Radio Maendeleo authorised to resume operations

Bukavu-based Radio Maendeleo in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has been authorised to resume operations by the Rassemblement congolais pour la democratie (RCD-Goma), the Rwandan-backed rebel movement announced on Monday. A decree signed by RCD-Goma head of communications and culture, Jean-Pierre Lola Kisanga, said the authorisation was conditioned upon the station's adherence to laws governing "public order and national security". It added that the conditions leading to the station's shut-down were "no longer present" and that "on the eve of the reunification of our country, there is reason to cultivate a spirit of openness, conciliation and promotion of fundamental liberties of expression across the entirety of the national territory". Radio Maendeleo, one of the few independent radio stations in eastern DRC, was closed by an RCD-Goma decree issued on 8 December 2002, when security agents of the rebel movement shut it down for an indefinite period and temporarily arrested several of its staff. At the time, RCD-Goma said the reason for the suspension was because Radio Maendeleo had allegedly violated its mandate by broadcasting stories with political content. However, Radio Maendeleo staff told international NGO Human Rights Watch that RCD-Goma authorities reacted angrily to a programme on RCD-Goma's introduction of automotive licence plates that were recognised by Rwanda but not by the Kinshasa government. The station had remained closed despite RCD-Goma's signing of the transitional national constitution, which called for freedom of the media.