UN
United Nations Peacekeeping
6 Mar
2009
Press Review
Eastern DRC clashes and the electoral process to be discussed by CIAT meeting in New York make the major headlines of today's local papers in Kinshasa.
Walikale district, in southwestern part of north Kivu province is the scene of violent clashes, LA TEMPETE DES TROPIQUES says. At least 15 people are reported killed and 19 injured in the fighting pitting ''the Maï-Maï of the 14th, 15th and 16th brigades and the RCD component of the Congolese Armed Forces (FARDC)'', the paper further says, indicating that the advance of the 10th military region's troops towards the Hauts plateaux, Kalehe and Minova districts caused the displacement of between 100,000 and 150,000 people, ''men, women, children and old in restless wandering extremely precarious social and security conditions''. DRC Transition's Government has dispatched a delegation to Ngungu, Kalehe and Minova sites to assess the needs and conditions of the displaced persons, the paper says.
LE POTENTIEL reports that Congolese troops are tracking the insurgents who occupied Kirumba, Kashira, Malandja, Kazinga and Ndate villages. The insurgents are reportedly heading for Masisi where General Laurent Nkunda is said to have taken refuge after being dislodged from Minova. The paper also refers to ''consultations between South Kivu, North Kivu and Province Orientale commanders who should be prepared for all contingencies''. A ''full alert'' was raised for the rescue of the population in distress and control of the insurgents' movements. The same paper further reports that ''the Rwandan troops, deployed months ago along the border with the DRC have crossed the Rubicon by entering Masisi'to back General Nkunda''. Rwandan troops' infiltration into the DRC confirms ''Rwandan's bellicose intentions that it should destabilise the DRC at all costs''. Isn't this the early warning signs of a third war in eastern DRC', the paper wonders.
L'AVENIR says 'Rwandan troops have also infiltrated Kinshasa'. The paper charges the Congolese Banyamulenge of Tutsi origin with playing Kigali's game against the DRC. ''They have been trying hard by all means to bring their firearms into Kinshasa'', the paper writes, indicating that about fifty Rwandan soldiers arrived in Kinshasa last week.
DRC electoral process will be discussed by the International Community tasked to support the DRC Transition 'CIAT, French acronym' in New York, LE PHARE reports, highlighting that the meeting comes in at the right moment when ''the Government and Independent Electoral Commission are playing an unclear game''. The paper believes that the meeting will seize the opportunity to assess the transition's process. This is indicative of the International Community's interest to have ''the Transition accelerated'', and above all, to make the electoral process ''usher in the Third Republic''. The paper finds the move judicious insofar as ''all the parameters have shown that left on their own, the Congolese leadership would never be able to agree and hold any talks and worse, they will not organise, in all confidence and serenity, the free and transparent elections''.
Going back over the elections, LE PHARE quotes the Independent Electoral Commission as ''disputing the validity of a Kofi Annan's statement'' in his third special report on the UN Mission in the DRC published on 16 August and currently examined by the UN Security Council. The UN Secretary General wrote in point 11 of the report ''the Independent Electoral Commission came up with a budget of about 285 millions for the elections, which was adopted in May 2004. The budget did not however include every aspect of the logistic support nor civic education campaign, most probably due to lack of competence from the Commission tasked to assess the needs''. Reacting to the declaration, professor Chirume Mendo, a CEI expert says that ''Kofi Annan is not right'', and highlights that ''CEI does have competent staff''.
President Joseph Kabila is reportedly preparing his personal cabinet's reshuffle to end the ''sour atmosphere'' prevailing in it with ''the traditional disputes between the strictly speaking cabinet and the President's personal staff'' on one hand, and on the other, ''tense relations between the Cabinet Director and his two deputies''.
L'OBSERVATEUR quotes MONUC Spokesman, Mamadou Bah, as declaring that William Swing, the Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General for the DRC, will be part of the team due to visit the training centre of the Protection Unit of the Transition's Institutions on Saturday 18 September. The paper recalls that MONUC Civpol is taking an active part in the training of the Congolese national police by providing technical and legal assistance such as the framing of legal texts.
LE POTENTIEL reports that Congolese troops are tracking the insurgents who occupied Kirumba, Kashira, Malandja, Kazinga and Ndate villages. The insurgents are reportedly heading for Masisi where General Laurent Nkunda is said to have taken refuge after being dislodged from Minova. The paper also refers to ''consultations between South Kivu, North Kivu and Province Orientale commanders who should be prepared for all contingencies''. A ''full alert'' was raised for the rescue of the population in distress and control of the insurgents' movements. The same paper further reports that ''the Rwandan troops, deployed months ago along the border with the DRC have crossed the Rubicon by entering Masisi'to back General Nkunda''. Rwandan troops' infiltration into the DRC confirms ''Rwandan's bellicose intentions that it should destabilise the DRC at all costs''. Isn't this the early warning signs of a third war in eastern DRC', the paper wonders.
L'AVENIR says 'Rwandan troops have also infiltrated Kinshasa'. The paper charges the Congolese Banyamulenge of Tutsi origin with playing Kigali's game against the DRC. ''They have been trying hard by all means to bring their firearms into Kinshasa'', the paper writes, indicating that about fifty Rwandan soldiers arrived in Kinshasa last week.
DRC electoral process will be discussed by the International Community tasked to support the DRC Transition 'CIAT, French acronym' in New York, LE PHARE reports, highlighting that the meeting comes in at the right moment when ''the Government and Independent Electoral Commission are playing an unclear game''. The paper believes that the meeting will seize the opportunity to assess the transition's process. This is indicative of the International Community's interest to have ''the Transition accelerated'', and above all, to make the electoral process ''usher in the Third Republic''. The paper finds the move judicious insofar as ''all the parameters have shown that left on their own, the Congolese leadership would never be able to agree and hold any talks and worse, they will not organise, in all confidence and serenity, the free and transparent elections''.
Going back over the elections, LE PHARE quotes the Independent Electoral Commission as ''disputing the validity of a Kofi Annan's statement'' in his third special report on the UN Mission in the DRC published on 16 August and currently examined by the UN Security Council. The UN Secretary General wrote in point 11 of the report ''the Independent Electoral Commission came up with a budget of about 285 millions for the elections, which was adopted in May 2004. The budget did not however include every aspect of the logistic support nor civic education campaign, most probably due to lack of competence from the Commission tasked to assess the needs''. Reacting to the declaration, professor Chirume Mendo, a CEI expert says that ''Kofi Annan is not right'', and highlights that ''CEI does have competent staff''.
President Joseph Kabila is reportedly preparing his personal cabinet's reshuffle to end the ''sour atmosphere'' prevailing in it with ''the traditional disputes between the strictly speaking cabinet and the President's personal staff'' on one hand, and on the other, ''tense relations between the Cabinet Director and his two deputies''.
L'OBSERVATEUR quotes MONUC Spokesman, Mamadou Bah, as declaring that William Swing, the Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General for the DRC, will be part of the team due to visit the training centre of the Protection Unit of the Transition's Institutions on Saturday 18 September. The paper recalls that MONUC Civpol is taking an active part in the training of the Congolese national police by providing technical and legal assistance such as the framing of legal texts.
