Congo Tense As U.N. Mandate Set To Expire

World Body Must Decide Whether To Continue, Change Or Cancel Largest Peacekeeping Force In The World

(Christian Science Monitor) 
Meanwhile, the U.N. is trying to help the country develop a new Army, a mixture of disarmed militia fighters and government soldiers. It's a difficult process, with many experts worried that these new, mixed units will terrorize populations. This month, peacekeepers watched as one militia leader in Ituri district, Peter Karim, sent 130 fighters to surrender to and join the Army.

The peacekeepers are also working to find and demobilize child soldiers and are building roads in regions where infrastructure is all but nonexistent. They are helping set up a new court system and police force.

Basically, says Madnodje Mounoubai, the spokesman for MONUC, there is hardly a government function in eastern Congo that is not supported and funded by the U.N. mission here.

"Just because you've had an election, it doesn't mean that everything is OK," he says. "You need to build institutions."

It only takes a walk down Bunia's main road to feel the massive MONUC presence. White SUVs with "UN" painted in black on their sides regularly zoom down the dirt thoroughfare, dodging the motorcycle taxis and steady stream of pedestrians. There are sand-bagged checkpoints at either end of the street, barbed-wire headquarters, and regular patrols throughout town — slow-driving armored cars crammed with gun-toting "blue helmets."

Some residents say they do get tired of the MONUC forces, with their guns and SUVs. There have been accusations of rape and other sexual misconduct by peacekeepers. Others complain that the armored cars drive over farmland, ruining crops. But most say that the peacekeepers cannot leave — and say they hope the Security Council recognizes as much.

"If they weren't here, there would be very bad things," says Bolemba Mambo, a Bunia resident.

On one recent afternoon, a U.N. patrol passed a makeshift Congolese Army checkpoint, and a truck filled with logs with dozens of government soldiers sitting on top.

Mr. Mounoubai, the MONUC spokesperson in Ituri, says he believes the Security Council understands the continued need in Congo.

"The UN has learned from other places and mistakes around the world that the sooner they pull out, the sooner they'll be back," he says. "I think the only reason the peace process is still going on, the only reason people are talking to one another still, is because MONUC is here."