Meanwhile, two Congolese government ministers met Patasse after the inauguration ceremony to discuss the restoration of peace in the DRC, news organisations said. Congolese television reported that Interior Minister Gaetan Kakudji and Minister of the Economy and Industry Saolona Bemba also visited some 1,800 Congolese refugees currently in Bangui. Saolona Bemba is the father of Jean-Pierre Bemba, leader of the rebel Mouvement de liberation congolais (MLC) which holds the area just across the river from Bangui. The UN Secretary-General’s latest report on the CAR said rebel leader Bemba had recently visited Bangui twice to consult with the CAR authorities, while MINURCA had been obliged to begin regular boat patrols along the river because of frequent patrols by MLC rebels and CAR’s presidential guard.
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