'DRC still needs world help'
2007-01-10 20:17
Kinshasa - The Democratic Republic of Congo's peace process, crowned by landmark elections last year, could still unravel unless the world community stays engaged to help the country tackle serious security and political challenges, said experts on Wednesday.
Analysts from the International Crisis Group (ICG) think-tank recommended the United Nations (UN) maintain its 17 000 peacekeepers in DRC for at least another year with a stronger mandate to deal with renegade militias in the east.
Their report, entitled "Congo: Staying Engaged after the Elections", urged foreign governments and donors to continue to support reconstruction of the vast, former Belgian colony, which is emerging from decades of war, chaos and corruption.
Brussels-based ICG hailed last year's polls, DRC's first free elections in more than 40 years that gave President Joseph Kabila a democratic mandate through the ballot box, as a milestone in the country's transition from a 1998-2003 war.
Peace process not complete
"But the peace process is not complete", said Jason Stearns, Crisis Group's Central Africa senior analyst.
"The situation in the East remains volatile, there is little state authority in the West, and relations between the government and the opposition are hostile," he said in comments to accompany the report presented on Wednesday.
The report said: "The chances are high that the peace process would unravel if international engagement and guarantees were to be withdrawn precipitously."
ICG said that while Kabila, who first gained the presidency when his father Laurent was assassinated in 2001, appeared to have won a majority in the national parliament and most provincial assemblies, the opposition was already complaining of being sidelined from legislative committees.
Unrest triggered by hardliners could not be ruled out and Kabila's government also faced major security problems posed by an ill-disciplined and often abusive national army and rebel militias who still control large areas of the east.
"The international community must remain strongly and collectively engaged," said ICG's Central Africa Project Director Caty Clement.
'Militarily indispensable'
Specifically, the report said that the UN peacekeeping mission in the DRC, known as Monuc, "remains militarily indispensable and needs to maintain its troop level at about 17 000, at least through 2007".
The Congolese army, hamstrung by "appalling" living conditions and branded by rights groups as the worst human rights abuser in the country, could not deal by itself with the militias still active in the east, said the report.
"Monuc troops, with a stronger mandate, will be required for at least another year, and donors will need to prioritise their efforts at creating a national army," it said.
Monuc's mandate is due to be renewed in February.
UN mission spokesperson Kemal Saiki said that while he could not second-guess what the security council and member states would decide, preserving the stability of a nation strategically located in central Africa would be a key consideration.
"You can not switch off a mission like a light switch. Looking at DRC's history in the past 10 years, if there is a place where a domino effect could have validity, it is central Africa. DRC is the centre of gravity that does not exist. It has the potential to be an anchor," he said.
ICG said the U. and donors should also work to strengthen DRC's weak judiciary and state institutions and tackle corruption which had led to millions of dollars being misappropriated in the transition since the war.