Situation improved in Congo's province after Pakistan peace keepers deployed.
PPI - Pakistan Press International
| October 06, 2005 | COPYRIGHT 2005 Asia Pulse Pty Ltd. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. Copyright
BUKAVU, (D. R. Congo), October 06 (PPI): The
security situation in the Democratic Republic of Congo's
South Kivu province has tremendously improved
after the deployment of troops from Pakistan who are on a UN peacekeeping mission called MONUC.
Jean Paul, the Head of Office of MONUC in the South Kivu province of the Democratic Republic of Congo, stated this. He was talking to a group of
Pakistani journalists who are on a visit to the area."The security is not yet fully as it should be. But being in South Kivu for about 10 months now,
I can say that the situation is tremendously improved after the deployment of the Pakistani troops," he remarked. The Head of Office of MONUC in the area further stated that a number of questions were raised when he arrived in South Kivu. The people were saying that they would be invaded by neighbouring Rwanda, Jean Paul said adding that this is no longer a question that I hear from the people in the streets. He said that the elections in the country when presently there is a transitional set up, the polls would be held and that would be very positive step forward. Elaborating, Jean Paul, a Belgian, stated that first, there would be a referendum on the constitution and then there would be presidential and national assembly elections. He said that so far there is only a transitional constitution and pointed out that fortunately, there is a draft constitution but it has not been adopted by the population at large. He said that the referendum is scheduled by the end of next month but it is very difficult to meet the deadline because a significant chunk of the population has not been registered. The Head of Office of Monuc in South Kivu pointed out that the chairperson of the Electoral Commission has cast some doubts just a few days ago about the deadline.
Replying a question about the local army, he said that there should be 18 brigades ready but so far, we have only six of them who can deal with the issue.
Jean Paul again lauded the contributions of the Pakistani troops who are on a UN peace mission assignment in the area, for already imparting training to more than 3,000 soldiers and 600 officers of the local army called FARDC. He said that this has been very much appreciated by the entire population at large and it has also given the local troops and wearing uniform that they did not have before.
Replying yet another question, the Head of Office of Monuc in South Kivu said that the political solution is to unify the DRC, a big country in Central Africa, which is of the size of Western Europe. He further pointed out that the DRC is faced with so many ...
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Article: Situation improved in Congo' province after Pakistan peace keepers... | AccessMyLibrary - Promoting library advocacy
Pakistani Army contributing to peace, security, and stability in the D.R Congo.