Kinshasa, November 19th, 2021 (CPA).– The President of the Republic, Felix Antoine Tshisekedi Tshilombo, reassured of his determination to restore security and peace in Ituri and Nord Kivu, during a hearing that he granted on Wednesday evening, to the collective of elected national deputies from these two provinces under a state of siege, led by the President of the National Assembly, Christophe Mboso Nkodia.
« By listening attentively to the concerns of elected officials, the Head of State has once again demonstrated his determination to restore security and peace in these two provinces of the country », said MP Mwanza Hamissi Singoma, spokesperson for this collective.
The visit of elected officials from Nord Kivu and Ituri to the President of the Republic follows the extension, for the 12th time, of the state of siege, requested by the government in Parliament in order to continue the hunt and the dismantling of armed and terrorist groups in eastern DRC.
These elected officials had suspended their participation in the work of the lower house of Parliament during the plenary session devoted to the said extension, on the grounds that the state of siege proclaimed by the Head of State had not until then produced the expected results, and that insecurity was becoming more and more glaring in the two provinces.
Before the President of the Republic, these representatives of the people explained the reasons for their reservations regarding the extension of the state of siege supposed to bring peace to Ituri and Nord Kivu.
The caucus of national elected of Ituri and Nord Kivu
« We respond to the cries of distress of our populations who are massacred on a daily basis and we can only in solidarity with them, show a sign of discontent to a number of things », declared the national elected Mwanza Hamissi Singoma at the end of the conference hearing.
“After more than two hours of discussions, we said we were reassured by the words of the Head of State, who also promised to work in such a way as to take into account the recommendations made by the defense and security committee of the National Assembly”, he added.
Last Wednesday, the lower house of Parliament adopted the bill extending the state of siege in the provinces of Ituri and Nord Kivu, it is recalled.
The text was sent for second reading to the Senate before its promulgation by the Head of State.
This measure will allow FARDC to continue its mission of tracking down all the negative forces that are sowing terror and desolation in the east of the country. ACP / Lys
