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UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs

DRC: Proposals made for protection of future transitional government leaders

KINSHASA, 21 February 2003 (IRIN) - A group of experts has made a series of proposals for a united national army, an integrated police force, and the security of government leaders during a transitional phase in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

The proposals made by the experts, who met on 15 February at the Centre Theresianum in the capital, Kinshasa, in an effort to resolve some of the last remaining obstacles to the formation of a transitional national government, included a call for the provision of security guards for the protection of transitional government leaders.

The recommendations come in advance of technical committee meetings due to begin on Monday in Pretoria, South Africa, among parties to the inter-Congolese dialogue.

The experts' meeting, organised by the NGO Labor Optimus, was attended by representatives of the current Kinshasa army, the Forces armees congolaises; the former national army, Forces armees zairoises; and the Ugandan-backed Mouvement de liberation du Congo (MLC) rebel group; as well as former members of the national security service.

Under the proposed scheme, the Kinshasa government would be assigned a security detail of 476 personnel for the protection of its members who will be part of a future national transitional government, while the Rwandan-backed Rassemblement congolais pour la democratie (RCD-Goma) would have a security detail of 347 personnel, while the MLC would have 369.

Furthermore, the RCD-Kisangani/Mouvement de liberation (RCD-K/ML), the RCD-National (RCD-N) and members of the Mayi-Mayi militias would each be assigned 128.

"The president of the Republic will have a security team of 129, each of the four vice-president will have a team of 107, and ministers will have 36," Jacques Ebenga, the president of Labor Optimus, said. "The size of the security contingent assigned is determined by the importance or the function of each personality."

The participants of the meeting also addressed the issue of civilian security, proposing the creation of emergency services that would intervene during crises and natural disasters, and an integrated police force, made up of both current and former officials.

Themes: (IRIN) Conflict

[ENDS]

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