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UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs

DRC: Formation of transitional government praised

NAIROBI, 2 July 2003 (IRIN) - The EU, the UN Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUC) and UN Secretary-General Koffi Annan have welcomed the formation of a transitional government in the country, and called on all parties to end nearly five years of war.

Calling for the inauguration of the transitional government "as soon as possible", Annan said in a statement issued on Tuesday in New York that the Congolese parties should now work together to bring about peace and stability.

In the capital, Kinshasa, MONUC welcomed the naming on Monday, by President Joseph Kabila, of 36 ministers and 25 deputy ministers.

"It is a positive response to the expectations of the populations, the United Nations and the international community as a whole," Namanga Ngongi, Annan's Special Representative for the Congo, said.

He termed the move "a major step forward" towards an effective start of the transition.

MONUC expressed hope that the ceasefire would also be implemented throughout the country, especially in the war-ravaged eastern and the northeastern parts, where recent fighting has claimed hundreds of lives and led to the displacement of hundreds of thousands.

In Brussels, EU President Romano Prodi said the transitional government was an important step in the country's democratic process. "I hope it will bring to the country national reconciliation," he said.

Prodi said the EU was determined to help with the restoration of harmony in the Congo. He congratulated the major facilitators of the process, and Kabila for demonstrating the "wisdom and flexibility" needed to reach an accord on the issue of the military positions and the transitional government.

The positions were shared by the outgoing government, the pro-government Mayi-Mayi militia, rebel movements, the unarmed political opposition and civil society, in accordance to a power-sharing accord for the transitional government signed in December 2002 in Pretoria, South Africa.

Key ministries were shared among the government and the two main rebel groups: the Rassemblement Congolais pour la democratie (RCD-Goma) and the Mouvement de liberation du Congo (MLC). The government holds the ministries of the interior, decentralisation and security, finance, energy and industry. RCD-Goma gets defence, demobilisation and war veterans, economy, portfolio (parastatals), and telecommunications. The MLC gets foreign affairs and international cooperation, planning, and budget

The naming of the transitional government followed the signing of an agreement on Sunday between the government and the RCD-Goma and the MLC on the sharing of military positions in the new administration.

The transitional government is expected to lead the country until 2005 when democratic election are due.

Theme(s): (IRIN) Governance

[ENDS]

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