UN, OAU voice concern over closure of Masire’s office

The UN on Wednesday voiced concern over the closure of the Kinshasa office of the inter-Congolese dialogue facilitator, Ketumile Masire. UN spokesman Manuel de Almeida e Silva said that the UN mission in the DRC (MONUC) was “concerned” about the closure and was urgently seeking further information. MONUC stressed the importance of the DRC government cooperating “fully” with the work of the neutral facilitator, he said. The Organisation of African Unity (OAU’s) Press and Information Officer Desmond Orjiako told IRIN on Thursday that the organisation had made an appeal to the DRC government to “reconsider its decision”. “There has not been any response from the government...We won’t take any other action unless the government responds, but in the meantime, consultations are going on based on this appeal,” he added. Humanitarian sources in Kinshasa told IRIN that on Tuesday morning, a group of about 30 members of the Police d’Intervention Rapide (PIR) entered Masire’s Kinshasa office and ordered the occupants “to get out, for they had received instruction to seal this office”. The sources said the occupants were not given time to make the inventory of the furniture and equipment, “most of which have been provided by the Canadian embassy”. The security guards, hired from a private company, have remained on the spot and are said to be in possession of one key to the office. The Congolese authorities have not yet taken any action on the incident.