Press review of Tuesday August 15, 2023: Assessment of the state of siege in North Kivu and Ituri
In the continuity of our follow-up of the news, today we offer you a press review on the assessment of the state of siege in North Kivu and Ituri.
The opening of the round table on the state of siege was held this Monday at the People’s Palace, in the presence of President Félix Tshisekedi. According to the newspaper L’Avenir, the participants have the task of deciding on the maintenance, the requalification or the lifting of this exceptional regime. President Tshisekedi underlined that the state of siege, although an exceptional measure, should not last indefinitely and called on the participants to be aware of the situation to guarantee the survival of the entire nation.
Three commissions were formed to carry out this evaluation. The first commission will examine the assertion of the maintenance of the state of siege, the second on the hypothesis of requalification, and the third on the lifting of the state of siege. According to the newspaper Le Potentiel, the recommendations of these commissions will have to take into account the socio-political and security context, in anticipation of the upcoming elections.
La Tempête des Tropiques reports that the recommendations and resolutions of this round table will be submitted to the authority of the President to make a final decision. If the state of siege were to be lifted, the civil governors in office before the establishment of this exceptional regime would resume their functions for the rest of the legislature, specifies the daily.
It should be noted that this assessment comes more than two years after the imposition of the state of siege. La Prospérité underlines the words of President Tshisekedi affirming that this measure was intended to secure the populations and restore lasting peace. Prime Minister Jean Michel Sama Lukonde also recalled that his government had deployed significant resources to put an end to insecurity, in particular by organizing roaming missions in the provinces concerned.
In conclusion, this assessment of the state of siege in North Kivu and Ituri constitutes an important step in the search for lasting solutions to ensure the security of the populations and guarantee political stability in these regions. The outcome of this round table and the final decision of President Tshisekedi will be decisive for the future of these provinces which have been plagued by insecurity for several years