Press Review of 3rd May 2006

Belgian Minister of Foreign Affairs' reaction following the issuance of the electoral calendar by the Independent Electoral Commission CEI in French acronym is the major issue in today's local press.

Belgian Minister of Foreign Affairs Karel De Gucht said in a statement, "he highly appreciated CEI's efforts to reach such an acceptable result by all the parties," writes La Référence Plus. He further insisted on "a scrupulous compliance with the electoral calendar by all the Congolese political leadership," notes Le Palmarès, echoing the Belgian Minister of Foreign Affairs' communiqué.

Referring to the Belgian Minister of Foreign Affairs' communiqué, L'Observateur, for its part, highlights, "the fact that the elections come after the end of the transition, 30 June 2006, will in no way undermine management capacity," explains Le Palmarès, indicating, "Belgian assistance will be increased after the elections to meet both the humanitarian and the reconstruction needs for the DRC."

Le Phare, as far as concerned, sees Karel De Gucht's "change of attitude as misleading to the Congolese people who used to look upon him as highly engaged in the fight for a change of the political leadership which he himself described as deficient in the area of good governance..." As a result, people now begin to wonder "whether the Head of the Belgian diplomacy is not attempting to join those in favour of keeping the men and women currently in power, who failed to change the rule of the country's predation and negation of the Rule of Law inherited from late President Mobutu," further says the paper.

DRC political leadership "is now divided over the need for talks that would culminate into political compromise before holding the elections in 2006," referred to by Bishop Monsengwo's conference, notes Le Potentiel. The paper further says Bishop Monsengwo's proposal for [holding political talks before June 30, 2006] met with "mixed reaction, accompanied with scathing critics...."