MONUC chief welcomes Kisangani deployment

The Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for the DRC, Kamel Morjane, has expressed gratitude to a group of Kinshasa-based ambassadors for their “timely initiative which helped lift all obstacles to the deployment to Kisangani”. Morjane was welcoming the decision by the rebel Rassemblement congolais pour la democratie (RCD-Goma) on Wednesday to allow the deployment of UN Moroccan peacekeepers to Kisangani on Friday. The 120 men were due to be deployed in Kisangani last Sunday, in keeping with the Lusaka peace accord and Harare sub-plan, but the RCD refused to allow their plane to land, demanding UN condemnation of alleged ceasefire violations by government forces in Kasai and Katanga provinces. In a press statement last week, the RCD accused the Kinshasa government of “deliberately wanting to torpedo the Lusaka accords”. “This is a happy end, which will allow the resumption of the deployment and verification exercise in better conditions,” Morjane said in a statement. He commended the RCD’s positive attitude as evidence that “political will and wisdom can overcome all stumbling blocks on the road to peace”. He added that a technical structure had been established in order to facilitate coordination between the RCD and MONUC (UN Mission in DRC) and take into account the respective concerns of the two parties.