RCD welcomes proposal to allow it stay in Kisangani

The Rwandan-backed rebel Rassemblement congolais pour la democratie (RCD) has welcomed a proposal by the UN Mission in the DRC (MONUC) that the rebels be allowed retain responsibility for civil administration, and the maintenance of law and order, as the ‘de facto’ civil authority in the town at the moment. The head of the UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO), Jean-Marie Guehenno, told the UN Security Council on Wednesday 13 June that while MONUC would continue to insist on the withdrawal of the RCD military from Kisangani, a “precipitous” pull-out could provoke civil unrest in the city, with potentially adverse implications for the peace process. Guehenno said it was vital for stability that local police had the capacity to maintain law and order in Kisangani before any RCD withdrawal. “We are happy that the UN Security Council judged that Kisangani needs our presence,” AFP on Friday quoted Joseph Mudumbi, foreign relations chief of RCD-Goma, as saying. France’s ambassador to the UN, Jean-David Levitte, disagreed with the MONUC proposal, saying it was unacceptable for the RCD to remain in Kisangani, scene of some of the heaviest fighting in the DRC war, AFP reported. On 16 June last, the Security Council demanded that the city be demilitarised after 600 civilians were killed and 3,000 wounded in fighting between Rwandan and Ugandan troops, and Congolese rebel groups allied to the two states. Rwandan and Ugandan forces later withdrew 100 km from the city centre. The Security Council on Friday, 15 June, reiterated its demand that the RCD demilitarise Kisangani, and that all parties respect the demilitarisation of that town and its environs.