Obama, DR Congo remain top news

The top news of the week was the historic election of Barack Obama as the first African-American President of the United States of America. His election marked the end of a gruelling long campaign that is unprecedented in the history of the US. Obama’s meteoric rise from an obscure Illinois state legislator is legendary legend. It will, according to many observers be told and retold for many more years to come. Speaking after his election victory, he said that this was not just his victory but the victory of the United States people. Moving moments to see Oprah Winfrey and the Rev. Jesse Jackson shedding tears of joy. Joy resulting from the realisation that bigotry and prejudice had been discarded into the dustbin of the past. Another first was the congratulatory message sent to Obama by the rubble rousing Iranian President Mohamood Ahmedinejad. This is something that was unheard of since the rise to power in Tehran of the Islamic revolutionary government in 1979. This probably signifies a radical shift in the way the clerical led government will view the Obama administration. In a way, Ahmedinejad’s message says a lot about the international good will and appeal that Obama is likely to generate for the US. Thawing relation with previons handline islamic states Next door The conflict in eastern DR Congo continued to dominate the news. The rebel National Congress for the Defence of the People (CNDP) of Gen. Laurent Nkunda still appears to have the upper hand in the conflict that pits it against a combined force of Monuc and the Congolese army- FARDC. At the same time, reports earlier this week, revealed that the Zimbabwean army and the FDLR-Interahamwe were the ones doing the actual fighting on behalf of the Congolese armed forces. This unholy alliance, which by extension involves the UN peacekeeping force (Monuc) threatens to derail the realisation of a peaceful resolution of the conflict since it involves an internationally known terrorist group, the rag tag FDLR. Back home This week also saw the UN Undersecretary General for peacekeeping, Alain Le Roy, jetting into the country for talks with President Paul Kagame. He was accompanied by the Monuc chief in the DR Congo, Alan Doss. Speaking to the media after meeting the president, Doss admitted that the implementation of the plan to solve the lingering problems in the DR Congo has not gone according to plan, and that it has to be updated given recent developments. The UN mission in the DR Congo has come under intense criticism for the way it has mishandled the efforts to restore peace to the volatile country. President Kagame this week addressed a press conference at Urugwiro Village, where he castigated the DR Congo government and the international community for failure to address the conflict in eastern DR Congo. He said that Rwanda has its own burdens and should not be made to carry the burdens of DR Congo. Government this week defended the Mucyo report against a lawsuit filed by ten French military officers who allege that the report defamed them. Information minister Louis Mushikiwabo, was quoted in the media saying that the report was professionally done. Also this week, the newly created Rwanda Development Board (RDB) presented its new senior Executives at a press conference, Thursday. RDB which is headed by American businessman Joe Ritchie, is a merger of eight government agencies which include RIEPA, ORTPN, CAPMER, RITA, and REMA. It is expected to champion the country’s “strategic growth and development initiatives” with a private sector approach. A summit of regional leaders was held in Nairobi, Friday, to try and find a lasting solution to the conflict in DR Congo. The meeting was attended by seven regional Heads of State and the UN Secretary General Ban ki-moon. The summit named former Presidents Olesegun Obasanjo of Nigeria and Benjamin Mkapa of Tanzania as facilitators in the implementation of previous agreements. Ends