PRESS BRIEFING ON DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO BY UNDER-SECRETARY-GENERAL FOR PEACEKEEPING OPERATIONS

PRESS BRIEFING ON DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO BY UNDER-SECRETARY-GENERAL

FOR PEACEKEEPING OPERATIONS

Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations Jean-Marie Guéhenno today appealed to all countries to bring their influence to bear to moderate the situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, warning that, if not brought under control, it could escalate into a full-blown crisis.

Speaking to correspondents at Headquarters shortly after being briefed by telephone by the Secretary-General’s Special Representative, William Swing, Mr. Guéhenno said in Bukavu the situation had improved, in the sense that it appeared that, after the efforts of United Nations Organization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUC), the forces of both General Laurent Nkunda of the Rassemblement Congolais pour la Démocratie-Goma (RCD-Goma) and the former deputy regional military commander, Colonel Jules Mutebutsi, were moving out of the city.  Meanwhile, MONUC was guarding key facilities and protecting some people that had taken refugee there –- some 300 to 400 of them -- and actively patrolling in the city.

There had been a misperception of what MONUC could and could not do in Bukavu, he said.  Thus, the Congolese people apparently have the expectation that the Mission, with its limited resources, could do everything, including securing a city of 550,000 people against an organized, well equipped and well trained military force in pitched battle.  That did not happen.  Because of those expectations, and the fact that they were not met, there had been a backlash against MONUC in a number of places in the country.  Consequently, demonstrations in various places, including Lubumbashi, Kindu and the capital Kinshasa had occurred.  The Special Representative had reported that at the moment the situation had subsided a bit in Kinshasa, as well as in other locations, with the help of local authorities.

In the capital, United Nations forces at one point fired warning shots and, as a last resort, opened fire, reportedly hitting three Congolese demonstrators who had entered and attacked the United Nations headquarters, compounds and vehicles.  The Government, with the resources it had in Kinshasa, had now been asked to ensure the protection of UN personnel.

He said the Secretary-General had, this morning, spoken with President Joseph Kabila to stress the importance of respecting the United Nations flag and making it clear to the Congolese people that MONUC was in a partnership with the Democratic Republic of the Congo.  It was there to help, within its resources.  Thus, it was important that the Congolese authorities gave all the support they could.  The Secretary-General, he went on, was very encouraged that President Kabila endeavoured to do precisely that.

A correspondent asked if he had any sense of who might have been supplying the renegade commanders in Bukavu, and if Rwanda was involved.  With regard to the multi-pronged attacks on the United Nations, was it coordinated and, if so, by who?  Mr. Guéhenno replied that when the forces of Brigadier General Nkunda left Goma, the report received indicated they were about 300 troops.  Subsequent reports received as they got closer to that city, however, indicated that they were between 2,000 and 4,000 -- “probably closer to 4,000 than 2,000” -- and the MONUC’s assessment was that they were very well equipped, with ammunition, good training and good tactical coordination.

While the crisis was a very serious one, he still expressed hope that it was manageable.  During his recent visit to the Congo, both President Kabila and the vice-president told him they believed the peace process to be irreversible.  “I think, with the commitment at the highest level, this can be brought back on track”, he said.  But, for that to happen, it was vital for all players to support a de-escalation of violence.  On the part of Rwanda, it was critical that that country use all the influence within its power on the exile city of Goma to de-escalate the situation and bring everyone back into the fold on the peace process.

Asked whether the attack on the UN was coordinated in any way, Mr. Guéhenno said there was no way to tell if that was so.  He said he believed that in a country that had been afflicted with such suffering for so long, there was a sense he shared that significant progress had been achieved during the last 12 months, albeit too slow and “very late”, but progress nonetheless.  Thus, a setback such as the one in Bukavu prompted a lot of despair among people, and that despair was understandable.  Therefore, in that sense, even without discerning any coordinated action, a lot of the violence that had occurred could be explained that way.

On the financial resources and the size of the UN force now in that country, he said he came back both encouraged by the progress achieved, as well as aware that the challenges ahead were considerable and that a review of the strength of the United Nations force was needed.  It was a vast country and, therefore, not easy to cover effectively.  As the UN force deployed in a situation like that, many questions and obstacles, such as those of communication, arose.

Asked if the UN Mission there would need more troops, more equipment and whether there would be an appeal for an expansion of the MONUC mandate, he replied:  “The answer is very clearly yes.  We will review the strength of our troops and the next report of the Secretary-General is due in early July and that will give us an opportunity to go through an in-depth review of the troops and also the political strategy that the troops have to back up.  I think it’s likely that we may need more troops in the DRC.  It depends on what mandate the Security Council will give us for the next phase of MONUC.”

Asked why certain elements in the Congo had been asking for the resignation of the Special Representative, he replied that in a crisis like that things always tended to get personalized.  Some found the easy way of blaming the Special Representative, who, he said, had done an extraordinary job since his arrival in that country.  Mr. Swing had, in the last few days, been very much on top of things, and he and all men and women of MONUC deserved tribute at this time.

To a correspondent who wanted to know how many people had been killed in the latest cycle of violence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Under Secretary-General said Mr. Swing had informed him that a few dozen people had been killed in Bukavu, adding, “And that’s a few dozen too much, because every single life lost should not have been lost, obviously”.  He noted that the majority of the victims were soldiers engaged in combat, and confirmed that there were also civilian casualties.  He commended the MONUC for working hard to keep the levels of casualties to a minimum.

Although the issue was initially not an ethnic one, it was well known that Colonel Mutebutsi was a “Banyamulenge” from the eastern DRC where they had historically tensions with the Congolese population, and that was further polarized during the presence of Rwandan troops in that part of the country, where they were seen as close to the Rwandan troops.  “It’s very important that this latest cycle of violence does not lead to a cycle of ethnic hatred”, he said.  He expressed his concern at pronouncements in some media in eastern Congo against Banyamulenge that he described as “extremely dangerous”.

While nothing of a systematic nature had evolved yet, he cautioned that the situation, as it stood, was “a powder keg” that called for extreme caution, and that it was very important for all the parties there “not to play that ethnic card”.  He called on all the actors to use their strength and restraint in that regard.

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