Kabila’s FRN rejects renewal of MONUSCO mandate
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on Actualité.cd
Joseph Kabila’s Front for the Refoundation of the Nation opposes renewing MONUSCO’s mandate, saying its 28 years of activity in the Democratic Republic of the Congo constitute a failure. The movement defended this position in Goma during a meeting with James Swan, according to Actualité.cd.
The Front for the Refoundation of the Nation (FRN), a politico-military movement led by Joseph Kabila in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, opposes the renewal of MONUSCO’s mandate, the UN peacekeeping mission in the country. The movement believes the mission must continue its withdrawal after 28 years of activity, its vice-president Bertrand Bisimwa said in Goma on Tuesday 3 November, according to Actualité.cd.
The FRN also opposes any possible redeployment of MONUSCO to South Kivu. It believes that the mandate defined under the Doha peace process should only allow the mission to provide logistical support to the ceasefire monitoring mechanism, rather than strengthen its presence in the province, according to Bertrand Bisimwa.
The position was presented during a meeting between Joseph Kabila, the FRN’s president, and a UN delegation led by James Swan, head of MONUSCO. The Congolese government, for its part, wants the mandate extended because of the security situation and to support implementation of the memorandum of understanding signed with the FDLR, according to Actualité.cd.
The position came a day after the meeting between the head of MONUSCO and the FRN in Goma on 2 November, following reports on 27 October that FRN rebels were approaching Uvira.
