In DR of Congo, Security Council mission sees moves towards political freedom

A United Nations Security Council mission to the Great Lakes region of Africa has received signals from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) that the respect for political freedoms is important to the new Congolese administration, members of the UN group said today.

In remarks to reporters at the Presidential Palace in Kinshasa, Ambassador Jeremy Greenstock of the United Kingdom said that the Council delegation had heard a clear expression from President Joseph Kabila of a will to allow the Congolese people to speak freely.

Ambassador Jean-David Levitte of France, who is leading the mission, reiterated the Council's welcome of President Kabila's decision to lift the ban on political parties in the DRC and said that the Council saw this decision in the context of the inter-Congolese dialogue beginning to take shape.

The 12-member delegation held their first day of work in Kinshasa today, meeting with President Kabila and Foreign Minister Leonard She Okitundu for almost two hours. Ambassador Levitte said the in-depth discussions allowed the Council members to have an overview of the problems currently facing the DRC and the Great Lakes region.

After a briefing by MONUC, the UN Mission in the DRC, the Council delegation travelled to Luanda, Angola, where it was scheduled to meet with President Jose Eduardo Dos Santos, before returning to Kinshasa.