MONUC Press Review - 15 March 2006

The main focus of Wednesday's Kinshasa press is upon the UDPS leader, Etienne Tshisekedi's declaration before his militants and his meeting with visiting UN Under-Secretary-General Jean-Marie Guéhenno.

On Tuesday, addressing party members gathering outside his residence and demanding "his candidacy for the [coming] presidential election," the leader of the Union for Democracy and Social Progress (UDPS), Etienne Tshisekedi failed to "clearly state his position on that request," Le Palmarès reports. La Tempête des Tropiques notes that Tshisekedi simply "took note of these messages of support to him as a [potential] presidential candidate – messages from students, civil servants, political forces and party activists (...)."

However, Le Potentiel, citing Etienne Tshisekedi, reports that the veteran opposition leader is "willing to participate in the elections because this is exactly what he and his party, UDPS, have fought for during their struggle to bring democracy" to the people of Congo. Paraphrasing the UDPS leader, Le Potentiel writes "elections yes, [but] not trough fraud." In fact, Tshisekedi "wants some guarantees before he can file his candidacy with the Independent Electoral Commission," according to La Tempête des Tropiques.

Specifically, Etienne Tshisekedi "denounces the lack of respect for the commitments made by the International community concerning his party (UDPS)'s participation in the electoral process," La Tempête des Tropiques points out. And yet, "the international community has an interest in seeing the UDPS participate if the whole process is to have credibility," Le Palmarès notes.

On Tuesday evening, there was a meeting between Jean-Marie Guéhenno, the head of United Nations Peacekeeping Operations, and Etienne Tshisekedi, the national president of the UDPS, Etienne Tshisekedi. But "undoubtedly this meeting produced no positive result [since] the two interlocutors maintained their positions," according to Le Potentiel. In fact, Tshisekedi "requested his interlocutor to do all he can on behalf of the international community to enable the reopening of voter registration centres. In response, Jean-Marie Guéhenno said it is not for the international community to decide on the reopening of the registration centres. According to him, that responsibility falls on the IEC [Independent Electoral Commission] and on the IEC only," Le Palmarès reports.

What's more, this meeting was "marred by incidents where police forces dispersed UDPS activists and made some arrests," Le Potentiel notes.

Expected to arrive in Kinshasa today, South Africa's President Thabo Mbeki "will try to help ease the current tensions within the RCD and MLC," announces L'Observateur, referring to the parties of Vice Presidents Azarias Ruberwa and Jean-Pierre Bemba. While in the DRC capital, Mr Mbeki will also participate in "a bilateral commission with his Congolese counterpart Joseph Kabila," according to Le Palmarès.