lakes region,' points out Le Potentiel. With respect to the DR Congo, particularly, 'they called on President Paul Kagamé to contribute positively to peace in DRC during and after the electoral period, by refraining from issuing threats of military intervention or any other likely to destabilize the peace process staged in DRC (') to Ugandan President [Yoweri Museveni] they urged him to work for the promotion of peace in the region,' informs La Tempête des Tropiques. In other words, 'the delegation of the UN Security Council seriously warned Presidents Paul Kagamé and Museveni who have been fuelling interethnic conflicts and violence in the Kivu province and the district of Ituri, in the eastern part of DRC, even after the transition government and institutions were put in place in Kinshasa,' recalls La Tempête des Tropiques. This is an indication that 'the Congolese people have finally been heeded, after so many sufferings,' says Le Palmarès, further indicating, 'DRC current problems cannot be solved without a positive contribution of its neighbours.' However that may be, for the Congolese people, 'there is no alternative to the all-inclusive elections to be held by 30 June 2006 ('). The scene is set. The count down for the end of the transition has effectively begun ' it's a truce for dreams and blackmailing,' warns Le Potentiel.
This being clear, 'the next step is the most interesting following what was described by everybody as the last tour by the UN Security Council to the Great Lakes region,' notes Le Potentiel. It would be hard to believe that after 'issuing yellow cards to all the countries, the members of the UN body continue taking pleasure in incertitude. Time is up for follow-ups of injunctions and sanctions taken,' says Le Potentiel. Unfortunately, 'there are leaders in the Great Lakes region who have their own perception of peace, war and obviously neighbourliness. Peace necessarily goes along with war; it is a propitious framework for them to attain their goals,' explains L'Observateur in its editorial 'Great Lakes: peace goes together with war.'
DRC electoral process is now following its normal course even if 'as of 8 November 2005, over 200 centers have not been opened yet [in Bandundu province] and most of the kits deployed in the centers are old and subject to frequent breakdowns,' reports L'Avenir. Owing to such difficulties, only '800,000 voters have been registered to date of the 3,000,000 expected by the Independent Electoral Commission, over a population estimated at 9,000,000 people,' says L'Observateur. That is why, 'Bandundu governor [requests] an extension of the registration operations,' informs L'Avenir.
In principle 'the identification and registration operations [which began on 20 June 2005] must end on 13 November 2005 across the DRC territory,' warns Le Potentiel, wondering on the possibility of 'a special extension to allow those who were opposed to electoral process and late comers to register.' A possibility to envisage insofar as 'no one must exclude anyone nor themselves from the ongoing process,' highlights Le Potentiel, echoing Ambassador Jean Marc de la Sablière, during the visit by the delegation of the UN Security Council to Kinshasa. 'This is not the first time, the IEC would have extended the operations ('). They could have initially completed the operations on 31 October 2005,' notes this publication.
This being clear, 'the next step is the most interesting following what was described by everybody as the last tour by the UN Security Council to the Great Lakes region,' notes Le Potentiel. It would be hard to believe that after 'issuing yellow cards to all the countries, the members of the UN body continue taking pleasure in incertitude. Time is up for follow-ups of injunctions and sanctions taken,' says Le Potentiel. Unfortunately, 'there are leaders in the Great Lakes region who have their own perception of peace, war and obviously neighbourliness. Peace necessarily goes along with war; it is a propitious framework for them to attain their goals,' explains L'Observateur in its editorial 'Great Lakes: peace goes together with war.'
DRC electoral process is now following its normal course even if 'as of 8 November 2005, over 200 centers have not been opened yet [in Bandundu province] and most of the kits deployed in the centers are old and subject to frequent breakdowns,' reports L'Avenir. Owing to such difficulties, only '800,000 voters have been registered to date of the 3,000,000 expected by the Independent Electoral Commission, over a population estimated at 9,000,000 people,' says L'Observateur. That is why, 'Bandundu governor [requests] an extension of the registration operations,' informs L'Avenir.
In principle 'the identification and registration operations [which began on 20 June 2005] must end on 13 November 2005 across the DRC territory,' warns Le Potentiel, wondering on the possibility of 'a special extension to allow those who were opposed to electoral process and late comers to register.' A possibility to envisage insofar as 'no one must exclude anyone nor themselves from the ongoing process,' highlights Le Potentiel, echoing Ambassador Jean Marc de la Sablière, during the visit by the delegation of the UN Security Council to Kinshasa. 'This is not the first time, the IEC would have extended the operations ('). They could have initially completed the operations on 31 October 2005,' notes this publication.
