DRC: state of siege enters into force in the provinces of North Kivu and Ituri
Monusco peacekeepers patrol the province of Ituri (photo illustration) SAMIR TOUNSI / AFP
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The state of siege goes into effect Thursday, May 6 in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in the battered provinces of North Kivu and Ituri.
Military governors have been appointed.
There are also vice-governors of the police.
At all administrative levels, the security forces are supposed to take power.
The objective: to restore peace in these provinces plagued by conflicts and armed groups for more than twenty years.
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With our special correspondent in Kinshasa
,
Sonia Rolley
The task is enormous.
These military governors will not only have to administer these provinces for at least a month - they have vice-governors and a cabinet to support them - but they will also have to conduct military operations.
Daily management, military operations and the administration of justice ...
From this Thursday, in these two provinces, military justice takes precedence over civil courts.
President Tshisekedi had assured that he had given instructions to the government for appropriate logistical and financial support to be provided.
This is one of the concerns of civil society.
How will the army and the police be able to manage everything simultaneously?
We understand the urgent need to act to end the massacres.
The context and content of the state of siege pose several problems.
Already, is this measure necessary and proportional to the danger?
Considering that the state of siege has been declared in all the provinces while the most serious violence is localized in certain specific territories.
The second problem is the broad and fuzzy powers granted to military leaders ...
Mobert Senga, Congolese activist and researcher at Amnesty
Sonia rolley
These military governors will have considerable powers, day and night searches, arrests, travel bans or publish anything that could harm operations.
The objective is clear: nothing should hinder the conduct of operations.
"
There will be no more excuses
", had justified the Minister of Communication, explaining that, for twenty, nothing had worked, but that the state of siege had not been tried.
Civil society promises constant monitoring of its conditions of application and the designation of the military and police responsible for its implementation.
The two military governors already appointed are former rebels who are already raising suspicion.
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To read also: State of siege in the DRC: former rebels appointed military governors
Thus the new military governor of Ituri, General Constant Ndima, is blamed for his indirect participation in the operation "Erase the table" in this same province.
At the time, he was one of the military leaders of the MLC rebellion.
His men were accused of having massacred and raped between 2002 and 2003. The MLC denies any involvement of General Ndima in abuses in Ituri.
The former rebellion, which has become political, explains that at the time it tried 19 of its members for these crimes and General Ndima was not one of them.
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