Trends in Conflict and Cooperation
Political
Against the background of corruption charges and growing violence, President Joseph Kabila has steadily strengthened his power over the Third Republic. His Alliance pour la Majorité Présidentielle (AMP) took 55 out of 108 Senate seats (19 January) and 10 out of 11 provincial governorships (27 January and, respectively, 10 February in Kasai-Oriental and 15 February in Kasai-Occidental). In Bas-Congo, a stronghold of defeated presidential candidate Jean-Pierre Bemba, protests against fraud in the Governor Election escalated into violent clashes between supporters of Bundu dia Congo, a politico-religious movement, and state security forces, resulting in some 134 deaths. On 7 February the Bas-Congo Appeals Court called on the Commission Electorale Indépendante to organize a second round of polls. However, on 17 February the disputed nomination of Simon Mbaki Batshia to governor was declared legal by DRC's Constitutional Court, which is well-known for its lack of impartiality. On 5 February, after five weeks of haggling for posts in cabinet, Prime Minister Antoine Gizenga presented his list of 60 ministers, all of which belong to the AMP. With 18 ministers President Kabila's Parti du Peuple pour la Reconstruction et la Démocratie (PPRD) has the majority in the cabinet, followed by Gizenga's Parti Lumumbiste Unifié (PALU) with 6, the Forces du Renouveau (FR) with 5, the Union des Démocrates Mobutistes (UDEMO) with 3, and the Coalition des Démocrates Congolais (Codeco) with 2 posts. The independent Congolese daily Le Potentiel spoke of an inflated, inexperienced government 'without backbone' and raised concerns regarding regional and ethnic representation. On Congo Vision, Hugo Kitenge just as critically refers to overwhelmingly selfish interests of the newly nominated officials and to blatant incongruities and incoherencies in ministries caused by several ministers being in charge of the very same domain.
On 22-23 March, in a new crackdown against the opposition, Kinshasa witnessed two days of bloody fighting between government forces, allegedly backed by Angolan troops and gunmen loyal to Bemba, who had refused to comply with the ultimatum to integrate his men into the national army. The battles resulted in the deaths of reportedly up to 600 people and the complete defeat of Bemba's private armed guard. Bemba has found protection in the South African embassy and, after formal government approval, traveled to Portugal on 11 April, allegedly for medical treatment. European diplomats and representatives of MONUC, among others, deeply regretted the 'premature' and 'disproportionate' use of force in a situation that could and should have been settled through dialogue. However, in a press conference on 26 March, President Kabila made it clear that the security of 60 million Congolese could not be assured through negotiation but through application of law.
The east of the country has been largely spared from election-related unrest. In the battle for membership in the upper house of DRC's parliament the pro-Kabila eastern provinces were rewarded with a large share of seats, which, especially in case of Maniema and North-Kivu, resulted in allegations of regional over-representation. With the nomination to governor of Didier Manara (Maniema) and Célestin Cibalonza (South-Kivu) two more members of PPRD took office in provincial governments. Power in North-Kivu shifted from Eugène Serufuli (RCD-Goma) to Julien Paluku (RCD-K-ML), a representative of the Nande tribe, which historically has been a rival of the Rwandophone population that was represented by his predecessor. As a consequence of the dismissal of Serufuli, the Hutus - North-Kivu's second largest ethnic group after the Nande - lost influence in the local government, and possibly access to wealth and power. Paluku promised to represent equally all ethnic groups. Nonetheless, this issue is highly sensitive, especially in regard to the growing influence of dissident General Laurent Nkunda, who is unlikely to subordinate his interests to those of the newly elected provincial authorities.