UN
United Nations Peacekeeping
4 Mar
2009
Press Review
The administrative staff of the transitional Parliament's strike since yesterday having paralyzed Parliament and Senate's activities is the major headlines in today's local press. The press also analyzes the consequences of the stoppage.
Parliament's activities are paralyzed, headlines Le Potentiel, explaining that Parliament's administrative staff members are claiming their nearly six month-salary arrears, ''on top of the arrears due to them by ACL-PT, the parliament under the late President Kabila amounting to 800 million Congolese francs.'' As a result: the ''plenary sessions cannot be held until further notice''.
L'Avenir considers that the strike is a hard blow on the transition. The paper recalls that the lower chamber of the Parliament, following the example of the Upper chamber, is sitting in an extraordinary plenary session to address the pending issues. The paper points out that '' any delay in the Parliament would obviously affect the transitional program'' since, it explains, the Parliament must examine, among other things, the organic laws on the democratic institutions, mainly the independent electoral Commission.'' In the absence of such a law, no census can be envisaged; Without the census, no elections could be envisaged and without the elections, the transition will not come to an end'', writes the paper insistently calling upon the Government to sort out the issue at hand, '' to prove that it has no intention to unnecessarily extend the transition beyond the limit''.
Agreeing wholeheartedly with it, La Référence Plus notes that the Senate and Parliament administrative staff member's strike would impact negatively on the Parliament activities whose extraordinary session due to examine, besides the issues relating to the law on the political parties and the law on the amnesty, the organic bills on the institutions to support the democracy. Both chambers must as well examine the 2004 budget proposal and the bills on the decentralization and the army, indicates the paper noting however that ''the Parliament has 8 days to sort out the claim of the administrative staff members'', in accordance with the notice given clearly stating that ''if within eight days the issue on the six month-salary arrears were not sorted out, the parliament staff members would go on strike and that would be the first time in the history of the legislative institution in DRC'', says the paper.
Simultaneously, a Belgian parliamentarian delegation was advocating the respect for the Transitional calendar, announces Le Phare. The Belgian parliament's delegation that concluded its visit to the DRC yesterday pledged its ''support to the Sun City's calendar for the elections'' and demanded '' the respect for the transition period''.
The paper also mentions the attack against a UN helicopter in Ituri. Referring to those who organized the attack, L'Observateur says a finger has been pointed at the FNI militias and William Swing, the Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary General for the DRC, summoned the FNI leader, Floribert Ndjabu Ngabu in Kinshasa, to clearly tell him that the attack against the UN helicopter was ''directed against the international community, the population and the peace process''. Le Phare, in turn, writes Swing blames a warlord. The paper further quotes Monuc Chief as pledging, '' we will use all the necessary means in our possession to protect the populations, our aircraft, helicopters and troops''.
It is in this context that La Tempête des Tropiques announces that Monuc patrol came under fire at Drodro. The helicopter accompanying the patrol returned fire. No casualty was reported on Monuc side, reports the paper, clearly indicating that Drodro is a territory under the control of the Union des Patriotes Congolais led by Thomas Lubanga.
Le Phare finally discloses that the 79 MONUC staff members made redundant have written to Joseph Kabila and Kofi Annan to request compensation for the harm caused by Monuc. In a memorandum addressed to the Congolese Head of State and to the United Nations Secretary-General, ''the former staff members recount the working conditions within Monuc'', says the paper, which quotes the writers of the memo as indicating that ''they were exploited'' by Monuc
L'Avenir considers that the strike is a hard blow on the transition. The paper recalls that the lower chamber of the Parliament, following the example of the Upper chamber, is sitting in an extraordinary plenary session to address the pending issues. The paper points out that '' any delay in the Parliament would obviously affect the transitional program'' since, it explains, the Parliament must examine, among other things, the organic laws on the democratic institutions, mainly the independent electoral Commission.'' In the absence of such a law, no census can be envisaged; Without the census, no elections could be envisaged and without the elections, the transition will not come to an end'', writes the paper insistently calling upon the Government to sort out the issue at hand, '' to prove that it has no intention to unnecessarily extend the transition beyond the limit''.
Agreeing wholeheartedly with it, La Référence Plus notes that the Senate and Parliament administrative staff member's strike would impact negatively on the Parliament activities whose extraordinary session due to examine, besides the issues relating to the law on the political parties and the law on the amnesty, the organic bills on the institutions to support the democracy. Both chambers must as well examine the 2004 budget proposal and the bills on the decentralization and the army, indicates the paper noting however that ''the Parliament has 8 days to sort out the claim of the administrative staff members'', in accordance with the notice given clearly stating that ''if within eight days the issue on the six month-salary arrears were not sorted out, the parliament staff members would go on strike and that would be the first time in the history of the legislative institution in DRC'', says the paper.
Simultaneously, a Belgian parliamentarian delegation was advocating the respect for the Transitional calendar, announces Le Phare. The Belgian parliament's delegation that concluded its visit to the DRC yesterday pledged its ''support to the Sun City's calendar for the elections'' and demanded '' the respect for the transition period''.
The paper also mentions the attack against a UN helicopter in Ituri. Referring to those who organized the attack, L'Observateur says a finger has been pointed at the FNI militias and William Swing, the Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary General for the DRC, summoned the FNI leader, Floribert Ndjabu Ngabu in Kinshasa, to clearly tell him that the attack against the UN helicopter was ''directed against the international community, the population and the peace process''. Le Phare, in turn, writes Swing blames a warlord. The paper further quotes Monuc Chief as pledging, '' we will use all the necessary means in our possession to protect the populations, our aircraft, helicopters and troops''.
It is in this context that La Tempête des Tropiques announces that Monuc patrol came under fire at Drodro. The helicopter accompanying the patrol returned fire. No casualty was reported on Monuc side, reports the paper, clearly indicating that Drodro is a territory under the control of the Union des Patriotes Congolais led by Thomas Lubanga.
Le Phare finally discloses that the 79 MONUC staff members made redundant have written to Joseph Kabila and Kofi Annan to request compensation for the harm caused by Monuc. In a memorandum addressed to the Congolese Head of State and to the United Nations Secretary-General, ''the former staff members recount the working conditions within Monuc'', says the paper, which quotes the writers of the memo as indicating that ''they were exploited'' by Monuc
