UN and Africa
Programme Number: 110
Week of: Sunday, 23rd July, 2006
Recording Date: Thursday, 27th July, 2006
Topical Issue(s):

" As the Democratic Republic of the Congo Counts down to Sunday's Elections, three militia groups in the Ituri Province decide to lay down arms. The spokesman for the UN Mission in the country, Kemal Saiki says the decision is encouraging as it comes on the eve of the elections.

" The World Food Programme warns that it is running out of food for thousands of displaced people in the eastern part of the country. Other displaced people are returning to their homes in time for the planting season.

" Welile Nhlapho, of the UN Department of Political Affairs says Sunday's elections in the DR Congo are facing many challenges, such as transporting voting material and providing security for such material in a country without adequate infrastructure.

RESENTER: This is United Nations Radio in New York.

PRESENTER:
Hello and welcome to UN and Africa, I'm Diane Bailey.

PRESENTER:

In this edition, we discuss the challenges facing the people of the Democratic Republic of the Congo just few days before they participate in presidential and parliamentary elections in more than forty years. A group of militias decides to lay down their arms.
CLIP 3: "it is a very encouraging sign, especially on the eve of the elections that large numbers of militias are willing to renounce violence and to go back to their communities."

PRESENTER:

That was Kemal Saiki, spokesman for the UN Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The militias had been creating problems as we hear from Welile Nhlapho of the UN Department of Political Affairs.

CLIP 1: WELILE NHLAPHO
" There have still been pockets of violence in a number of areas in the eastern part of the Congo certainly, some loose elements of both foreign and local militias that are creating quite a number of problems and making the place unreachable and inaccessible."

PRESENTER:

That was Welile Nhlapho of the United Nations Department of Political Affairs. Before we hear more from him we will look at the problem of food shortage in that part of the country.
So stay tuned to UN and Africa.

PRESENTER:

For the first time in over four decades, the people of the Democratic Republic of the Congo will, on Sunday, cast their vote to choose a president and members of parliament. This huge country at the heart of Africa is endowed with natural resources, yet for many decades its people have suffered. Conflicts have displaced thousands of Congolese and subjected them to a life of misery. On the eve of the elections, good news has come from the eastern part of the country where the three main militia groups in the Ituri province has agreed to lay down their arms. UN Radio's Derrick Mbatha spoke on the line to Kinshasa with Kemal Saiki, the spokesman for the UN Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, MONUC who says this development follows a number of discussions between Congolese authorities and militia groups, facilitated by MONUC.
SAIKI: The outcome is that those groups have agreed to lay down their arms and rejoin the process of demobilization, disarmament and reintegration. So it is a very encouraging sign, especially on the eve of the elections that large numbers of militias are willing to renounce violence and to go back to their communities.

MBATHA: And which groups are those?

SAIKI: We have one group which is the Fonds Nationalistes Intergrationanistes. Another one is the FRP, the Fornds Resistance Patriotique Pour Ituri and the third one is the MRC, Movement Revolutionaire Congolais. Those various militias are either based on ethnic lines with some kind of political pretence, but basically we know that those groups in Ituri have been essentially dealing with criminal enterprises, illegal exploitation of the wealth from the districts and committing extortions against the civilian population. Now they have been under increasing military pressure and that is why they have probably found it's better to renounce their ways and try and to find a way to lay down arms.

MBATHA: In fact I was just about to ask if you had any idea why they decided to do this just on the eve of Sunday's elections. Was it only military pressure?

SAIKI: Well there is a combination of military pressure, legal pressure and also the fact that there must be sort of a war fatigue. Being militia is not as rewarding as it used to be. They are being kept on the run. They have to live in the bush and they cannot derive as much economic profit off the activities as they used to before.

MBATHA: Are any members of this group, from what you know , going to participate in the elections at this late hour?

SAIKI: Well it depends, it depends. If they have registered as voters there is no reason why they should not be able to participate if they have their cards and they are on the electoral list. They can participate. As candidates, no I don't think that would be a possibility if they have not registered as candidates.

