UN observers get "mixed signals"

The UN Observer Mission to the Congo (MONUC), which began its operational stage in the DRC on Monday, has been receiving "mixed signals" from the government of President Laurent-Desire Kabila. "The attitude of some authorities does not seem too supportive of our presence, but we are optimistic that will change ... Officially, they have been very supportive of the peace process but, on the other hand, we have been subject to a lot of administrative troubles - whether on purpose or not we don't know," MONUC information officer Lt-Col Pierre Massart told IRIN from Kinshasa on Monday. The establishment of the mission's advance headquarters had been hampered by detailed, sometimes petty, administrative procedures, and there was "a difference between what is being said officially and the attitude of some officials to our presence", Massart added.