UN
United Nations Peacekeeping
9 Mar
2009
Press Review 18 January 2005
Most of today's local papers comment on the DRC Transition's process and elections.
Analysing the current situation with respect to the 30 June 2005, LE POTENTIEL brings up three possible scenarios: firstly, should the elections effectively taken place by 30 June 2005 in which case ''huge efforts would have to be made during the remaining six months for the elections to take place''; secondly, should the transition be prolonged and; thirdly, should the government resign and a team of technocrats take over, the paper says, further recalling Joseph Kabila's declaration that ''if elections are not held by 30 June, the government should resign''. The paper fears a chaos that could result from a locally or internationally masterminded putsch. The paper does not either rule out the possibility that on 30 June 2005, the DRC be placed under UN administrative supervision.
Under the title: Transition: They are all opposed to the elections, LE PHARE doubts the stakeholders' willingness to hold the elections, in light of the ''repeated political crises since the country engaged in the transition period''. The paper refers to the most recent crisis as being ''the unusual squabbling'' between President Joseph Kabila and Vice-president Jean-Pierre Bemba's parties. The paper refers to the squabbling between PPRD and MLC as ''a digression aimed to block the electoral process and to secure an extension of the transition period''.
L'AVENIR believes it knows the truth about Jean-Pierre Bemba's ''restlessness'', indicating that the MLC leader is seriously cornered. The paper also higgledy-piggledy echoes the complaint of the central African women and the international human rights federation (Fidh) against MLC troops following their acts of rapes and plundering. It further recalls that Jean-Pierre Bemba has a burning dossier with the International Criminal Court following its acts of cannibalism and massacres described as crimes against humanity. L'AVENIR believes that ''MLC is trying to pressure the international community to use all its influence on ICC and Fidh in order to minimise the dossier in exchange of which it would withdraw its threat to quit the transition''.
''The Congolese transition got off on a bad foot'', LA REFERENCE PLUS says, alluding to the former Minister of Transport, Joseph Olengankoy's revelations on President Kabila. The paper says the sacked Minister of Transport brought up twenty charges against president Kabila and his party in a press conference held in Kinshasa. He is further quoted by the paper as declaring that everything will come to pass: ''accumulation of wealth, mismanagement, customs fraud/evasion, connivance with Rwandan aggressors, embezzlement'''.
LA PALMARES which comments on the same issue, indicates if the ''spicy revelations'' made by Joseph Olengankoy were proven true, ''we can assume that the country is definitely dead and awaiting its decomposition''. The paper however highlights that the Minister of Transports did not deem useful at this stage to produce the written evidence which is likely ''to put a damper on the scathing remarks'', the paper writes.
In another development, L'OBSERVATEUR comments on the UN Secretary-General's 16th report of on MONUC, adding that the latter's main objective for 2005 is the holding elections for the DRC stability and lasting peace. In this respect, MONUC looks to achieve three specific objectives on two fronts: ''notably bases for the after transition's stability, to neutralise the troublemakers conjointly with the government and the international community and finally, to support the organisation of the elections''.
Under the title: Transition: They are all opposed to the elections, LE PHARE doubts the stakeholders' willingness to hold the elections, in light of the ''repeated political crises since the country engaged in the transition period''. The paper refers to the most recent crisis as being ''the unusual squabbling'' between President Joseph Kabila and Vice-president Jean-Pierre Bemba's parties. The paper refers to the squabbling between PPRD and MLC as ''a digression aimed to block the electoral process and to secure an extension of the transition period''.
L'AVENIR believes it knows the truth about Jean-Pierre Bemba's ''restlessness'', indicating that the MLC leader is seriously cornered. The paper also higgledy-piggledy echoes the complaint of the central African women and the international human rights federation (Fidh) against MLC troops following their acts of rapes and plundering. It further recalls that Jean-Pierre Bemba has a burning dossier with the International Criminal Court following its acts of cannibalism and massacres described as crimes against humanity. L'AVENIR believes that ''MLC is trying to pressure the international community to use all its influence on ICC and Fidh in order to minimise the dossier in exchange of which it would withdraw its threat to quit the transition''.
''The Congolese transition got off on a bad foot'', LA REFERENCE PLUS says, alluding to the former Minister of Transport, Joseph Olengankoy's revelations on President Kabila. The paper says the sacked Minister of Transport brought up twenty charges against president Kabila and his party in a press conference held in Kinshasa. He is further quoted by the paper as declaring that everything will come to pass: ''accumulation of wealth, mismanagement, customs fraud/evasion, connivance with Rwandan aggressors, embezzlement'''.
LA PALMARES which comments on the same issue, indicates if the ''spicy revelations'' made by Joseph Olengankoy were proven true, ''we can assume that the country is definitely dead and awaiting its decomposition''. The paper however highlights that the Minister of Transports did not deem useful at this stage to produce the written evidence which is likely ''to put a damper on the scathing remarks'', the paper writes.
In another development, L'OBSERVATEUR comments on the UN Secretary-General's 16th report of on MONUC, adding that the latter's main objective for 2005 is the holding elections for the DRC stability and lasting peace. In this respect, MONUC looks to achieve three specific objectives on two fronts: ''notably bases for the after transition's stability, to neutralise the troublemakers conjointly with the government and the international community and finally, to support the organisation of the elections''.