MBATHA: What impact do you think their decision is going to have on the elections. Does it make them safer?

SAIKI: Well, if you are talking about Ituri, because you have to put this in proportion. Ituri is a very small part of the DRC Congo and the places where these militias are operating is a very small part of the district of Ituri. So in terms of national impact, practically none whatsoever. However, for the people of Ituri and the affected areas, it is going to make a difference because they will be able to move around and go to the polling stations without fearing for their lives or their property.

MBATHA: And finally, what can you tell us about the overall preparations for Sunday's elections. Has everything been put in place? Are the people ready to vote?

SAIKI: Oh yes, they are definitely ready and practically everything is in place. Of course we have some difficulties here and there but overall everything is in place and everybody is ready for the vote on Sunday.

PRESENTER:

That was Kemal Saiki, the spokesman for the UN Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, speaking on the line from Kinshasa with UN Radio's Derrick Mbatha.
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PRESENTER:

The activities of militias in the Democratic Republic of the Congo have created serious humanitarian problems for the people there. On the eve of the historic elections this coming Sunday, the World Food Programme has warned that its food stocks to help the needy people in the strife torn Democratic Republic of the Congo are being stretched to a breaking point and urged international donors to help. UN Radio's Gerry Adams has more.
NARRATOR:
The food agency says that in the run-up to the elections, violence persists in the eastern part of the country. WFP says the situation is particularly worrying in Gety, in Ituri Province where some 38,000 internally displaced people have taken refuge. In Katanga in the south east, thousands of people have returned home from Sampwe where they had taken refugee. As we hear from Jennifer Pagonis, the spokeswoman for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, food security is a major reason for the movement of people in that part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
CUT 1: JENNIFER PAGONIS
A UN interagency assessment mission visited Eastern Katanga Province between the 12th and 14th of July and found that in the Sampwe area about 80 per cent, which is about 2,200 families of IDPs had spontaneously returned to their villages of origin in recent weeks. Mainly they were concerned about planting their field before the rainy season started.

NARRATOR:

But Ms. Pagonis says while planting food is key to future food supplies, the displaced come back to villages where there is little or no food.
CUT 2: JENNIFER PAGONIS

This is an area of chronic food lack, short supply and they felt that if they didn't plant their crops they wouldn't have enough to eat. So there is also evidence that people may be returning home from other areas of Katanga Province as well.

NARRATOR:

The people who went back to their homes saw the destruction that had been caused by armed militias who have continued to terrorize that part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
CUT 3: JENNIFER PAGONIS
About 80 per cent of their housing have been burnt and their infrastructure destroyed. The previous harvest had also been destroyed by or looted by militia groups.

NARRATOR:

Jennifer Pagonis says that these people need immediate assistance.

CUT 4: JENNIFER PAGONIS

The assessment mission identified some priority needs for these people such as shelter and basic household items, clothing, food rations, seeds, tools et cetera so that they can do their planting and that they can stay there for the time being. So while this return movement is somewhat encouraging, the risk of destabilization in the return areas in Katanga still remains high.

NARRATOR:

That was Jennifer Pagonis talking about the plight of some of the displaced people in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo as the central African country counts down to its first democratic elections in over forty years on Sunday. For UN Radio, this is Gerry Adams.
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PRESENTER:

