Politics

Following Mali’s lead, President Tshisekedi wants UN peacekeeping mission to leave Congo DR

Published

1 year ago

September 21, 2023

The President of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Felix Tshisekedi has requested for withdrawal of a key UN peacekeeping mission that has been in the nation for nearly 25 years.

Tshisekedi made the call during his address at the United Nations General Assembly on Thursday. “It is time for our country to take full control of its destiny and become the main actor in its own stability,” the president said.

For years, discussions over the future of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) have focused on the UN Stabilization Mission in the country (Monusco) which has been the subject of controversy and populist rhetoric in the Central African country.

Tshisekedi said that the mission of some 15,000 peacekeepers “has not succeeded in confronting the rebellions and armed conflicts… nor in protecting the civilian populations.”

He added that it was “illusory and counterproductive to continue to cling to the maintenance of Monusco to restore peace.”

Several assaults and protests against the UN mission in the nation have taken place. In a crackdown on an anti-UN protest in eastern DR Congo in August, about 50 people were killed.

“The acceleration of the withdrawal of Monusco becomes absolutely necessary to ease tensions,” said Tshisekedi

With a budget of nearly $1 billion annually, the UN peacekeeping mission in the East African region, which has been operational since 1999, is one of the biggest and most expensive in the world.

However, in the DRC, it is widely believed that the peacekeepers have failed to stop the conflict, and the UN faces harsh criticism because the political and security environment has deteriorated sharply, creating a severe humanitarian crisis in the eastern part of the country.

There appears to be a growing wave of anti-UN peacekeeping forces in some countries of Africa. Mail had earlier asked the UN to end its mission in the country and withdraw, a request the UN honoured, ending the MINUSMA mission in the country.

Related Topics:Congo DR Featured President Felix Tshisekedi

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Politics

Mali’s junta names spokesman Abdoulaye Maiga new Prime Minister

Published

13 hours ago

November 22, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

A day after dismissing Choguel Maiga for criticising the government, Mali’s governing junta named its spokesperson, Abdoulaye Maiga, as Prime Minister on Thursday, according to state broadcaster, ORTM.

A source close to Choguel Maiga told Reuters that the ruling generals were incensed by Maiga’s remarks over the weekend denouncing the junta’s inability to hold elections within the 24-month timeframe given for the return to democracy.

After promising to hold elections in February, the military authorities, who took control in two separate coups in 2020 and 2021, have put off the poll indefinitely, citing technological difficulties.

Choguel Maiga’s firing coincides with indications of growing discontent and disarray among Mali politicians, even those who first supported the coup and collaborated with the junta.

As the wait for elections continues, Choguel Maiga, a civilian prime minister who was installed by the military junta in 2021, is the most recent to lose support.

He was cited on Saturday as claiming he learnt of the junta’s decision via the media and that there had been no discussion regarding the delay of the elections inside the cabinet.

“It’s all happening in total secrecy, without the prime minister’s knowledge,” Choguel Maiga told reporters.

Before then, he had frequently stood up for Mali’s junta against criticism from foreign friends and neighbours in West Africa who denounced its repeated election delays and military collaboration with Russian mercenaries.

As government spokesperson, Abdoulaye Maiga, the new prime minister, has also made strong public remarks against France, the previous colonial master. One such speech was demanding French President Emmanuel Macron to stop his “neocolonial” and “condescending” behaviour.

Abdoulaye Maiga and Assimi Goita, the leaders of the junta, announced they had kept all of the important cabinet ministers in their portfolios in the new administration in a statement that was broadcast on state television ORTM.

The announcement said that Abdoulaye Maiga will remain minister of territory administration.

Politics

Congo opposition mobilizes protests against constitution review

Published

1 day ago

November 21, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

In response to President Felix Tshisekedi’s intentions to amend the constitution, opposition lawmakers in the Democratic Republic of the Congo have called for national protests on Wednesday.

Tshisekedi, who was sworn in for his second and last term in January, said that a panel would be formed in October to recommend possible constitutional amendments.

According to critics, it may be a ploy to lift term restrictions and give him another chance to run.

Tshisekedi said the current constitution, ratified by a referendum in 2005, needed to change because it did not align with the country’s current realities.

Opposition politicians, including former president Joseph Kabila and past presidential candidates Martin Fayulu and Moise Katumbi, issued a unified statement on Wednesday urging rallies to “block” Tshisekedi.

A request for a response from the Congo’s presidency was not answered.

Patrick Muyaya, the minister of communications, stated on Monday that discussions surrounding the constitutional revision should be de-politicized and that no one should doubt the president’s intentions.

“We’re at the beginning of our mandate… The President of the Republic still has four years to go, and we must avoid attributing intentions to him,” Muyaya told reporters.