MONUC Press Review - 11 December 2006

Much of Today's Kinshasa press is related to continuing fighting in the eastern DRC between men loyal to dissident general Laurent Nkunda and regular army troops.

Le Potentiel worries that the renegade general "Nkunda could destabilise the AMP," Joseph Kabila's coalition with a majority in the National Assembly. "In his stronghold and environs of Masisi, Nkundabatware, who went into dissidence in 2004, continues to give the FARDC [regular army] a headache, while officials in Kinshasa remain divided on how to neutralise this former FARDC officer. The AMP favours the use of force while [Vice President Azarias Ruberwa's] RCD party pleads for a negotiated settlement," Le Potentiel notes. The paper quotes Ruberwa as saying: "Laurent Nkunda's case can only be resolved through a political dialogue between the chief of the insurgents and the government in Kinshasa."

This view is not shared by Vice President Arthur Z'ahidi Ngoma whom Form des As quotes as saying: "Now that they propose to us to negotiate with Nkunda, what do want to give him? A piece of Congolese territory?" "Nkunda is a Rwandan and he must be arrested (...) By a 2004 government decision, Laurent Nkunda, was stripped of his rank of general within the FARDC and ordered to be arrested," Z'ahidi Ngoma is quoted further.

While fighting continues in the eastern DRC between Nkunda's men and regular troops, "Ruberwa, who should encourage the FARDC, accuses the head of state of wanting to resolve this issue through the use of arms," L'Avenir writes. Claiming that no one would want to "keep negotiating with a man who faces an international arrest warrant and who takes every opportunity to defy the Congolese State," the paper accuses "Azarias Ruberwa of trying to use Nkunda as a blackmailing tool to get ministerial posts".

In story related to the national legislative body and headlined "[Olivier] Kamitatu- [Vital] Kamerhe: Who will be the Chair?" La Tempête des Tropiques notes that Joseph Kabila's "AMP [coalition], which controls a majority in the new elected National Assembly, is still divided over the person who should be appointed Chair of the body."

Referring to current preparations for the formation of a new DRC government, Le Palmarès notes: "With the presidential election's outcomes known, ( ...) now has come the time for consultations leading appointments to the various positions of responsibility."

In its editorial headed "When is the end of the recreation?" L'Observateur notes: "It has been five days since the end of the recreation was announced" by President Joseph Kabila in his inaugural address last week. "Therefore, the head should urgently send out signals showing to the public that he has put his words into action."

In a piece headlined "Questions for Etienne Tshisekedi", Le Phare, announcing that the leader of the UDPS party is preparing to make a statement, notes that "the exercise could prove delicate in an environment which has undergone considerable change."