The first democratic elections in over four decades in the Democratic Republic of the Congo are going to present many challenges. As you just heard from the previous report, one problem that the people of this country face is insecurity. The UN Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, MONUC, which was established in 1999, continues to help the country find lasting peace. Over 17,000 UN peacekeepers have been reinforced by troops from Europe to secure the elections. MONUC is cautiously optimistic about the success of the elections. Thirty million ballots and election material required for Sunday's election should all be delivered to polling stations throughout the country by Friday. I discussed these challenges with Welile Nhlapho of the UN Department of Political Affairs who says that one difficulty in transporting voting material is that the country does not have enough roads.
NHLAPHO: So that means in the main getting this through by air and where you cannot have landing, in terms of the kinds of planes that will be used some helicopters will have to be engaged for that purpose, land wherever they can and then resort to whatever local means of transport that people use to move goods and even persons around in order to carry the stuff. But, of course, the key issue there is security of that material. You have to beef up security around that movement because if anything goes wrong then you have got a very big problem in your hands and wherever they are going to be stored for the purpose of usage during the election day also security has got to be mounted there overnight and then from the morning and throughout that security still has to be there. Now you have to take into account the fact that in an ideal situation you will have to use, for your security police in the main. In the absence of institution that is up and running and functioning, you have to resort to the military, most of which people feel must be confined to barracks because of the nature, state of un-readiness and their reputation within the population. They are not seen as neutral and therefore forces that people can trust to provide security. This would then overstretch the UN forces that are there on the ground, including the other forces that would be coming in to reinforce them.

BAILEY: Now in addition to this concern about the military and their non-neutrality, let's say, what about the whole issue of violence in many areas. I understand that President Kabila has been to an area in the south of the country where there was violence. What can you tell us about that?

NHLAPHO: There have still been pockets of violence in a number of areas in the eastern part of the Congo certainly, some loose elements of both foreign and local militias that are creating quite a number of problems and making the place unreachable and inaccessible. The same problem you find also right in the south, particularly in the Katanga Province where you still have some active militia moving around at will destabilizing and just creating a lot of chaos. In part what is why even the European Union had to deploy. There have been some mopping up operations by the Congolese army in the east assisted by MONUC. They have been able to pacify a number of areas but the threat is still there. In some of the areas it is still not possible to reach out, but hopefully the elections will take place there.

BAILEY: Now there are thirty-three candidates running for president and there are some over 9,000 people running for 500 parliamentary seats. How can the people find out what these individuals stand for?

NHLAPHO: I think in the main here people will really vote for individuals on the basis of who they are, what they know about them in their own localities rather than for any policies they stand for because there are no real serious well organized structured, developed political parties with electoral platforms and manifestos on the basis of which they can then get the people to vote for them. That might matter in some urban areas, particularly maybe in Kinshasa. But by and large in most of the rural outposts people are just would be concerned about who the individuals are who are contesting in any particular constituency and therefore vote on the basis of what they think is the best person who can handle and promote and defend their interests.

BAILEY: With these many candidates I imagine there is likely to be a runoff.

NHLAPHO: In the presidential polls there is a likelihood of a runoff. Everybody says there is possible. Thirty-three candidates running for presidency and people campaigning at least outside of the 19 that are threatening to boycott which have indicated displeasure about the level of organization of the elections and about the number of ballot papers that are supposed to have been printed, the access and what should happen to them and therefore calling for the postponement of the election already casting doubts on the integrity of the elections one can imagine what is likely to happen. But in terms of a re-run, yes, that is a possibility.

BAILEY: Now let's assume that things go well on Sunday. How soon can we expect the results and what happens after the results are announced and accepted by the various parties?

NHLAPHO: Up to now, for some reason and I don't think it's a question of being pessimistic about the prospects, there is an expectation of a re-run. Some people are saying that, in fact, if you have a rerun that will be the most development because then you have got to clear the deck and the stakes might be easy to manage, the fallout of situation where you have an outright victory given the complexity of the situation. And therefore, at the end of the day people are looking at the next three months being the period within which you can clearly say that you have gone through just about every other step if you were to take into account rerun and everything else, that at least you can have the whole process properly concluded.

PRESENTER:

That was Welile Nhlapho of the UN Department of Political Affairs.
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PRESENTER:

PRESENTER:
And that's all for this edition of UN and Africa. Our producer was Derrick Mbatha, Production Assistant was Nyi Nyi Teza and our sound engineer was Carlos Macias.
And from me Diane Bailey bye for now.
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