ONU
Nations Unies Maintien de la paix
6 mar
2009
Press Review
Monday's extraordinary cabinet meeting was devoted to the Transition's assessment, says today's local press in Kinshasa.
Referring to ''a huge impact of Thabo Mbeki's visit on the Presidential circle'', LE PALMARES notes that Transition's assessment began just a few days ago after the South African President has left the DRC. Reporting on yesterday's cabinet meeting, the paper says the cabinet meeting looked into the report on the activities of the Economic and Financial Commission. The paper however regrets that despite the failure of the transition, the government has not made any ''self-criticism'', as clearly recommended by several personalities: Vice-President Ruberwa, the Bishops, the students during the unrests that followed the fall of Bukavu. The paper considers that by ''refusing to analyse Azarias Ruberwa's critical statement, the government has dodged Congolese people's expectations''.
LE PHARE confirms that Transition's assessment has indeed started. ''The work that started over the weekend with the holding of a meeting by the DRC Defence Council, has proceeded through this week with the examination of the status of the public firms, diplomacy and security services'', the paper adds. To ''give the Congolese an opportunity to monitor the Transition's assessment'', the paper publishes the conditions laid by the 'Rassemblement Congolais pour la Démocratie (RCD)'.
L'AVENIR criticizes RCD's conditions, indicating that they are nothing but Azarias' evaluation report made in Goma on 29 August 2004 which revealed his true intentions amidst incoherence and an unacceptable amalgam''.
LA REFERENCE PLUS which sums up RCD's conditions, indicates that the document shows ''an assessment of the first year of the Transition and singles out a major deficit on the Transition's objectives, notably in the areas of the formation of a restructured and integrated army, the restoration of the State authority across the national territory, the national reconciliation and transparent management''. In each area reviewed, the document makes recommendations on the actions to take, the paper adds.
LE POTENTIEL highlights that the unification, integration and restructuring of the Congolese armed forces must be given top priority. Yet, the paper notes, Parliament's proceedings about the formation of a deterrent republican army are in a deadlock given that ''each component sticks to their own command of their troops'' which leads the paper to say, in spite of the beautiful speeches for an integrated army, ''Government components, RCD, MLC and Maï-Maï entities, RCD-N, RCD-ML continue commanding their troops which obey them slavishly''.
In another development, LE PALMARES raises the kidnapping of a MONUC soldier of the Moroccan contingent in Bunia and quotes Government's ''revelations'' accusing the 'Union des Patriotes Congolais (UPC) led by Thomas Lubanga of organising the kidnapping. Echoing Government communiqué, the paper says UPC has reportedly set a number of conditions in exchange for the liberation of the hostage, notably ''the release of their troops and the lifting of the prosecutions threat for war criminals and Human rights abusers'' which the members of its militia group are accused of. The paper further indicates that Thomas Lubanga was interrogated at length by Demiap (Détection militaire des activités anti-patrie/Military Detection of anti-patriotic activities) before returning to his hotel.
Referring to the preliminary meetings prior to the international conference on peace, security in the Great Lakes sub-region, LA TEMPETE DES TROPIQUES echoes DRC declaration through its representatives in the meeting denouncing impunity in the sub-region. ''DRC delegates pointed out the economic crimes suffered by the DRC due to the many-year devastating war'', the paper says, further mentioning a Human Rights Watch report denouncing that criminals in Ituri are not prosecuted for the atrocities committed, ''but for minor breaches''. According to the paper, Monuc is accused for ''not transmitting objectively the information in its possession to the Prosecutor''.
FORUM DES AS, for its part, raises a polemic about a trip missed by Vice-President Jean-Pierre Bemba to Belgium. According to this paper, Jean-Pierre bemba cancelled the trip, just as he was about to leave, ''due to the protocol formalities set by the new Belgian minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Karel De Gucht, who is insistent on the respect of human rights during his mandate''. The paper believes that the incident relates to the ''cannibalism on the Ituri pygmies, which is still weighing on Jean-Pierre Bemba''. But the latter, informed through a communiqué that the trip was postponed due to an extraordinary cabinet meeting, the paper says.
LE PHARE confirms that Transition's assessment has indeed started. ''The work that started over the weekend with the holding of a meeting by the DRC Defence Council, has proceeded through this week with the examination of the status of the public firms, diplomacy and security services'', the paper adds. To ''give the Congolese an opportunity to monitor the Transition's assessment'', the paper publishes the conditions laid by the 'Rassemblement Congolais pour la Démocratie (RCD)'.
L'AVENIR criticizes RCD's conditions, indicating that they are nothing but Azarias' evaluation report made in Goma on 29 August 2004 which revealed his true intentions amidst incoherence and an unacceptable amalgam''.
LA REFERENCE PLUS which sums up RCD's conditions, indicates that the document shows ''an assessment of the first year of the Transition and singles out a major deficit on the Transition's objectives, notably in the areas of the formation of a restructured and integrated army, the restoration of the State authority across the national territory, the national reconciliation and transparent management''. In each area reviewed, the document makes recommendations on the actions to take, the paper adds.
LE POTENTIEL highlights that the unification, integration and restructuring of the Congolese armed forces must be given top priority. Yet, the paper notes, Parliament's proceedings about the formation of a deterrent republican army are in a deadlock given that ''each component sticks to their own command of their troops'' which leads the paper to say, in spite of the beautiful speeches for an integrated army, ''Government components, RCD, MLC and Maï-Maï entities, RCD-N, RCD-ML continue commanding their troops which obey them slavishly''.
In another development, LE PALMARES raises the kidnapping of a MONUC soldier of the Moroccan contingent in Bunia and quotes Government's ''revelations'' accusing the 'Union des Patriotes Congolais (UPC) led by Thomas Lubanga of organising the kidnapping. Echoing Government communiqué, the paper says UPC has reportedly set a number of conditions in exchange for the liberation of the hostage, notably ''the release of their troops and the lifting of the prosecutions threat for war criminals and Human rights abusers'' which the members of its militia group are accused of. The paper further indicates that Thomas Lubanga was interrogated at length by Demiap (Détection militaire des activités anti-patrie/Military Detection of anti-patriotic activities) before returning to his hotel.
Referring to the preliminary meetings prior to the international conference on peace, security in the Great Lakes sub-region, LA TEMPETE DES TROPIQUES echoes DRC declaration through its representatives in the meeting denouncing impunity in the sub-region. ''DRC delegates pointed out the economic crimes suffered by the DRC due to the many-year devastating war'', the paper says, further mentioning a Human Rights Watch report denouncing that criminals in Ituri are not prosecuted for the atrocities committed, ''but for minor breaches''. According to the paper, Monuc is accused for ''not transmitting objectively the information in its possession to the Prosecutor''.
FORUM DES AS, for its part, raises a polemic about a trip missed by Vice-President Jean-Pierre Bemba to Belgium. According to this paper, Jean-Pierre bemba cancelled the trip, just as he was about to leave, ''due to the protocol formalities set by the new Belgian minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Karel De Gucht, who is insistent on the respect of human rights during his mandate''. The paper believes that the incident relates to the ''cannibalism on the Ituri pygmies, which is still weighing on Jean-Pierre Bemba''. But the latter, informed through a communiqué that the trip was postponed due to an extraordinary cabinet meeting, the paper says.
