BuaNews (Tshwane)
23 July 2007
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has called for action to resolve the crisis in the Democratic Republic of the Congo's (DRC) volatile eastern region.
"The Secretary-General is deeply concerned at the deteriorating security situation in the South and North Kivu provinces in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo," his spokesperson Michelle Montas said, pointing to the "dire humanitarian consequences" there.
To date, an estimated 700 000 people have been internally displaced.
Key players in the situation have been called on to use political measures to resolve the crisis, including by carrying out a comprehensive strategy aimed at ensuring the extension of State authority and the promotion of reconciliation, recovery and development in North and South Kivu.
"The Secretary-General urges the Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and all concerned to pursue an inclusive dialogue in the Kivus," spokesperson Ms Montas said.
Mr Ban also called on regional and international partners to support efforts to ease tensions in the area, and encouraged the Governments of Burundi, the DRC, Rwanda and Uganda to fully cooperate in addressing the root causes of instability.
South Africa has been heavily involved in post conflict reconstruction and development in the DRC, and was one of the key players in fostering the DRC's first democratic election held on 30 July 2006.
South African organisations printed the ballots, distributed them across the vast, resource rich nation and assisted with Information and Communication Technology support for the monitoring and counting process.
The DRC's election last year was the first in over 45 years, after the Mouvement National Congolais won the country's first free legislative elections in 1959, leading to the appointment as prime minister of the legendary anti-colonial leader, Patrice Lumumba.
The election followed five years of fighting in the country that borders nine countries - causing the deaths of as many as four million people - and which ended in 2003.
The DRC's newly-elected Parliament sat for the first time on February 13 this year.
During President Joseph Kabila's state visit to South Africa in June, President Thabo Mbeki said further assistance by South Africa with regard to reconstruction of the DRC and the consolidation of bilateral relations would take place within the context of a bi-national commission that is scheduled to begin work in earnest in August.
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