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Congo-Kinshasa: William Swing Leaves With a Note of Hope
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United Nations Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (Kinshasa)
11 January 2008
Posted to the web 11 January 2008
Myriam Abedi
Mr. William Lacy Swing, former Special Representative of the Secretary General of the United Nations in the DRC, left the country this week after five years as MONUC head between July 2003 and January 2008. In a Radio Okapi interview on 8 January 2008, Mr. Swing gave an assessment of his five years at MONUC, and the challenges he faced.
Mr. Swing arrived as head of the UN Mission in the DRC in July 2003, only a few days after the installation of the DRC transition government, resulting from the Sun City Agreement, known as the 1+4 government (1 President, 4 Vice-presidents).
It was both a difficult and crucial moment, because the expectation of the Congolese people was focused on the international community's support for the final pacification of the country, torn by a decade of fatal war.
And this pacification led the country to the first free, democratic and transparent elections in over 40 years, and William Swing had the responsibility of supporting this process.
Mr. Swing said that "the difficulties and challenges facing the Congolese people were in the nature of things", because for him "mistrust and hesitation are completely normal for people emerging from a long crisis."
Transition process challenges
Three events characterised the DRC in 2004: the capture of Bukavu by FARDC dissident Laurent Nkunda and his rebels, the attack on Gatumba refugee camp by Burundian rebels and the uncovering of allegations of sexual abuse by MONUC personnel.
These events caused a negative backlash against MONUC in the DRC, in particular its head Mr. Swing. South Kivu civil society demanded the departure of Mr. Swing, who was accused of the balkanization of the Congo.
After the attack on Gatumba refugee camp, some political actors even suspended their participation in the institutions of the transition, and the international community was once more blamed.
Mr. Swing understood the feeling of the Congolese population after these events, and as a good ambassador did not take a defensive position but acted as a mediator.
"2004 was the most difficult year for MONUC, but we learnt the lessons and understood that we needed a much larger, better trained and well managed force, and we made many changes in the command structure," he said.
Mr. Swing pleaded the Congolese cause to the UN Security Council who voted in 2004 for a reinforcement of MONUC troops, and military manpower was increased in the Kivus and in Ituri. Mr. Swing also succeeded in applying a zero tolerance policy within the mission with regard to sexual exploitation.
2005
2005 was especially important, because it was to mark the holding of elections and the end of the transition, but unfortunately, it could not take place due to various logistical, technical and financial challenges.
The principal opposition parties of the time - Tshisekedi's UDPS and Ginzenga's PALU parties - organised several demonstrations against the government and MONUC to protest against the delay of the elections. The year was later however characterised by the holding of the election referendum.
2006
2006 was also a year of challenges, with the organization and holding of the legislative and presidential elections. From several presidential candidates, two remained at the end - Joseph Kabila and Jean Pierre Bemba.
At the announcement of the provisional first round election results on 20 August 2006, the FARDC and Bemba's guards clashed with heavy weapons in Kinshasa. Swing, as always, played the mediator to calm the situation.
Before going to the second round of elections, agreements for the security of the losing candidate were concluded and on 6 December 2006, the elected president Joseph Kabila was sworn in, and the elected institutions were thus installed.
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2006 also marked a campaign to end impunity, when war lords were brought to justice for their acts. Thus Thomas Lubanga, one of the war leaders in Ituri, was arrested by the Congolese authorities and later transferred to the International Criminal Court.
2007
2007 started with a glimmer of hope for the Congolese, now that the DRC had found its place among the international community. It led to new cooperation agreements with the international institutions, in particular the European Union, the World Bank and the IMF, all of which announced subsidies and donations to relaunch the Congolese economy.
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