Signs of peace in Ituri, despite insecurity

Despite bouts of insecurity, including inter-militia fighting over the month of July in parts of Ituri District, northeastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), there are signs that the situation in the region is improving, a new report indicates.

One of the peace indicators is the "steady and noticeable" return of internally displaced persons (IDPs) to their pre-conflict settlements in the district in general and in Bunia, the main town, n particular, according to the July edition of "Ituri Watch".

Ituri Watch is a montly report compiled by the Africa Initiative Programme (AIP) in association with the Forum on Early Warning and Early Response-Africa. The report analyses relevant local stakeholders, gives key peace and conflict indicators and presents possible scenarios on the situation in Ituri.

"Peace building and development activities to accompany the Ituri peace process can only be effective in a secure environment and that is why most of such activities have been concentrated in Bunia and its environs because of the relative peace and security these places enjoy," according to the report.

It said July was dominated by three major events: renewed fighting between some armed groups in Ituri, the inauguration of the district commissioner for Ituri, Petronille Vaweka, and continued insecurity in the Kivus and its implication on the Ituri peace process.

The events all had a "crosscutting impact on both the national and the local Ituri peace processes", the report said.

"Considering them together, they simultaneously seem to place Ituri into an ambivalent dynamics of peace and conflict," it added. "The transitional government is clearly taking over control of the district administration through the appointment of the district commissioner and the mainstreaming of Ituri into the country's local government administration."

According to the report, two things need to be done urgently to consolidate the gains made in the stabilisation of Ituri: "There should be, on the one hand, strong and consistent actions from government, and on the other hand, the government appointee to run Ituri district must be strong-willed and decisive in order to succeed in her mission of restoring state authority."

The report notes the recent transformation of a former armed group, the Union de patriotes Congolais (UPC) led by Thomas Lubanga, into a legally recognised political party as another peace indicator although it adds that this development could also be a conflict indicator.

"On 3 July, the Congolese minister of Interior, Mr Theophile Bemba, signed a decree granting the application and legalising the status of UPC as a political party on equal footing as all other currently known political parties in the country," it said.

However, it added: "Whatever motivated this seemingly hasty decision from the minister cannot be fathomed as of now, but the decision itself is not likely to bring about positive consequences as intended. This makes it difficult on whether to consider this as a peace indicator or a conflict one, given that it may be both."

It said the UPC was yet to understand that there were things which were incompatible with being a political party, such as "entertaining an armed militia group, administering a territory and collecting taxes".

"However, the granting of a political party status to UPC-L might also help put a check on the military activities of this armed group as its leadership would be trying to show they deserve the status granted to them and comply with the legal obligations that come with their new status," the report said.

The reinforcement and adequate equipment of a police force in Bunia and its environs, to work alongside the patrols by troops of the UN Mission in the DRC, MONUC, would allow peace and development in Ituri to gain momentum, the report added.

[On the Net: The AIP/FEWER-AFRICA report: www.db.idpproject.org ]