Congo tense as UN mandate set to expire

By April 15, the UN will decide whether to scale back the world's largest peacekeeping mission in volatile Congo.

from the March 29, 2007 edition

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In many ways, the UN has fulfilled its mandate: There is a solid cease-fire, and Congo has had democratic elections. But people on the ground here caution that the hard work is just beginning.

The country is still far from stable. Apart from last week's deadly clashes in the capital, which Mr. Bemba says were triggered by the government's attempt to assassinate him, skirmishes between the Army and various militias are common throughout the country's volatile east. In January, Congolese soldiers upset with their low pay rioted in Bunia, shooting, raping, and looting.

Meanwhile, the UN is trying to help the country develop a new Army, a mixture of disarmed militia fighters and government soldiers. It's a difficult process, with many experts worried that these new, mixed units will terrorize populations. This month, peacekeepers watched as one militia leader in Ituri district, Peter Karim, sent 130 fighters to surrender to and join the Army.

The peacekeepers are also working to find and demobilize child soldiers and are building roads in regions where infrastructure is all but nonexistent. They are helping set up a new court system and police force.

Basically, says Madnodje Mounoubai, the spokesman for MONUC, there is hardly a government function in eastern Congo that is not supported and funded by the UN mission here.

"Just because you've had an election, it doesn't mean that everything is OK," he says. "You need to build institutions."

UN needed in remote east

It only takes a walk down Bunia's main road to feel the massive MONUC presence. White SUVs with "UN" painted in black on their sides regularly zoom down the dirt thoroughfare, dodging the motorcycle taxis and steady stream of pedestrians. There are sand-bagged checkpoints at either end of the street, barbed-wire headquarters, and regular patrols throughout town – slow-driving armored cars crammed with gun-toting "blue helmets."

Some residents say they do get tired of the MONUC forces, with their guns and SUVs. There have been accusations of rape and other sexual misconduct by peacekeepers. Others complain that the armored cars drive over farmland, ruining crops. But most say that the peacekeepers cannot leave – and say they hope the Security Council recognizes as much.

"If they weren't here, there would be very bad things," says Bolemba Mambo, a Bunia resident.

On one recent afternoon, a UN patrol passed a makeshift Congolese Army checkpoint, and a truck filled with logs with dozens of government soldiers sitting on top.

Mr. Mounoubai, the MONUC spokesperson in Ituri, says he believes the Security Council understands the continued need in Congo.

"The UN has learned from other places and mistakes around the world that the sooner they pull out, the sooner they'll be back," he says. "I think the only reason the peace process is still going on, the only reason people are talking to one another still, is because MONUC is here."

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