Congolese women urge parties to respect Pretoria accord

Kinshasa, DR Congo (PANA) - At least 2,000 Congolese women staged a demonstration Wednesday in Kinshasa to urge all political forces in the Democratic Republic of Congo to abide by and implement the all inclusive agreement signed in Pretoria last month.
The demonstrators also demanded the allocation of at least 0.3 percent of posts in the envisaged of transitional institutions be allocated to women.

As men's partners, the Congolese women expressed their readiness to contribute towards the search for peace, national unity and the country's harmonious development.

At the end of the demonstration, the women condemned Congolese political for selfishly sidelining women in the institutions born out of the inter-Congolese dialogue, in violation of resolution 5231 of the UN Security Council.

They also condemned the "immoral and irresponsible" behaviour by certain members of the United Nations Observer Mission in Congo (MONUC) who were engaged in sex activities with young Congolese girls, which encouraged prostitution, paedophilia and helped to further spread HIV/AIDS.

Meanwhile, the Congolese women called on their counterparts in Rwanda and Uganda to join them in efforts aimed at restoring peace in the entire Great Lakes region.

They appealed for an immediate cessation of hostilities in the country's eastern part. "Let us stop killing one another," "Those who are dying are our brothers and sisters," "Their blood is crying loud," read some of the slogans on the banners carried by demonstrators.

The Congolese women called on neighbouring countries to adopt policies for the promotion of good neighbourliness so as to create a strong, united and prosperous Africa.